Long Trips to Space Linked to Possible Brain Damage

Five space travelers had elevated levels of proteins in the blood often seen in people with head trauma and neurodegenerative diseases. View in browser

Image credits: NASA Long Trips to Space Linked to Possible Brain Damage Five space travelers had elevated levels of proteins in the blood often seen in people with head trauma and neurodegenerative diseases. Will Sullivan, Staff Writer November 3, 2021                                                                                                                                                                                 (Inside Science) -- Over the past several years, scientists have published research suggesting that people's brains change after spending longer than a few months in space. These studies started because astronauts experienced issues like vision problems and swollen optic nerves upon returning to Earth after long missions. Researchers are now wondering whether these extended trips to space damage the brain. In a new study of five male cosmonauts (Russian astronauts), researchers looked at levels of different proteins in the blood that are often also seen in people with some sort of head trauma or brain disease. They found that on average, the cosmonauts had higher levels of some of the proteins in the three weeks following the mission than before... Read more Copyright 2021 American Institute of Physics. Inside Science syndicates its articles, columns, blogs and videos to news organizations. To initiate syndication, or request permission to republish our content (on a one-time or continuing basis), please contact Inside Science at insidescience@aip.org. News organizations seeking permission to republish Inside Science content must fully credit Inside Science as the original source of the content, include the author byline, and republish the original, unaltered form (excluding content titles, headlines, or sub-headlines). The reprint format can be seen here. Copyright conditions and usage terms are subject to change at any time without consent or any type of prior notice. To unsubscribe from all future mailings from Inside Science please click here. To manage your email subscriptions please click here.

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