Space Pharmacology [Paperback]

Space Pharmacology is a review of the current knowledge regarding the use of pharmaceuticals during spaceflights. It is a comprehensive review of the literature, addressing each area of pharmacokinetics and each major physiological system in turn. Every section begins with a topic overview, and is followed by a discussion of published data from spaceflight, and from ground experiments meant to model the spaceflight situation. Includes a discussion looking forward to the new medical challenges we are likely to face on longer duration exploration missions. This book is a snapshot of our current knowledge that also highlights areas of unknown.

Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: Absorption.- Chapter 3: Distribution.- Chapter 4: Metabolism and Excretion.- Chapter 5: Central Nervous System.- Chapter 6: Cardiovascular System.- Chapter 7: Gastrointestinal System.- Chapter 8: Musculoskeletal System.- Chapter 9: Multiple Systems Spaceflight Effects.- Chapter 10: Conclusions - Special Challenges of Long Duration Exploration.- References.- Abbreviations.

Dr. Virginia Wotring is a Senior Scientist in the Division of Space Life Sciences at Universities Space Research Association, and Pharmacology Discipline Lead at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Human Health and Countermeasures. She received her doctorate in Pharmacological and Physiological Sciences at Saint Louis University after earning a BS in Chemistry at Florida State University. She has extensive experience studying drug mechanisms of action, drug receptor structure/function relationships, and gene and protein expression.

In 2009, she began directing the NASA JSC Pharmacology Lab, whose mission is to ensure that medications used during spaceflight will act in a predictable, effective and safe manner. The spaceflight environment includes several unusual stressors for the body: microgravity, fluid shifting, increased radiation exposure, lack of circadian cues and others. Each of l“'