Trial reportMedicine and science in sports and exercise2018
Efficacy of Testosterone plus NASA Exercise Countermeasures during Head-Down Bed Rest.
Trial report in Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Can conditions of skeletal muscle loss be improved by combining exercise with anabolic-androgenic steroids? A systematic review and meta-analysis of testosterone-based interventions.Reviews in endocrine & metabolic disorders · 2021Pooled it
- Adjuvant pharmacological strategies for the musculoskeletal system during long-term space missions.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2026Review
- Myonuclear and satellite cell content of the vastus lateralis and soleus with 70 days of simulated microgravity and the NASA SPRINT exercise program.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2025Article
- NASA SPRINT exercise program efficacy for vastus lateralis and soleus skeletal muscle health during 70 days of simulated microgravity.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2024Article
- Comparing the Impacts of Testosterone and Exercise on Lean Body Mass, Strength and Aerobic Fitness in Aging Men.Sports medicine - open · 2024Review
- Influence of gonadectomy on muscle health in micro- and partial-gravity environments in rats.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2023Article
- Impacts of microgravity on amino acid metabolism during spaceflight.Experimental biology and medicine (Maywood, N.J.) · 2023Review
- Effects of exercise countermeasures on multisystem function in long duration spaceflight astronauts.NPJ microgravity · 2023Article
- Testosterone undecanoate administration prevents declines in fat-free mass but not physical performance during simulated multi-stressor military operations.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2022Article
- Hindlimb suspension in Wistar rats: Sex-based differences in muscle response.Physiological reports · 2021Article
- Effects of Testosterone on Serum Concentrations, Fat-free Mass, and Physical Performance by Population: A Meta-analysis.Journal of the Endocrine Society · 2020Article
- Exercise and Testosterone Countermeasures to Mitigate Metabolic Changes during Bed Rest.Life sciences in space research · 2020Article
- Using Electrical Impedance Myography as a Biomarker of Muscle Deconditioning in Rats Exposed to Micro- and Partial-Gravity Analogs.Frontiers in physiology · 2020Article
- Enhanced Blood Supply Through Lower Body Negative Pressure During Slow-Paced, High Load Leg Press Exercise Alters the Response of Muscle AMPK and Circulating Angiogenic Factors.Frontiers in physiology · 2020Article
- Article
- Comparisons of Resistance Training and "Cardio" Exercise Modalities as Countermeasures to Microgravity-Induced Physical Deconditioning: New Perspectives and Lessons Learned From Terrestrial Studies.Frontiers in physiology · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
introductionProlonged confinement to head-down bed rest (HDBR) results in musculoskeletal losses similar to those observed during long-duration space flight. Exercise countermeasures by themselves have not completely prevented the deleterious losses in muscle mass or function in HDBR or space flight. PURPOSE: The objective was to investigate the safety and efficacy of intermittent, low-dose testosterone treatment in conjunction with NASA exercise (SPRINT) countermeasures during 70 d of 6° HDBR.
methodsHealthy men (35 ± 8 yr) were randomized into one of three groups that remained inactive (CON) or performed exercise 6 d·wk in addition to receiving either placebo (PEX) or testosterone treatment (TEX, 100 mg·wk). Testosterone/placebo injections were administered once a week for 2 wk, followed by 2 wk off and so on, during HDBR.
resultsTotal, leg, and trunk lean body mass (LBM) consistently decreased in CON, increased in TEX, and had little or no changes in PEX. Total, leg, and trunk fat mass consistently increased in CON and PEX and decreased in TEX. Leg strength decreased in CON, whereas PEX and TEX were protected against loss in strength. Changes in leg LBM correlated positively with changes in leg muscle strength.
conclusionsAddition of a testosterone countermeasure enhanced the preventative actions of exercise against body composition changes during long-term HDBR in healthy eugonadal men. This is the first report to demonstrate that cycled, low-dose testosterone treatment increases LBM under conditions of strict exercise control. These results are clinically relevant to the development of safe and effective therapies against muscle atrophy during long-term bed rest, aging, and disease where loss of muscle mass and strength is a risk. The potential space flight applications of such countermeasure combinations deserve further investigations.
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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.