Space travel can accelerate Alzheimer's
US: Long journeys into deep space, including a mission to Mars, could
expose astronauts to levels of cosmic radiation harmful to the brain and
accelerate Alzheimer's disease, said US research Monday.
The NASA-funded study involved bombarding mice with varied radiation
doses, including levels comparable to what voyagers would experience
during a mission to Mars, and seeing how the animals managed to recall
objects or locations.
Mice that were exposed to radiation were far more likely to fail
those tasks -- suggesting neurological impairment earlier than such
symptoms typically appear.
"Galactic cosmic radiation poses a significant threat to future
astronauts," said Michael O'Banion, a professor at the University of
Rochester Medical Center and senior author of the study published in
scientific journal Plos One. "This study shows for the first time that
exposure to radiation levels equivalent to a mission to Mars could
produce cognitive problems and speed up changes in the brain that are
associated with Alzheimer's disease." NASA is planning manned missions
to a distant asteroid in 2021 and to Mars in 2035. A round trip to the
Red Planet could take as long as three years.
AFP |