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Ionising radiation threatens dementia onset in space travellers

Space travel may accelerate Alzheimer’s
http://www.skynews.com.au/health/article.aspx?id=831812 January 1,
2013 Long journeys into deep space, including a mission to Mars, may
expose astronauts to levels of cosmic radiation harmful to the brain
and accelerate Alzheimer’s disease, US research has shown.

The NASA-funded study involved bombarding mice with varied radiation
doses, including levels comparable with what voyagers would experience
during a mission to Mars, and seeing how the animals managed to recall
objects or locations.

Mice 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 Centre 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.

While space is filled with radiation, Earth’s magnetic field generally
protects the planet and people in a low earth orbit from such
particles. But once astronauts leave orbit they are exposed to a
shower of various radiation.

Over the past 25 years, NASA has funded research to determine the
potential health risks of space travel, aiming to develop
counter-measures and determine whether or not the risks might imperil
extended manned missions to deep space.

Several previous studies have shown the potential cancer,
cardiovascular and musculoskeletal impact of galactic cosmic
radiation.

But the University of Rochester study examined the potential impact of
space radiation on neurodegeneration, and in particular the biological
processes in the brain that contribute to the development of
Alzheimer’s.

The brains of the mice also showed signs of vascular alterations and a
greater than normal accumulation of beta amyloid, the protein ‘plaque’
that accumulates in the brain and is one of the hallmarks of the
disease.

‘These findings clearly suggest that exposure to radiation in space
has the potential to accelerate the development of Alzheimer’s
disease,’ O’Banion said.

‘This is yet another factor that NASA, which is clearly concerned
about the health risks to its astronauts, will need to take into
account as it plans future missions.’

January 4, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, health