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J Appl Physiol 82: 1091-1097, 1997;
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Journal of Applied Physiology
Vol. 82, No. 4, pp. 1091-1097, April 1997
ENVIRONMENT

Pulmonary diffusing capacity and pulmonary capillary blood volume during parabolic flights

Pierre Vaïda1, Christian Kays1, Daniel Rivière2, Pierre Téchoueyres1, and Jean-Luc Lachaud1

1 Laboratoire de Physiologie, Médecine Aérospatiale, Université Bordeaux 2, F 33076 Bordeaux cedex; and 2 Laboratoire des Adaptations de l'Organisme à l'Exercice Musculaire, Unité de Formation et de Recherche Médecine Toulouse-Purpan, F 31073 Toulouse cedex, France

ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
FOOTNOTES
REFERENCES


ABSTRACT

Vaïda, Pierre, Christian Kays, Daniel Rivière, Pierre Téchoueyres, and Jean-Luc Lachaud. Pulmonary diffusing capacity and pulmonary capillary blood volume during parabolic flights. J. Appl. Physiol. 82(4): 1091-1097, 1997.---Data from the Spacelab Life Sciences-1 (SLS-1) mission have shown sustained but moderate increase in pulmonary diffusing capacity (DL). Because of the occupational constraints of the mission, data were only obtained after 24 h of exposure to microgravity. Parabolic flights are often used to study some effects of microgravity, and we measured changes in DL occurring at the very onset of weightlessness. Measurements of DL, membrane diffusing capacity, and pulmonary capillary blood volume were made in 10 male subjects during the 20-s 0-G phases of parabolic flights performed by the "zero-G" Caravelle aircraft. Using the standardized single-breath technique, we measured DL for CO and nitric oxide simultaneously. We found significant increases in DL for CO (62%), in membrane diffusing capacity for CO (47%), in DL for nitric oxide (47%), and in pulmonary capillary blood volume (71%). We conclude that major changes in the alveolar membrane gas transfers and in the pulmonary capillary bed occur at the very onset of microgravity. Because these changes are much greater than those reported during sustained microgravity, the effects of rapid transition from hypergravity to microgravity during parabolic flights remain questionable.

capillary distension; gravitational physiology; lung function


INTRODUCTION

GRAVITY EXERTS A DEMONSTRABLE INFLUENCE on the respiratory system, particularly on its vascular compartment (7). During exposure to microgravity, a headward shift of fluid occurs because of the loss of hydrostatic gradients (36); hence, blood should be more evenly distributed within the pulmonary system (25). Because of the headward shifting of fluid and abdominal content, lung and chest wall volumes are modified (20, 30), and redistribution of blood volume is presumed to increase central blood volume (29). Taking this increase into account, it also has been postulated that pulmonary diffusing capacity (DL) and pulmonary capillary blood volume (Vc) should increase (31). Because an increase in Vc might result in a rise of pulmonary microvascular pressure, it has been speculated that fluid filtration may rise (7), leading to a possible interstitial pulmonary fluid accumulation, an intriguing possibility. Prisk et al. (32) first reported microgravity data for cardiac output (Qc), DL, and Vc in four subjects during the 9-day Spacelab Life Sciences-1 (SLS-1) mission. They observed a sustained but moderate increase in DL, diffusing membrane capacity (Dm), and Vc but little variation in Qc.

In our previous study (19), partial data on lung mechanics were gathered by using a whole body plethysmograph during parabolic flights; we observed slight reductions in the lung compliance and in the residual volume during the 20 s of exposure to microgravity. These results are compatible with a rapid rise of pulmonary blood volume and, more specifically, of Vc.

The present paper reports the first measurements of DL, Dm, and Vc in 10 subjects at the onset of microgravity during parabolic trajectories of a plane.


METHODS

Subjects

Ten healthy male subjects participated in this study; nine of them were nonsmokers and one was a light smoker who refrained from smoking 2 days before flight. Their characteristics are given in Table 1. All subjects were volunteers and trained physiologists. They were accustomed to parabolic flights and were well trained to perform respiratory function tests.

