Precautions & Possible Therapeutic Approaches of Health Hazards of Astronauts in Microgravity (original) (raw)
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Development of countermeasures for medical problems encountered in space flight
Advances in Space Research, 1992
By the turn of this century, long-duration space missions, either in low Earth orbit or for got early planetary missions, will become commonplace. From the physiological standpoint, exposure to the weightless environment results in changes in body function, some of which are adaptive in nature and some of which can be life threatening. Important issues such as environmental health, radiation protection, physical deconditioning, and bone and muscle loss are of concern to life scientists and mission designers. Physical conditioning techniques such as exercise are not sufficient to protect future space travellers. A review of past experience with piloted missions has shown that gradual breakdown in bone and muscle tissue, together with fluid losses, despite a vigorous exercise regimen can ultimately lead to increased evidence of renal stones, musculoskeletal injuries, and bone fractures. Biological effects of radiation can, over long periods of time increase the risk of cancer development. Today, a vigorous program of study on the means to provide a complex exercise regimen to the antigravity muscles and skeleton is under study. Additional evaluation of artificial gravity as a mechanism to counteract bone and muscle deconditioning and cardiovascular asthenia is under study. New radiation methods are being developed. This paper will deal with the results of these studies.
Spaceflight Induced Disorders: Potential Nutritional Countermeasures
Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 2021
Space travel is an extreme experience even for the astronaut who has received extensive basic training in various fields, from aeronautics to engineering, from medicine to physics and biology. Microgravity puts a strain on members of space crews, both physically and mentally: short-term or long-term travel in orbit the International Space Station may have serious repercussions on the human body, which may undergo physiological changes affecting almost all organs and systems, particularly at the muscular, cardiovascular and bone compartments. This review aims to highlight recent studies describing damages of human body induced by the space environment for microgravity, and radiation. All novel conditions, to ally unknown to the Darwinian selection strategies on Earth, to which we should add the psychological stress that astronauts suffer due to the inevitable forced cohabitation in claustrophobic environments, the deprivation from their affections and the need to adapt to a new lifes...
Challenges for space medicine.
Challenges for space medicine., 2020
Since April 1961, when Yuri Gagarin first orbited the earth about 270 astronauts (predominantly males) have lived in space. More than 90 percent of these astronauts were natives of the USA and the ex-USSR. Space medicine has evolved considerably through past U.S. missions. It has been proven that humans can live and work in space for long durations and that humans are integral to mission success. The space medicine program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) looks toward future long-duration missions. Its goal is to overcome the biomedical challenges associated with maintaining the safety, health, and optimum performance of astronauts and cosmonauts. As space travel expands to include civilian populations in addition to trained astronauts, physicians and space medicine experts will need to collaborate to assess and mitigate risks to participants with preexisting medical conditions that may be exacerbated by microgravity. Standards are stricter for astronauts than for professional aviators. Exclusions are for conditions that; i) may cause acute incapacitation (e.g. coronary artery disease, renal stones, epilepsy), ii) may interact with the space environment or life support systems (e.g. bullous lung disease or asthma; incompatible with sub-aqua diving or spacewalks), and iii) are incompatible with a long duration deep space mission (e.g. may need to exclude stable chronic conditions requiring regular medication). Observations of astronauts travelling on the Space Shuttle and Russian cosmonauts' long-term visits to the Mir space station indicate that time spent in 0g has serious effects on bone and muscle physiology and the cardiovascular system. For instance, the return from 0g to 1g leads to an inability to maintain an appropriate blood pressure when in an upright position—orthostatic intolerance—and insufficient blood flow to the brain. Astronauts returning from orbit therefore have to rest for several minutes, and the time needed to normalize their blood pressure increases with the time spent in 0g. A human journey to Mars, at first glance, offers an inexhaustible amount of complexities. To bring a mission to the Red Planet from fiction to fact, NASA’s Human Research Program has organized hazards astronauts will encounter on a continual basis into five classifications. Radiation, Isolation and confinement, Distance from Earth, Gravity (or lack thereof) and Hostile/closed environments. In space, just like on Earth, medicine is of ultimate importance, and health professionals play a key role in enabling humanity to put its first footstep on the red planet. The collective action of humans in achieving travel between Earth and space has taught scientists and physicians about the impact of microgravity on human health. Very quickly bone loss, muscle atrophy, and radiation exposure were recognized as significant risks in space flight, and many steps have been taken to counteract these effect Understanding and evaluating the physiological effects of radiation and