NOTE: This item is not available outside the Texas A&M University network. Texas A&M affiliated users who are off campus can access the item through NetID and password authentication or by using TAMU VPN. Non-affiliated individuals should request a copy through their local library's interlibrary loan service.
The effect of food restriction and simulated microgravity on the rat skeleton
| dc.creator | Currado, Alicia Anne | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2012-06-07T23:12:43Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2012-06-07T23:12:43Z | |
| dc.date.created | 2002 | |
| dc.date.issued | 2002 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2002-THESIS-C48 | |
| dc.description | Due to the character of the original source materials and the nature of batch digitization, quality control issues may be present in this document. Please report any quality issues you encounter to digital@library.tamu.edu, referencing the URI of the item. | en |
| dc.description | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 57-66). | en |
| dc.description | Issued also on microfiche from Lange Micrographics. | en |
| dc.description.abstract | Bone loss commonly occurs during space flight, creating an increased risk for fractures. It is also known that undereating commonly occurs on space flight missions, and ingesting insufficient calories has been shown to have detrimental effects on the skeleton. This food deficit combined with microgravity could create an additive loss of bone for astronauts. Forty eight Sprague-Dawley adult male rats were subjected to hindlimb suspension (HLS), to simulate the weightless environment of outer space on bone. These rats were randomly divided into four groups of 12 rats each: in the CON-100 group, the rats were fed 100% of their usual food intake, and allowed regular activity. In the CON-70 group, the rats were fed 70% of their usual food intake, and also allowed regular activity. The HLS-100 group was fed 100% of their usual food intake, but put into HLS. Likewise the HLS-70 group was subjected to HLS, but they were fed 70% of their usual food intake. Compared to all CON animals, results demonstrated that all HLS rats combined exhibited a numerical increase in urine deoxypyridinoline crosslinks, with a significant reduction in proximal tibial metaphyseal total BMC and total BMD, and tibial cortical shell area. These rats also experienced significantly lower humeral metaphyseal total BMC and trabecular BMD, total area, cortical shell area, and marrow area. In addition, humeral cortical shell BMD was significantly greater in all HLS rats. Three-point bending of the tibia and humerus revealed no change in bone strength. Also, serum osteocalcin concentration had decreased significantly in all HLS rats, and decreased even more in all food-restricted rats. Additionally an interaction occurred among treatments with serum osteocalcin. This suggests that 1 month of HLS causes structural changes within bone sooner than food restriction, without concomitant changes in bone strength. Food restriction may take longer to affect bone structurally, but does exhibit whole-body biochemical changes after 1 month. In addition, the combination of food restriction and HLS causes a synergistic effect on serum osteocalcin. This project reveals that eating well while in space will be instrumental for astronauts to avoid additional bone loss and fractures. | en |
| dc.format.medium | electronic | en |
| dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | |
| dc.publisher | Texas A&M University | |
| dc.rights | This thesis was part of a retrospective digitization project authorized by the Texas A&M University Libraries in 2008. Copyright remains vested with the author(s). It is the user's responsibility to secure permission from the copyright holder(s) for re-use of the work beyond the provision of Fair Use. | en |
| dc.subject | nutrition. | en |
| dc.subject | Major nutrition. | en |
| dc.title | The effect of food restriction and simulated microgravity on the rat skeleton | en |
| dc.type | Thesis | en |
| thesis.degree.discipline | nutrition | en |
| thesis.degree.name | M.S. | en |
| thesis.degree.level | Masters | en |
| dc.type.genre | thesis | en |
| dc.type.material | text | en |
| dc.format.digitalOrigin | reformatted digital | en |
Files in this item
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
-
Digitized Theses and Dissertations (1922–2004)
Texas A&M University Theses and Dissertations (1922–2004)
Request Open Access
This item and its contents are restricted. If this is your thesis or dissertation, you can make it open-access. This will allow all visitors to view the contents of the thesis.