Table 1. Descriptive statistics for the 10 subjects


Subject Age, yr Height, m Weight, kg VC, liters Hb, g/100 ml

CK 43 1.83 74 5.16 12.2
DR 42 1.76 65 4.72 13.9
DT 48 1.73 75 5.01 14.2
JCLP 53 1.64 62 3.94 14.1
JLL 34 1.65 65 4.25 13.6
JPC 55 1.77 82 4.40 13.5
MB 34 1.74 69 4.85 14.6
OB 45 1.80 80 4.73 13.8
PV 44 1.76 69 5.80 13.5
TG 30 1.66 66 4.59 14.3
Mean ±   SD 42.8 ± 8.2  1.73 ± 0.06  70.7 ± 6.8  4.75 ± 0.49  13.77 ± 0.63

VC, vital capacity (BTPS); Hb, hemoglobin concentration.

Experimental Protocol

DL and Vc were assessed at ground level [head-to-foot acceleration (1 Gz)], and during the 20 s of microgravity (0 Gz) that occurred in an aircraft flying on a parabolic trajectory. The study was conducted during two separate parabolic flight campaigns, performed in December 1993 and September 1994, on board the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES)/Délégation Générale à l' Armement Caravelle 234 aircraft. Flights were performed on 3 consecutive days. Each flight lasted 2.5-3 h and incorporated 30-35 parabolas. The flights were organized by CNES and Novespace (France) in Centre d'Essais en Vol, Brétigny-sur-Orge, France.

The same devices were used at ground level (1 Gz) and in flight (0 Gz). Subjects stood and breathed through a mouthpiece while wearing a noseclip. Footstraps and a saddle with a seat belt permitted them to keep a near-standing position during microgravity. Subjects took the same position during ground measurements.

DL, Dm, and Vc determination. The lung diffusing capacity for gas x (DLx) is related to Dm by the equation 1/DLx = 1/Dmx + 1/(theta x · Vc), where theta x is the specific blood transfer conductance for gas x. This equation, which expresses the equivalent resistance to two serial resistances, can usually be solved by measuring CO transfer successively at two different known values of theta  (1). Because theta  depends on alveolar PO2 (PAO2), conventionally these two values are obtained by breathing 21 and 90% oxygen fractions.

An alternative solution (4, 16, 22, 23, 26) is to simultaneously measure the transfer capacities for two different gases and to solve the set of two equations thus obtained. Nitric monoxide (NO) and CO gases reacting with hemoglobin can be used as test gases. DLCO and DLNO were determined simultaneously (4). The resulting two equations were 1/DLNO = 1/DmNO + 1/(theta NO · Vc) and 1/DLCO = 1/DmCO + 1/(theta CO · Vc). The rate of uptake of NO being extremely rapid (13), the ratio 1/(theta NO · Vc) can be reasonably ignored, and the equation for DLNO can be written as 1/DLNO = 1/DmNO.

The relationship between DmCO and DmNO is DmNO = a · DmCO, with a = (MWCO/MWNO)1/2 · (alpha NO/alpha CO), where MWCO and MWNO are the molecular weights of CO and NO (18 and 20, respectively); alpha CO and alpha NO are the solubility coefficients for CO and NO in plasma at 37°C (0.0215 and 0.0439 ml/100 ml, respectively; Bunsen coefficient) (13); and where coefficient a was calculated to be 1.97.

Hence, 1/DLNO = 1/DmNO = 1/(a · DmCO). The Dm and Vc are computed from these two equations
1/D<SC>l</SC><SUB>CO</SUB> = 1/Dm<SUB>CO</SUB> + 1/(&thgr;<SUB>CO</SUB> · Vc)
and
1/D<SC>l</SC><SUB>NO</SUB> = 1/(<IT>a</IT> · Dm<SUB>CO</SUB>)
Thus
Vc = 1/[&thgr;<SUB>CO</SUB> ⋅ (D<SC>l</SC><SUB>CO</SUB> − <IT>a</IT>/D<SC>l</SC><SUB>NO</SUB>)]
and
Dm<SUB>CO</SUB> = (1/<IT>a</IT>) · D<SC>l</SC><SUB>NO</SUB>
DLCO was corrected for barometric pressure (1) (see DISCUSSION); no correction was made for DLNO, which does not vary with PO2 (4). NO was used as the insoluble gas to assess alveolar volume (VA) (1).