gravity require not only experiments on Earth but also extensive research on the ISS with an adequate number of animals and/or human subjects. Space travel has always been a unique exercise of combining the best of human potential to conquer incredibly complex challenges. NASA offers several warnings for people who are preparing for space travel, based on what researchers know about the human body in space. A lack of gravity doesn’t only cause bone and muscle loss, but transitioning to different gravity fields can also affect spatial orientation, head-eye and hand-eye coordination, balance and locomotion. It can even cause motion sickness. While astronauts are in space, their bodies adapt to the new environment in ways that are often pathologic. Bone demineralization, cardiovascular dysfunction, and muscular atrophy are a few of the many physiologic responses to the pathologic microgravity environment. Radiation exposure is another major hazard for astronauts. All of the above issues are exaggerated when considering a mission such as travelling to Mars. While a great number of health challenges have been identified in space travel, constant technological advances are bringing humanity closer to its first interplanetary journey. One of the first things that astronauts complain about is nausea or vomiting, This effect of the lack of gravity on the sensitive inner ear affects balance, co-ordination and spatial orientation. A lot of the body’s systems depend upon gravity to keep them conditioned, in some experiments with rats, they’ve seen up to a third of muscle from particular muscle groups being lost within seven to 10 days of flight – that’s a huge, huge loss. This also includes deterioration of heart muscle. And while it is not a problem when you are floating around in the International Space Station (ISS), it’s a mission-critical issue if you plan to land on Mars and your crew arrives, 200 million kilometres from home, unable to walk. There is growing evidence that spaceflight has a detrimental effect on the immune system. A NASA study found that the white blood cells of fruit flies flown in orbit were less effective at engulfing invading microorganisms and fighting infection than those of genetically identical flies on the ground. The main danger for human travellers is the presence of the aforementioned the presence of high-energy, ionizing cosmic ray (HZE) , because of the ionizing effect that they exert on atoms or molecules. Although they do not reach the Earth's surface because they are either absorbed by the atmosphere or deflected by Earth's magnetic field, there are already some experimental data on the cancer-inducing properties of electrons, neutrons and protons in cosmic rays and other potential deleterious effects on biological material from numerous Earth-based experiments on laboratory animals. In addition, studies of the effects of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan in 1945 pro-vided further data about the health dangers of radiation and high-energy nuclei. So, how can we satisfy our curiosity about the Solar System and beyond, and continue to investigate the nearest planets in more detail? There are three possible solutions. The first, and most obvious, is to use unmanned spacecraft to investigate the planets' surface and to land, for example, on Mars or Europa—one of Jupiter's moons—and return samples to Earth. This might very well be done within the next 10 years. While most astronaut training occurs within agencies, there are specific companies and institutions that work with both military and civilian pilots and space travelers to get them ready for space. Space continues to fascinate and excite humankind. But the costs of space exploration are incredibly high, making it difficult for NASA to secure funding as budget restraint dominates government discussions. As noted by Time, however, the benefits are also substantial; exploration “is in effect a cultural conversation on the nature and meaning of human life.”
Frontiers in physiology, 2024
Space has always fascinated people. Many years have passed since the first spaceflight, and in addition to the enormous technological progress, the level of understanding of human physiology in space is also increasing. The presented paper aims to summarize the recent research findings on the influence of the space environment (microgravity, pressure differences, cosmic radiation, etc.) on the human body systems during short-term and long-term space missions. The review also presents the biggest challenges and problems that must be solved in order to extend safely the time of human stay in space. In the era of increasing engineering capabilities, plans to colonize other planets, and the growing interest in commercial space flights, the most topical issues of modern medicine seems to be understanding the effects of long-term stay in space, and finding solutions to minimize the harmful effects of the space environment on the human body.
Ergonomic Challenges for Astronauts during Space Travel and the Need for Space Medicine
Journal of Ergonomics, 2017
Engaging in and enduring space travel renders the human body exposed to a wide variety of acute and chronic stimuli which may necessitate pharmacological intervention. Such ergonomic challenges have led to coping and mitigation strategies and from the pioneering days of space travel in the 1950s to the current day, medications have been available on demand and proven successful in the treatment of conditions such as motion sickness, diarrhea and depression. Longer term space travel within and beyond the Solar system will require both a more detailed understanding of human tolerance to living in ergonomically challenging environment in space and new methods to manage and maintain the effectiveness of medicines to provide adequate and complete healthcare for astronauts.
