ReviewEuropean journal of applied physiology2007
From space to Earth: advances in human physiology from 20 years of bed rest studies (1986-2006).
Review in European journal of applied physiology, 2007. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03313869 (Effects of a Cocktail XXS-2A/Omega-3 on Insulin Sensitivity and Oxidative Stress During a 20-day Period of Physical Inactivity), which is not on this map. Cited by 268 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Effects of a Cocktail XXS-2A/Omega-3 on Insulin Sensitivity and Oxidative Stress During a 20-day Period of Physical Inactivity: a Controlled, Randomized Pilot Study on 20 Healthy Men
Who cites it
268 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 637 citations in OpenAlex.
- Disuse-Induced Muscle Atrophy and Muscle Weakness From Hospitalization to Spaceflight: Exercise Succeeds in Prevention and Treatment-A Meta-Analysis.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of Bed Rest on Physical Performance in Athletes: A Systematic and Narrative Review.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2023Pooled it
- Introducing the Concept of Exercise Holidays for Human Spaceflight - What Can We Learn From the Recovery of Bed Rest Passive Control Groups.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Pooled it
- Nonuniform loss of muscle strength and atrophy during bed rest: a systematic review.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Effect of Time on Human Muscle Outcomes During Simulated Microgravity Exposure Without Countermeasures-Systematic Review.Frontiers in physiology · 2019Pooled it
- Limited musculoskeletal benefits of artificial gravity combined with cycling during bed rest: Results from the BRACE study.Experimental physiology · 2026Trial
- Exercise attenuates bed rest-induced increases in insulin resistance while α-klotho increases in 55 to 65 year-old women and men.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Does Physical Inactivity Induce Significant Changes in Human Gut Microbiota? New Answers Using the Dry Immersion Hypoactivity Model.Nutrients · 2021Trial
- Time-series analysis of heart rate and blood pressure in response to changes in work rate before and after 60 days of 6° head down tilt bed rest.European journal of applied physiology · 2021Trial
- Effects of 8 weeks of bed rest with or without resistance exercise intervention on the volume of the muscle tissue and the adipose tissues of the thigh.Physiological reports · 2020Trial
- The influence of a sustained 10-day hypoxic bed rest on cartilage biomarkers and subchondral bone in females: The FemHab study.Physiological reports · 2020Trial
- Electrocortical Evidence for Impaired Affective Picture Processing after Long-Term Immobilization.Scientific reports · 2019Trial
- Overview of the NASA 70-day Bed Rest Study.Medicine and science in sports and exercise · 2018Trial
- PlanHabThe Journal of physiology · 2018Trial
- Ophthalmological Evaluation of Integrated Resistance and Aerobic Training During 70-Day Bed Rest.Aerospace medicine and human performance · 2017Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- ATHLETIC: An exoskeleton countermeasure exercise device for resistive and plyometric training in deep-space missions.Experimental physiology · 2026Article
- Microgravity-induced changes in skeletal muscle and possible countermeasures: What we can learn from bed rest and human space studies.Experimental physiology · 2026Review
208 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Bed rest studies of the past 20 years are reviewed. Head-down bed rest (HDBR) has proved its usefulness as a reliable simulation model for the most physiological effects of spaceflight. As well as continuing to search for better understanding of the physiological changes induced, these studies focused mostly on identifying effective countermeasures with encouraging but limited success. HDBR is characterised by immobilization, inactivity, confinement and elimination of Gz gravitational stimuli, such as posture change and direction, which affect body sensors and responses. These induce upward fluid shift, unloading the body's upright weight, absence of work against gravity, reduced energy requirements and reduction in overall sensory stimulation. The upward fluid shift by acting on central volume receptors induces a 10-15% reduction in plasma volume which leads to a now well-documented set of cardiovascular changes including changes in cardiac performance and baroreflex sensitivity that are identical to those in space. Calcium excretion is increased from the beginning of bed rest leading to a sustained negative calcium balance. Calcium absorption is reduced. Body weight, muscle mass, muscle strength is reduced, as is the resistance of muscle to insulin. Bone density, stiffness of bones of the lower limbs and spinal cord and bone architecture are altered. Circadian rhythms may shift and are dampened. Ways to improve the process of evaluating countermeasures--exercise (aerobic, resistive, vibration), nutritional and pharmacological--are proposed. Artificial gravity requires systematic evaluation. This review points to clinical applications of BR research revealing the crucial role of gravity to health.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.