To test altitude pressure effects on both DLCO and DLNO and their components, five of our ten subjects were also examined in a decompression chamber (Laboratoire de Médicine Aérospatiale, Brétigny-sur-Orge, France) at the aircraft barometric pressure (595 mmHg); the PO2 was the same as in the Caravelle aircraft, and the same correction for DLCO as we outlined for our in-flight measurements was performed (see DISCUSSION). Results are expressed in Table 2, and Fig. 1, and show no statistical differences between ground level and altitude measurements, either for altitude-adjusted DLCO or for DmCO, DLNO, and Vc.

Table 2. Data from gas-transfer measurements at normal barometric pressure (sea level) and at 595 mmHg


DLCO DLNO DmCO Vc

Sea 30.4 ± 3.6  174 ± 18  88.1 ± 9.1  66.6 ± 8.8 
Alt 30.9 ± 2.0  177 ± 11  89.8 ± 5.5  64.0 ± 3.2 
Alt-sea 0.5 ± 2.8  3.3 ± 13.7  1.7 ± 7.0   -2.6 ± 9.0 
%Change +2 +2 +2  -4
P NS NS NS NS

Values are means ± SD for 5 subjects. DLCO (corrected for barometric pressure) and DLNO, pulmonary diffusing capacity for CO and nitric oxide (NO), respectively, expressed in ml · min-1 · mmHg-1; DmCO, diffusing membrane capacity, in ml · min-1 · mmHg-1; Vc, pulmonary capillary blood volume, in ml; Alt, altitude; NS, not significant.


Fig. 1. Changes in pulmonary diffusing capacity for CO (DLCO; A) and nitric oxide (NO) (DLNO; B), in diffusing membrane capacity for CO (DmCO; C), and in pulmonary capillary blood volume (Vc; D) from ground level (GL) to altitude (ALT) for 5 subjects.
[View Larger Version of this Image (24K GIF file)]

The same protocol has been used to study DL and Vc after exercise (22, 23) or in patients with chronic obstructive lung disease (26).

Data collection. Data were collected by using a basic protocol similar to the single-breath CO transfer test (Morgan, UK) modified as follows. Gases were collected in two separate bags enclosed in a bag-in-box system, one for inhaled gas and the other for exhaled alveolar gas sampling. Volume variations in the box were measured with a dry 8-liter spirometer (Morgan). The spirometer was verified with a 3-liter calibration syringe (model 5530; Hans Rudolph, Kansas City, MO). We carefully checked that the displacement of the dry spirometer bellows was not affected by G variations between 0 and 1.8 Gz during flights. To avoid such a possible variation, the spirometer was positioned so that the displacement of the bellows was along the x axis of acceleration. CO and He concentrations were measured with Morgan analyzers; NO was measured with a chemiluminescence analyzer (Thermo-Electron, Waltham, MA), which is the current standard physical reference technique for measurement of low concentrations of NO and NOx (8).

The analyzers were calibrated during the 10-min horizontal flight period that preceded the first parabola after the cabin pressure had been stabilized [barometric pressure (PB) = 595 mmHg]. A check was performed at mid flight. We used three high-precision gas mixtures (Compagnie Française des Produits Oxygénés, Nantes, France); one tank was filled with 0.29% CO-9.8% He-21% O2 in N2, the second contained 10 parts/million (ppm) of NO in N2 for calibration purposes, and the third one 940 ppm NO in N2 for inhaled gas preparation.

A control test unit automatically positioned the breathing valves and allowed the subject to breathe from or into the appropriate bags. The system could be activated by the subject himself, but, in most cases, an operator helped the subject to perform the maneuvers. A gas mixture containing 8-14 ppm NO in 0.29% CO-9.8% He-21% O2 in N2 was prepared in the inspiration bag; this was obtained by adding ~100 ml of 940 ppm NO in N2 with a syringe filled from the third tank; the syringe was emptied at mid filling of the inspiration bag, which contained 5-7 liters from the first tank. This operation took ~30 s and began just after the previous alveolar gas sample had been analyzed. The inhaled gas was immediately analyzed for NO, CO, and He before the breathing maneuver.