Human Health and Performance for Long-Duration Spaceflight
Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, 2008
Future long-duration spacefl ights are now being planned to the Moon and Mars as a part of the " Vision for Space Exploration " program initiated by NASA in 2004. This report describes the design reference missions for the International Space Station, Lunar Base, and eventually a Mars Expedition. There is a need to develop more stringent prefl ight medical screening for crewmembers to minimize risk factors for diseases which cannot be effectively treated in fl ight. Since funding for space life sciences research and development has been eliminated to fund program development, these missions will be enabled by countermeasures much like those currently in use aboard the International Space Station. Artifi cial gravity using centrifugation in a rotating spacecraft has been suggested repeatedly as a " universal countermeasure " against deconditioning in microgravity and could be an option if other countermeasures are found to be ineffective. However, the greatest medical unknown in interplanetary fl ight may be the effects of radiation exposure. In addition, a Mars expedition would lead to a far greater level of isolation and psychological stress than any space mission attempted previously; because of this, psychiatric decompensation remains a risk. Historically, mortality and morbidity related to illness and injury have accounted for more failures and delays in new exploration than have defective transportation systems. The medical care system on a future Mars expedition will need to be autonomous and self-suffi cient due to the extremely long separation from defi nitive medical care. This capability could be expanded by the presence of a physician in the crew and including simple, low-technology surgical capability.
The physiological effects of human spaceflight
Space travel affects all human physiological systems and nearly all travellers. The main threats include muscular atrophy, radiation, and osteoporosis; the latter two of which, plus sleep and behavioural disturbance, being serious enough to threaten mission viability. Although the lowest energy form of space radiation is relatively harmless, beyond near-Earth-space the remaining two of the three forms are dangerous, while the most powerful type can penetrate any known material and destroy cells. Current shielding materials may increase the danger to human tissues, and in any case adds impractical extra launch weight. Thus, with effective shielding being essentially impossible, deep-space astronauts would suffer possibly-severe tissue damage and cancers over extended periods. Since radiation damage is cumulative, there is also a clear relationship between mission duration and extent of cell death including brain cells. Even low-energy radiation affects the nervous system, impeding cognitive function, and otherwise causes uncomfortable conditions leading to injury and disease. Bone demineralisation and related effects are another serious consequence of microgravity. The rate of bone loss is 1-2 percent per month, although 24% has been observed in animals; the mechanisms may involve the 3D shape of protein enzymes which vary depending on force. It is unknown whether the rate of bone loss is constant. Post-flight recovery time exceeds the flight period by at least a factor of 10, and astronauts may never fully recover. Microgravity also causes skeletal-and cardiac-muscle weakening, whereby muscles lose up to 30% of mass and 50% of strength, with long term recovery prospects unknown. The space environment suppresses astronauts' immunity, reactivating latent viruses. Likely factors include radiation and stress. The stress of confinement – even brief periods – causes numerous secondary effects including mood disorders that have been shown to impact mission performance. The greatest source of stress may be one's own colleagues from whom there can be no possibility of respite. The space environment also affects sleep, which seriously impacts health as well. The true extent and nature of synergistic combinations is virtually unstudied and unknown, although one clear example is space appendicitis. Even the few realistic mitigation options would have at best a mild and temporary effect of no real consequence. Thus, given current and realistically foreseeable spacecraft technologies, the chances of landing on Mars a crew capable of performing complex intellectual or physical work are virtually nil.
Space medicine--a review of current concepts
The Western journal of medicine, 1987
Space medicine deals with the branch of research involved with the adaptation of humans to the unique environment of space. More than 100 people have traveled in space. The day will come when some human beings will spend all their time in space. Medical problems encountered in space, such as motion sickness, negative nitrogen and calcium balance, anemia and radiation exposure, are issues that already affect medical practice outside aerospace medicine.
The anaesthetic management of microgravity-exposed individuals
Southern African Journal of Anaesthesia and Analgesia, 2013
Mankind's imminent occupation of low Earth orbit beyond that of a scientific outpost and daring engineering nature that will land astronauts on Mars, will pose significant challenges to anaesthesia providers. The increased number of space tourists and workers who spend extended periods in zero gravity will present with surgical disease, either in orbit or shortly after return to Earth. A thorough understanding of the physiological changes to which these individuals are susceptible, as well as the effects of anaesthetic agents on this relatively unknown population, is warranted. By actively participating and informing ourselves of the future of space medicine, we will lay the groundwork for an entirely new field of medicine. This article provides a succinct overview of some of these physiological challenges and casts light on some of the anaesthetic and surgical concerns pertaining to space flight. It aims to pique the interest of the reader at a time when privatisation of the space race and space tourism by British and American entrepreneurs is providing new frontiers for anaesthetic science to explore.