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	SPACE AGING

November 13, 1998
		What was accomplished during this space flight? Andrew Monjan, top neurologist at the government-run National Institute of Aging, answers your questions.

Nov. 5, 1998:
A brief excerpt from a news conference in space by John Glenn.

Nov. 5, 1998:
Words on John Glenn from poet Robert Pinksy.

Oct. 29, 1998:
The science of John Glenn's mission.

Oct. 28, 1998:
John Glenn returns to space aboard the shuttle Discovery.

Oct. 28, 1998:
Phil Ponce looks at the Glenn flight from an historical perspective.

March 6, 1998:
NASA scientist Alan Binder discusses the new discovery of water on the moon.

Feb. 27, 1998:
Is the universe is evolving more rapidly now than it has in the past?

Jan. 16, 1998:
Details of Senator John Glenn's planned trip back into orbit at age 77.

Oct. 15, 1997:
NASA begins its seven year mission to explore Saturn.

Oct. 2, 1997:
Forty years after Sputnik first circled the Earth, historians examine its impact.

Sept. 30, 1997:
An interview with Mir astronauts.

Browse the NewsHour's coverage of Science

National Institute on Aging

Aging Research Center

NASA Homepage

E Koronet of Maryland asks :

After watching your segment this evening showing bone density loss and other effects of aging, I wonder what effect this trip is expected to have on John Glenn's body. The talk has all been about how he's participating in experiments and contributing to studies, but no-one has talked about the risks he's taking. Is he likely to have a body that is many earth-years older when he returns?

Andrew Monjan responds:

Space flight, as with other aspects of life such as driving the rush hour Beltways, has some risk. However, the risks in these flights have been carefully considered and minimized. As a research subject, Senator Glenn is well aware of the additional risks that he might be facing on this mission. He has discussed the possible adverse interactions between aging and space flight with many experts. It is not expected that he will suffer any permanent or long-term consequences, if at all. But his is a mission of discovery, and all care has been taken that all will go well.
Although there are changes in a number of body systems in space flight that are similar to those that occur with aging, studies such as those on STS-95 are necessary to tell us whether the underlying processes are the same. In all of the studies done so far, these flight-induced changes are reversible, something that we have not yet been able to do with aging. The fact that these changes, such as losses of bone and muscle mass, are accelerated during space flight is not the same as aging of the body.
Alicia Casas of Tahlequah, OK asks :

I do not begrudge Sen. Glenn's opportunity to fly again. I do resent the enormous effort to justify this privilege as primarily a scientific endeavor that will benefit all of us. Glenn's physiology is unlikely to resemble that of the average American male; much less that of post-menopausal women suffering from osteoporosis. The decision is obviously multi-determined and serves the interests of Glenn, NASA, the democratic party, Mr. Clinton, etc.
Please Comment.

Andrew Monjan responds:

There were a total of 83 experiments on STS-95. Eight of them were life-science experiments with human subjects, and Senator Glenn was a subject for all of them. Three of these studies (in-flight Holter monitoring of heart rate, changes in blood pressure function during entry, landing, and egress, and cardiovascular responses to standing before and after space flight) were designed to take advantage of an older astronaut being available. The other in-flight studies had been planned before the Senator's incorporation into the flight. He also participated in the successful completion of a number of the other experiments in his role as a Payload Specialist.
The fact that Senator Glenn is in better health than the "average" American male is an important consideration in these studies. If we want to investigate the role of "aging" in the physiological changes over time, rather the confounding effects of co-morbidities (diseases) and ill health, then we need to study those individuals who are "optimally" aged. Otherwise, we could be looking at the effects of disease rather than age.
The fact that 77 year-old Senator Glenn was selected as a Payload Specialist, however that decision was made, should be looked upon as an unique opportunity that might open up space for further studies relevant to the problems of aging. Science progresses primarily by small steps and not by giant leaps.
Bruce C. Daniels of Running Springs, CA asks :

How does the independent science and medical community regard the relative importance of these experiments at the cost of $1 billion, as opposed to other forms of research (AIDS, cancer, etc)?
Andrew Monjan responds:

There are as many differences of opinion in the scientific and medical communities as there are in any other groups of people. Furthermore, these groups all have strong proponents for one type of research over another, and how we should be spending the publics' tax moneys.
What is clear, however, is that we have not yet been able to successfully predict where the next breakthroughs will come from as a result of our support of research. Let us remember that this flight, STS-95, was an international effort with support by the European, Japanese, and Canadian space agencies, in addition to NASA. Furthermore, there were a total of 83 experiments and projects that included commercial as well as government support. Only eight of the experiments involved human life-sciences studies. The others ranged from crystallography to astrophysics.
Glenn Stahl of Woodbury, NJ asks :

I was wondering what known observational differences makes it easier to detect the aging process in space vs. a gravitational field?
Andrew Monjan responds:

Clearly, a major difference between space and earth is the loss of gravity in space. This absence has a profound effect upon several body systems, especially bone, muscle, and cardiovascular. Other less obvious conditions of space flight, such as the stress, altered circadian cues, and radiation, appear to also affect the body's physiology. A number of these changes that occur over weeks are similar to those changes that occur with age over a period of years on earth.
Whether underlying processes are the same or different needs to be determined through research. However, it is possible that we can utilize this "acceleration" in space to study these changes over a short time period and determine not only the mechanisms of change, but also how the body adapts in space and readapts on earth. Further, any therapeutic interventions developed by NASA to deal with these problems in space could have significant therapeutic potentials to deal with similar problems on Earth.
P. Houlding of Livermore, LA asks :

Who designed the medical experiments which will be performed on Glenn? Are there similar tests being done on anyone else in his age group here on earth? How will any changes found be evaluated?
Andrew Monjan responds:

Primarily, NASA scientists designed the medical experiments, often with input from other medical researchers. They were designed to generate data that could be compared to those obtained from other astronauts on this and earlier flights.
The protocol for the Sleep experiment was the same that was used on the Neurolab (STS-90) mission flown this April; that study was designed by a sleep researcher at Harvard Medical School. One of the pre- and post-flight ground studies, Post-flight Recover of Postural Equilibrium Control, also will have a comparison group of 280 volunteers spanning seven decades of life (20 to 80 years of age) to determine (a) how age affects this measure, and (b) how astronauts of similar ages and health compare to earth-bound subjects.
Although Senator Glenn is the only 77-year-old astronaut, his data can be compared against three data sets: (a) other astronauts on this and previous flights, (b) his own medical records to see whether there are any changes in the trajectories of measures, and (c) other comparably aged and healthy individuals with similar measures. We then will determine whether the Senator's measures fall within or outside of the expected values. This will allow us to generate new questions (hypotheses) for further more systematic research here on earth or in space as the opportunities develop.

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