Because of careful manual pressurization control, pressure did not vary by more than 5 mmHg during the parabolic trajectories; analysis of inhaled and alveolar gases was performed during the 2-min stabilized 1-Gz horizontal phase of flight between two parabolas (Fig. 2). Cabin PO2 during flight was 125 Torr; this was checked during the first flight and did not vary during parabolas due to stability of cabin pressure.
Fig. 2. Experimental procedure during 3 consecutive parabolas; Gz, vertical head-to-foot acceleration with G values. 1, Spirometer filling with gas mixture; 2, analysis of inspired gas; 3, single-breath maneuver; 4, expired gas analysis; 5, reset of system (inspiratory and expiratory bag emptying). Duration of the 1.8-G and 0-G legs is identical, ~20 s.
[View Larger Version of this Image (22K GIF file)]

Measurement procedures. DL was measured according to the American Thoracic Society (ATS) standardized single-breath technique (1), except for the apnea duration, which was reduced to 3 s and kept constant between 0 G and ground level. Breath-hold time is of critical importance, since a longer breath-hold time would cause a very small fraction of the NO in the alveolar gas to be analyzed, <1 ppm for 10 ppm in the inhaled gas. Because we used the ambient hypoxic air during flights, we corrected DLCO for this as assumed by ATS recommendations (1) (see DISCUSSION). The experiments were performed in near-standing position, with the subjects breathing through the mouthpiece at the beginning of the parabola. Ten seconds after the beginning of the 0-Gz phase (Fig. 2), the operator asked the subject to exhale to his residual volume, then the inspiratory valve was opened, permitting the rapid inhalation of a preestablished volume (90% of vital capacity). The mouthpiece valve closed, preventing exhalation during 3 s. Then the valve opened, and the subjects rapidly exhaled to their residual volume. During this expiration, after the wash-out of the first 900 ml, a 900-ml alveolar sample was collected. Gas concentration measurements were made during the next 1-Gz horizontal flight phase to avoid any flow fluctuation in the analyzers with Gz variations. At the end of this procedure, the true inspired volume and real breath-hold time, as determined by the control unit, were noted and taped on an eight-channel FM TEAC recorder. Breath-hold time included 70% of the inspiration time, apnea time, and 50% of the sample collection time (1). The gas-analysis procedure lasted ~2 min; breath-hold maneuver could, therefore, only be performed every three or four parabolas. Each subject performed three to four replicates; two or three subjects were studied during each flight.

Hemoglobin concentration had been measured on ground beforehand from arterialized blood microsamples with a CO-oximeter (2500 Corning).

Statistical Procedures

For each subject, mean values were compared between the two gravity levels, and a paired t-test was used to compare the mean values of the whole group between the two situations. A 95% confidence interval was used for comparison.


RESULTS

Figures 3, 4, 5, and 6 show the mean individual changes in DLCO, DmCO, DLNO, and Vc, respectively, from 1 Gz to 0 Gz for the 10 subjects.


Fig. 3. Changes in DLCO from 1 to 0 Gz for all 10 subjects.
[View Larger Version of this Image (19K GIF file)]


Fig. 4. Changes in DmCO from 1 to 0 Gz for all 10 subjects.
[View Larger Version of this Image (20K GIF file)]


Fig. 5. Changes in DLNO from 1 to 0 Gz for all 10 subjects.
[View Larger Version of this Image (20K GIF file)]


Fig. 6. Changes in Vc from 1 to 0 Gz for all 10 subjects.
[View Larger Version of this Image (17K GIF file)]

Table 3 shows the mean results for DL, DLCO/VA, VA, DLNO, DmCO, and Vc at 1 Gz and 0 Gz. Dispersions for individual results at 1 and 0 G are given in Tables 4 and 5; DL and its components were generally highly reproducible.

