ArticleNPJ microgravity2017
Towards human exploration of space: the THESEUS review series on muscle and bone research priorities.
Article in NPJ microgravity, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 73 papers, 2 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
73 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 136 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Re-examination of 1- vs. 3-Sets of Resistance Exercise for Pre-spaceflight Muscle Conditioning: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2019Pooled it
- A Resistive Soft Robotic Exosuit for Dynamic Body Loading in Hypogravity.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Trial
- Comparison of musculoskeletal responses and its variability after long-term spaceflight and prolonged bed rest conditions.NPJ microgravity · 2026Article
- Space Physiology and Technology: Adaptations, Countermeasures, and Opportunities for Wearable Systems.Cyborg and bionic systems (Washington, D.C.) · 2026Review
- Meta-analysis of extremotolerant microbes to address nutrient deficiencies in bioregenerative life support systems during Deep-space Missions.NPJ science of food · 2025Article
- Anti-Weightlessness Physiological Protection for the Lower Limb Muscle System Based on Biomimetic Adhesive Force Stimulation.Biomimetics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Integrative focus on the space exposome-integrome: physiological challenges and practical limits of countermeasures beyond low Earth orbit.NPJ microgravity · 2025Review
- Adverse Outcome Pathways Applied to Space Radiation Research.Environmental and molecular mutagenesis · 2025Review
- Resistance and Aerobic Preconditioning Delays Unloading-Induced Multisystemic Physiological Changes: The NEBULA Project.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2025Article
- Pharmacist roles across the space mission pathway.Innovations in pharmacy · 2025Article
- Articular cartilage loss is an unmitigated risk of human spaceflight.NPJ microgravity · 2024Review
- Salidroside alleviates simulated microgravity-induced bone loss by activating the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2024Article
- Article
- Growth and mineralization of fetal mouse long bones under microgravity and daily 1 g gravity exposure.NPJ microgravity · 2024Article
- Astronaut omics and the impact of space on the human body at scale.Nature communications · 2024Review
- Nitrosative Stress in Astronaut Skeletal Muscle in Spaceflight.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Characterization of the mechanical properties of the mouse Achilles tendon enthesis by microindentation. Effects of unloading and subsequent reloading.Bone reports · 2024Article
- Optimal fibre length and maximum isometric force are the most influential parameters when modelling muscular adaptations to unloading using Hill-type muscle models.Frontiers in physiology · 2024Article
- Weightlessness damaged the ultrastructure of knee cartilage and quadriceps muscle, aggravated the degeneration of cartilage.Annals of joint · 2024Article
13 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
11 authors at 11 institutions in 7 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Without effective countermeasures, the musculoskeletal system is altered by the microgravity environment of long-duration spaceflight, resulting in atrophy of bone and muscle tissue, as well as in deficits in the function of cartilage, tendons, and vertebral disks. While inflight countermeasures implemented on the International Space Station have evidenced reduction of bone and muscle loss on low-Earth orbit missions of several months in length, important knowledge gaps must be addressed in order to develop effective strategies for managing human musculoskeletal health on exploration class missions well beyond Earth orbit. Analog environments, such as bed rest and/or isolation environments, may be employed in conjunction with large sample sizes to understand sex differences in countermeasure effectiveness, as well as interaction of exercise with pharmacologic, nutritional, immune system, sleep and psychological countermeasures. Studies of musculoskeletal biomechanics, involving both human subject and computer simulation studies, are essential to developing strategies to avoid bone fractures or other injuries to connective tissue during exercise and extravehicular activities. Animal models may be employed to understand effects of the space environment that cannot be modeled using human analog studies. These include studies of radiation effects on bone and muscle, unraveling the effects of genetics on bone and muscle loss, and characterizing the process of fracture healing in the mechanically unloaded and immuno-compromised spaceflight environment. In addition to setting the stage for evidence-based management of musculoskeletal health in long-duration space missions, the body of knowledge acquired in the process of addressing this array of scientific problems will lend insight into the understanding of terrestrial health conditions such as age-related osteoporosis and sarcopenia.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.