The risk of liver damage from long-term flight in the universe

The long journey to Mars may exceed the limits of liver tolerance in astronauts, even if they do not drink on board.

According to Space, mice spend less than two weeks in space in 2011 on STS-135, the last task of the space shuttle program of the US Space Agency (NASA) showing signs of getting sick. early liver when returning to Earth.

Space mice store more fat in the liver than ground-based mice, and exhibit changes in genes responsible for fat separation. In addition, astronauts have lower retinol levels . This is a form of vitamin A in animals, necessary to maintain good vision, bone growth and some important processes in the body.

All of these signs are evidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) , according to NASA researchers. Some mice even showed early signs of fibrosis, the development of scar tissue in the liver. Cirrhosis is likely to develop when scar tissue spreads and affects liver function.

Atlantis carried mice with signs of liver disease after spending 13.5 days in the universe.(Photo: NASA).

"Usually, it takes a few months to a few years for fibrosis to occur in mice, even if they have an unhealthy diet," said Karen Jonscher, lead author of the study, physicist. learned and an assistant professor of anesthesiology at the University of Colorado, USA, said. "If a mouse shows the initial signs of fibrosis without experiencing any changes in the diet after only 13.5 days, what will happen to humans?"

Currently, researchers cannot answer the question. The new finding published April 20 in the journal PLOS ONE is just an initial result and requires more general research.

"This problem is an open question. We need to find out whether mice are taking longer flights to see if the compensation mechanism contributes to protecting them from serious injury , " Jonscher said.

The answer from the research is important for NASA, because the agency is planning to take astronauts to Mars by the end of the 2030s. Time to red planet will last about 8-9 months if used. Using current thrust technology. Therefore, NASA is very interested in understanding and minimizing the impact of long-term flights on human physiology.

Some of the effects of astronauts exposed to weightless environments have been discovered by scientists including muscle atrophy, osteoporosis and decreased vision.