Table 3. Data from gas-transfer measurements at 1 G and during the short microgravity period (0 G) of a parabolic flight in the "0 G" Caravelle aircraft


DLCO DLCO/VA VA DLNO DmCO Vc

1 G 30.5 ± 3.8  5.37 ± 0.71  5.75 ± 0.83  171.7 ± 28.7  87.0 ± 14.6  67.7 ± 7.6 
0 G 49.5 ± 6.3  8.91 ± 1.30  5.64 ± 0.87  251.9 ± 42.7  127.6 ± 21.7  115.9 ± 12.4 
0 G-1 G 18.9 ± 5.9  3.54 ± 1.01   -0.12 ± 0.3  80.1 ± 29.8  40.6 ± 15.1  48.2 ± 14.7 
%Change +62 +66  -2 +47 +47 +71
P 0.001 0.001 NS 0.001 0.001 0.001

Values are means ± SD for all 10 subjects. DLCO, DmCO, and DLNO in ml · min-1 · mmHg-1; alveolar volume (VA) in liters; Vc in ml.

Table 4. Variation coefficients of VA, DLCO, DmCO, and Vc measurements at 1 Gz


Subject n Variation Coefficients (100 · SD/mean)
VA DLCO DmCO Vc

CK 5 2.2 10.8 4.1 14.9
DR 6 6.7 5.8 10.0 4.9
DT 3 5.8 5.5 4.4 6.0
JCLP 3 1.4 6.1 5.4 6.9
JLL 4 9.4 11.8 11.2 12.2
JPC 3 3.3 6.0 32.7 7.5
MB 3 4.4 2.5 3.4 5.4
OB 5 4.3 4.5 7.9 5.4
PV 7 7.3 5.9 7.5 8.0
TG 4 7.5 8.5 11.2 7.7
Mean 4.3 5.23 6.74 9.78 7.89

n, No. of measurements.

Table 5. Variation coefficients of VA, DLCO, DmCO, DLNO, and Vc measurements at 0 Gz


Subject n Variation Coefficients (100 · SD/mean)
VA DLCO DmCO DLNO Vc

CK 5 10.5 3.8 9.0 9.0 3.1
DR 9 5.7 9.3 10.6 10.6 11.4
DT 3 4.9 1.8 6.1 6.1 5.8
JCLP 4 2.6 3.4 4.8 4.8 3.8
JLL 2 1.4 3.1 4.1 4.1 9.0
JPC 3 2.4 3.5 10.7 10.7 9.0
MB 5 3.2 4.1 3.3 3.3 6.5
OB 6 2.8 5.8 6.5 6.5 10.8
PV 7 4.5 7.3 11.0 11.0 8.9
TG 6 13.9 14.4 17.0 17.0 12.9
Mean 5.0 5.2 5.65 8.3 8.3 8.1

n, No. of measurements.

DLCO was found to be significantly higher (P < 0.001) during microgravity in all the subjects compared with ground-based values (62%), with a range from 24 to 103%. Because VA exhibited no statistical differences between the microgravity and the ground, DLCO/VA was largely increased (66%) (P < 0.001). A smaller, but significant, increase (47%, with a range of 12-64%) was observed for Dm (P < 0.001); like Dm, DLNO was significantly higher (P < 0.001) during microgravity (47%); an increase in Vc was very large (P < 0.001) during microgravity (71%), from 21 to 70 ml (29-128%).


DISCUSSION

The main results obtained in this study, on the gas-exchange modifications occurring at the very onset of microgravity, are increases in DL, Dm, and Vc that were much larger than those observed during the steady microgravity conditions of the SLS-1 mission.

Our results were obtained with a method for DLCO determination that differed from the ATS recommendations, since our breath-hold time was shorter than the suggested 10 s. This choice was made because of the rapid NO blood uptake (see Measurement procedures). It has been shown in healthy subjects, that a breath-hold time of 3 s, instead of 10 s, does not introduce any difference in DLCO measurement (14, 26). This 3-s breath-hold time was kept constant between 0 G and ground level. There is a known logarithmic decrease of alveolar NO and CO concentration plotted as a function of breath-hold time from 4 to 10 s (4). It can be thought that NO may dissolve and react within the airway tissue, but NO, like CO, is relatively insoluble in water (at 37°C solubility is 0.0184 ml/ml for CO and 0.035 ml/ml for NO) (12). These solubilities should not be affected by microgravity.

