Ready to spend 60 days in an inclined bed? Come and advance space research in Toulouse
To advance health research in space, MEDES is recruiting volunteers to carry out a clinical study in Toulouse. Between April and July 2023, the selected men will be bedridden for 60 days in a simulated microgravity condition. In return, they receive compensation of €18,000.
If you are curious and passionate about space, this ad may catch your attention. And if you are in good health, non-smoker, athletic, ready to spend 60 days in an inclined bed with cycling sessions in a centrifuge, to carry out regular examinations and samples, this call for applications is for you. The new volunteer recruitment campaign has just been carried out by the MEDES space clinic in Toulouse for its BRACE study at the request of the European Space Agency and CNES (1). The first part of the study will take place between next April and July.
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The main objective is to propose solutions to fight against the deleterious effects of weightlessness, because in space, the human body undergoes a loss of bone density, a reduction in muscle mass, a modification in the morphology of the eye or cardiovascular functions.
“With the upcoming lunar missions, the interest for our studies is to progress”
During studies, applied in Toulouse at the space clinic (on the Toulouse University Hospital site at the Rangueil hospital), doctors and researchers thus test “countermeasures” which can slow down or cancel out the effects of a stay in space. On the ground, to reproduce the effects of weightlessness (or microgravity) on the human body, they use the “Bedrest” model: volunteers are installed for 60 days in a bed inclined at -6° (the head is lower than the feet).
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The BRACE study will add exercises on a bicycle in a centrifuge for a third of the volunteers, another third will only cycle (always with the body lying down) and the last third simply remain bedridden (control group). “If the progressive centrifugation that we are going to test brings countermeasure effects, we could imagine proposing it during trips to the Moon or Mars, as we propose to astronauts to ride a bicycle in the Space Station. The interest of our “Research is all the more relaunched with the upcoming lunar missions: space agencies want to anticipate the needs of astronauts. Our clinical activity has been growing for ten years”, emphasizes Dr. Arnaud Beck, MEDES clinical research director. In total, 14 European scientific teams are involved in this study.
Selection criteria
To apply, you must be a man between 20 and 45 years old, in perfect health, non-smoker, practice a regular sports activity, have a body mass index between 20 and 27 kg/m² and have no allergies or food restriction.
The selection is done in several stages: two telephone interviews (verification of the selection criteria and understanding of the study), medical selection (at the clinic in Toulouse) then psychological selection and test with centrifuge (at the clinic in Toulouse) .
The study will last 88 days between April and July 2023.
Information and applications on the site www.medes.fr
Already many calls
In a few days more than 150 candidates have already revealed themselves. Is the announced compensation of €18,000 the cause? “It is part of the initial motivations, but once all the information has been received, the number of candidates decreases. In France, the law requires not to exceed €4,500 per year, so the €18,000 compensation is spread over 4 years, It changes things a bit. Reading the huge document for consent makes you aware of the constraints. But we always have motivated candidates and when they are not at all familiar with the space world, they get caught up in the game”, testifies Dr. Arnaud Beck, director of clinical research MEDES.