Current Areas of Space-Related Health Research Role of oxidative stress in –Cancer –Cataracts Bone loss –Vitamin D, calcium, vitamin K –Non weight-bearing.

Current Areas of Space-Related Health Research

• Role of oxidative stress in– Cancer– Cataracts

• Bone loss– Vitamin D, calcium, vitamin K– Non weight-bearing exercise to sustain bone

health• Melatonin and sleep cycle regulation

Presenter: Paul M. Coates

Agency/Organization: NIH Office of Dietary Supplements

Promising Areas for Space-Related Health Research Collaborations

• Dose-response studies of vitamin D and calcium in maintaining bone health

• Mechanisms to protect against free radical damage to lens proteins

Existing Resources to Facilitate Space-Related Health Research

• NIH Botanical Research Centers Program– Purdue University-University of Alabama at Birmingham

• Project: Polyphenols, singlet oxygen and protein damage in the eye (Stephen Barnes, Ph.D. and Om Srivastava, Ph.D.)

The ICR/f rat - model for lens cataractsSprague-Dawley Rat

ICR/f Rat

A colony of ICR/f rats has been established at UAB

Lens cataracts in ICR/f rats

Nuclear, matureCortical, early Cortical, mature