On the ground, data were determined near sea-level mean pressure (altitude = 45 m or 150 feet), whereas in flight they were determined at cabin pressure, which was stable along the flight at 595 mmHg, with a total variation <5 mmHg. It has been shown (9, 21) that DLCO increases when PAO2 decreases. Gray et al. (15) showed that DLCO must be decreased by 0.3% for each Torr variation in PAO2 from 120 Torr. ATS recommendations are either to adjust to a standard PAO2 of 120 Torr or to make correction for inspired PO2 (PIO2) when PAO2 is not easily available. The corrected value is given by the following formula: altitude-adjusted DLCO = measured DLCO [1 + 0.0031 (PIO2 - 150)], with estimated PIO2 = 0.21 (PBZ-47), pressures being expressed in Torr. It was shown that the correction for PIO2 was accurate (15), and we chose this last procedure.

Moinard and Guénard (26) observed no differences in DLCO in 10 healthy subjects after a 3- or 9-s breath-hold time. They obtained similar values for Dm and Vc by using the NO-CO method and the two-step method, with the NO-CO method giving less scatter. As previously reported (4), DLNO was independent of the fractional concentration of inhaled oxygen, and no correction was made for DLNO.

NO is well known to induce a rapid dilation of pulmonary vessels and also to become oxidized into NO2. Hence, its use could alter DL. Borland and Higenbottam (4) tested mutual interference of DLCO and DLNO on five subjects, comparing measurements with CO and NO alone with measurements made simultaneously with a gas mixture containing both gases. They showed that the simultaneous presence of CO or NO in the gas mixture did not interact with the uptake of either CO or NO.

NO oxidation leads to NO2, which is very toxic for the lung; this reaction depends on PIO2, NO concentration, and contact duration between NO and O2. When NO is added to air at a concentration <40 ppm, the maximum NO2 concentration tolerated in the ambient air (5 ppm) is obtained after several hours. It is, therefore, reasonable to think that the 8-15 ppm of NO inhaled during four consecutive single-breath maneuvers had no toxic effects on the lung. Furthermore, Frostell et al. (10) failed to demonstrate any toxic effect after exposing lambs to 80 ppm NO for 3 h.

A recent clinical study performed during adult respiratory distress syndrome reported some effects of NO on pulmonary circulation and gas exchange (34). On the other hand, Moinard et al. (27) found that the addition of NO to hypoxemic patients with chronic obstructive lung disease had no circulatory effects 1 min later. Changes in pulmonary arterial pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance appear only 10 min after NO exposure, without any change in the distribution of alveolar ventilation or in lung perfusion. No effect of such small inhaled quantities of NO have yet been reported in normal subjects, and it has also been shown that there was no effect of NO on DLCO in the dog (24).

As noted by Prisk et al. (32), microgravity ground simulations showed varying results. Water immersion produced a large increase of DL/VA (58%) (3). A previous observation (17), in three sitting subjects immersed to the neck, reported a Vc increase of 47%. Immersion in cold water (25°C) and in warm water (40°C) produced an increase in Vc of ~49%, compared with immersion in thermally neutral water, and of ~118%, compared with standing position in room air (5). Effects of immersion are well known; Qc and stroke volume increase sharply (2), as do pulmonary arterial pressure and central blood volume. These modifications have been explained (11) by the shift of the blood from the periphery to the intrathoracic regions; with the immersion water acting as a hydrostatic counterpressure, a greater number of pulmonary capillaries are recruited.

During 6° head-down tilt (HDT), previous studies (28) showed only a moderate elevation in DL during the first 90 min, followed by a rapid return to pretilt values. Compared with the 60° head-up position (6), steeper HDT (>15°) leads to larger increases in Vc (40%) and Dm (43%). During prolonged HDT (10 days), there was a small reduction in DL due to the lung volume reduction; hence, an increase (33%) of DL/VA was observed (35).

