Astronauts at risk of impotence after returning from space – study
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They concluded that galactic cosmic radiation and microgravity (to a lesser extent) can impair erectile tissue function, with effects that can last for decades.
Meanwhile, erectile dysfunction is treatable, and certain antioxidants may help, noted Florida State University neurovascular dysfunction expert and senior study author Justin LaFavore.
Read also: “Kobzar” and dinosaur bones were there. What do you know about human activities in space? TEST
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| Photo: fStop Images – Caspar Benson/GettyImages |
Scientists from the University of Florida and Wake Forest University in North Carolina wanted to evaluate the effects of galactic radiation and weightlessness on men’s sexual health. After all, the influence of space flights on potency has not yet been investigated.
“Although erectile dysfunction affects more than half of men over the age of 40 and is an important factor in life satisfaction, the effects of space travel on erectile function are still unclear.”– scientists write in the Faseb magazine.
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In a series of experiments, scientists suspended rats at a 30-degree angle and exposed them to simulated galactic cosmic radiation at NASA’s Cosmic Radiation Laboratory in New York.
Analysis of rat tissues a year later showed that even a small amount of exposure to galactic cosmic rays increased oxidative stress in the animals.
This impaired the function of the artery that supplies blood to the penis and the erectile tissue. Weightlessness also had an effect, but not as noticeable.
“Taken together, these results suggest that the neurovascular function of erectile tissue may be impaired for the remainder of the sexual health of astronauts after returning to Earth from long-term deep space exploration.”– write the authors of the study.
The study comes amid heightened attention to deep space missions as NASA and other major space agencies prepare for long-duration expeditions to the Moon and Mars.
NASA’s Artemis program is slated to send astronauts to the moon next year, and manned missions to Mars are tentatively scheduled for 2040.
Now scientists have called for careful monitoring of the sexual health of astronauts after returning from future missions to deep space.
Read also: Spider venom – the new Viagra? Scientists are investigating an unusual way to treat impotence
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