Long-term dry immersion: review and prospects

• Published in: European journal of applied physiology Vol. 111; no. 7; pp. 1235 - 1260
• Main Authors: Navasiolava, Nastassia M., Custaud, Marc-Antoine, Tomilovskaya, Elena S., Larina, Irina M., Mano, Tadaaki, Gauquelin-Koch, Guillemette, Gharib, Claude, Kozlovskaya, Inesa B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.07.2011; Springer Nature B.V; Springer Verlag
• Subjects: Bed Rest; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Head-Down Tilt - physiology; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Human Physiology; Humans; Immersion - physiopathology; Life Sciences; Medical research; Models, Biological; Occupational Medicine/Industrial Medicine; Physiology; Review Article; Space Flight; Sports Medicine; Weightlessness; Weightlessness Simulation - history; Weightlessness Simulation - methods; Weightlessness Simulation - trends; France; Russia; Countermeasures; Muscle deconditioning; Microgravity simulation; Cardiovascular deconditioning; Water-electrolyte balance; Bed Rest; Humans; Weightlessness Simulation/history/methods/trends; 21st Century; Models; 20th Century; Biological; Weightlessness; Head-Down Tilt/physiology; History; Immersion/physiopathology; Space Flight
• ISSN: 1439-6319; 1439-6327; 1439-6327
• DOI: 10.1007/s00421-010-1750-x

Dry immersion, which is a ground-based model of prolonged conditions of microgravity, is widely used in Russia but is less well known elsewhere. Dry immersion involves immersing the subject in thermoneutral water covered with an elastic waterproof fabric. As a result, the immersed subject, who is freely suspended in the water mass, remains dry. For a relatively short duration, the model can faithfully reproduce most physiological effects of actual microgravity, including centralization of body fluids, support unloading, and hypokinesia. Unlike bed rest, dry immersion provides a unique opportunity to study the physiological effects of the lack of a supporting structure for the body (a phenomenon we call ‘supportlessness’). In this review, we attempt to provide a detailed description of dry immersion. The main sections of the paper discuss the changes induced by long-term dry immersion in the neuromuscular and sensorimotor systems, fluid–electrolyte regulation, the cardiovascular system, metabolism, blood and immunity, respiration, and thermoregulation. The long-term effects of dry immersion are compared with those of bed rest and actual space flight. The actual and potential uses of dry immersion are discussed in the context of fundamental studies and applications for medical support during space flight and terrestrial health care.