RESULTS
For the first time during spaceflight, the bioavailability of a drug was studied. It was shown that
after a single dose of the drug in spaceflight conditions, the relative biological availability of
acetaminophen was significantly higher in the majority of flight test subjects than in baseline
studies. Research on liver function after ingestion of acetaminophen showed that spaceflight
conditions did not lead to disruption of liver function, therefore it was unlikely that a change in
the first-pass effect, which occurs in the liver, would be the key point in the change observed in
the pharmacokinetics of acetaminophen. It was also the first time a comparative study was
performed on the pharmacokinetics of tablet versus capsule forms of acetaminophen. It was
shown that the capsule form of acetaminophen was preferable to the tablet form when taken
for treatment purposes in spaceflight.
PUBLICATION(S)
Kovachevich IV, Kondratenko SN, Starodubtsev AK, Zolkina IV. Study of pharmacokinetics of
paracetamol in terms of the dynamics of its distribution in the blood and saliva of volunteers.
Applied Scientific Conference on Clinical Pharmacology in Russia; 2004;104.
Kovachevich IV, Goncharov IB, Repenkova LG. Particulars of pharmacokinetics of drugs during
spaceflights on the ISS. Rossiĭskii fiziologicheskiĭ zhurnal imeni I.M. Sechenova / Rossiĭskaia
akademiia nauk. 2004;90(8):335-336.
This investigation is complete and all results are published.