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According to one study, spending long periods in space not only leads to muscle atrophy and a reduction in bone density, but also to lasting effects on the brain.
The study is led by a team of neuroscientists from the University of Antwerp. in Belgium and the Ludwig-Maximilians University (LMU) in Munich, have shown that differential changes in the three major brain tissue volumes remain detectable for at least six months after the end of their last mission.
"Our results indicate prolonged changes in the configuration of cerebrospinal fluid circulation at least seven months after return to Earth," said Professor Peter zu Eulenburg of the LMU.
"However, whether or not significant changes in gray matter and white matter lead to changes in cognition that remain uncertain at the present time," he added.
The study, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, was conducted on ten cosmonauts, each of whom had spent an average of 189 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) examinations in the days following return to Earth revealed that gray matter volume was reduced compared to pre-launch.
Seven months later, this effect was partly reversed, but still detectable.
In contrast, the volume of cerebrospinal fluid, which fills the internal and external cavities of the brain, increased in the cortex during prolonged exposure to microgravity.
In addition, the tissue volume of the white matter (parts of the brain composed mainly of nerve fibers) seemed to have remained unchanged during the survey conducted immediately after the landing.
Six months later, the subsequent review showed a generalized reduction in volume compared with the two previous measurements.
In this case, the team postulated that during a long pbadage through space, the volume of the white matter could be slowly replaced. by an influx of cerebrospinal fluid.
Upon return to Earth, this process is then reversed, resulting in a relative reduction in the volume of white matter.
According to the researchers, new studies using a wider range of diagnostics methods are considered essential to minimize the risks badociated with long-term missions and to characterize any clinical significance of the findings.
– IANS
vc / ksk
(This story was not edited by Business Standard staff and is generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)
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