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Space travel has allowed a man to walk on the moon, water discovered on Mars and investments to colonize parts of space.
But to make it a reality for the mbades, scientists must find a way to overcome a common phenomenon experienced by astronauts: fainting and dizziness once they return to Earth.
RELATED: HOW ARE ASTRONAUTS RESPONSIBLE IN SPACE?
Fainting is part of the life of astronauts
For almost fifty years, astronauts who spend a lot of time in space faint when they come down. The longer the time spent in a non-gravity environment, the greater the risk.
Researchers led by Benjamin Levine, MD, professor of exercise science at the UT Southwestern Medical Center and director of the Texas Health and Environmental Exercise and Medicine Institute Dallas Presbyterian Hospital, discovered that they could overcome fainting spells if the astronauts were exercising when they were in space.
Known as Orthostatic hypotension in the medical world, it occurs when the blood pressure drops temporarily when a person gets up after sitting or lying down. Blood rushes out of the brain, causing vertigo and / or fainting. This can happen to people with health problems and to astronauts who live in a low-gravity environment for an extended period of time.
Exercise in the space keeps control over Fainiting
The study, published in the journal of the American Heart Association circulation followed twelve astronauts who spent about six months in space. The group consisted of eight men and four women aged 43 to 56 years. Each of them performed up to two hours a day of endurance training and weight training during a space flight.
The goal was to prevent deconditioning of the cardiovascular system, bones and muscle tone. On landing, the astronauts received an infusion of saline solution. The researchers, who monitored astronauts' heartbeats 24 hours before, during and after their return from space, found that blood pressure had little impact during all the different phases. None of the astronauts fainted or felt dizzy 24 hours after landing.
Works to be applied to non-astronauts
"What surprised me the most is how well the astronauts behaved after spending six months in space, I thought the fainting episodes would be common." on their return to Earth, but they did not have any.This is convincing evidence of the effectiveness of the countermeasures – exercise program and fluid replenishment, "said Levine in a press release announcing the results of the study. He noted that this was the first study to show that astronauts would not feel dizzy or unconscious during their routine activities when they landed.
The researchers said more work needed to be done given the small size of the sample. They hope to study a large number of astronauts and observe those who spend more than six months in space. They also hope to apply their results to non-astronauts. The researchers discovered that the exercise program designed by the laboratory for astronauts helped people with fainting called postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). "As we prepare to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing, it is exciting to think about how our exploration in and in space can lead to d & # 39; important medical advances here on Earth, "said Levine.
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