Astronauts could be left struggling to launch their rockets after coming back to Earth.
Researchers found that cosmic radiation and weightlessness might leave spacemen with erectile dysfunction for the rest of their lives.
Boffins say that erectile problems were induced primarily through increases in oxidative stress and that treatment with different antioxidants could counter some of these effects. The team from Florida State University set out to see whether space travel can negatively affect vascular tissues relevant to the condition.
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Author Dr Justin La Favor said negative impacts of galactic cosmic radiation were long-lasting but that erectile dysfunction may be treatable.
He said: “With manned missions to the Moon and Mars planned for the coming years, this work indicates that sexual health should be closely monitored in astronauts upon their return to Earth.”
The team took 86 rats and exposed them to four weeks of weight-bearing control and cosmic radiation simulation at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory.
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After 12-13 months of recovery they were then examined to see what damage was still evident.
Dr La Favor added: “The four-week intervention was designed to mimic the environment astronauts would face in an exploratory mission to the Moon or Mars.
“These findings indicate that simulated spaceflight exerts a long-term impairment of neurovascular erectile function, which exposes a new health risk to consider with deep space exploration.
“Collectively, these results suggest that neurovascular function of the erectile tissues
may be impaired throughout the remainder of the astronauts’ sexual health span following return to Earth from prolonged deep space exploration.”
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