From these studies, it can be concluded, as did Prisk et al. (32), that neither water immersion nor HDT are a good microgravity model for both gas exchange and lung circulation studies. HDT results in lung volume reduction and raises intravascular pressure in the thorax. Nevertheless, immersion in cold or warm water induces a large rise in Vc, comparable to that observed in this study (5).

The very large and similar increase in DL, Dm, and Vc suggests that all pulmonary capillaries are in zone 3 (37). It can be thought that, during short-term microgravity, all lung capillaries may be recruited. Because there are no longer any hydrostatic differences in vascular pressure, capillary filling should be more uniform. Moreover, a large increase could be expected in Qc, leading to capillary recruitment. Thus we can observe both full recruitment and full distension of the capillary vascular bed. Our observations are in agreement with the results obtained from Doppler evaluation of cardiac filling and ejection properties during parabolic flights: Johns et al. (18) observed a large increase in the venous return to right heart chambers for subjects in sitting position. Our first studies of Qc during parabolic flights (33), using thoracic electrical bioimpedance, confirm this large increase. In six men (age 38.7 ± 4.3 yr; height 1.75 ± 0.03 m; weight 71.2 ± 2.8 kg), we found a significant increase in Qc (8.3 ± 0.71 liters at 0 G vs. 6.43 ± 0.30 liters at 1 G, P < 0.05) and stroke volume (92.00 ± 9.35 ml at 0 G vs. 73.57 ± 4.21 ml at 1 G, P < 0.05). A Qc study, using both electrical bioimpedance and esophageal Doppler effect, is in progress.

We observed a larger increase in gas diffusion and Vc than during sustained microgravity; this could be explained by a time adaptation occurring during the first 24 h of microgravity (in fact, because of the occupational constraints during the SLS-1 mission, the first measurements were made only 24 h after the launch), by a marked increase of Qc during transient microgravity, or by both.

The 1.8-Gz acceleration level before the microgravity phase could have altered DL, Dm, or Vc. Nevertheless, there is no way available as yet to easily determine the influence of the 20-s hypergravity preceding the 0-Gz phase; hemiparabolas from 1 to 0 Gz would result in only 10 s of microgravity, and the flight engineer did not agree to try any.

A more detailed analysis of the individual results shows (but this has not been statistically validated) less change in DL, Dm, and Vc in two of our ten subjects. These subjects were the two oldest of our group (53 and 55 yr old), and their capillaries are possibly less compliant than those of the younger people. We did not find any correlation between variation during microgravity and the height of the subjects.

In summary, in this study of DL and its subdivisions, we report major modifications of gas exchange and the pulmonary capillary bed at the very onset of microgravity, compared with the 1-Gz standing position. DL, Dm, and Vc rose very quickly, since our measurements were made ~10 s after the beginning of microgravity. These data suggest, in conjunction with results obtained by Prisk et al. (32), that DL, Dm, and Vc increase sharply in the beginning and then decrease within the first 24 h of microgravity. It is also possible that the rapid transition from 1.8 to 0 Gz induces changes that are, as yet, undefined.


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We acknowledge the support from the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and the Conseil Régional d'Aquitaine (CRA). We acknowledge the dedicated collaboration of the crew of Caravelle 234, the director Henri Marotte, and the technicians of the Laboratoire de Médecine Aérospatiale at the Centre d'Essais en Vol, Brétigny-sur-Orge, France. We thank P. Winterton, who has reviewed the English version of the manuscript.


FOOTNOTES

   P. Vaïda was the recipient of Grants 94/0271 from the CNES and 93 03042 from CRA.

Address for reprint requests: P. Vaïda, Laboratoire de Physiologie, Médecine Aérospatiale, Université Bordeaux II, F 33076 Bordeaux cedex, France (E-mail: pierre.vaida{at}u-bordeaux2.fr).

Received 19 March 1996; accepted in final form 21 November 1996.


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