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Diet as a factor in behavioral radiation protection following exposure to heavy particlesMajor risks associated with radiation exposures on deep space missions include carcinogenesis due to heavy-particle exposure of cancer-prone tissues and performance decrements due to neurological damage produced by heavy particles. Because exposure to heavy particles can cause oxidative stress, it is possible that antioxidants can be used to mitigate these risks (and possibly some health risks of microgravity). To assess the capacity of antioxidant diets to mitigate the effects of exposure to heavy particles, rats were maintained on antioxidant diets containing 2% blueberry or strawberry extract or a control diet for 8 weeks prior to exposure to 1.5 or 2.0 Gy of accelerated iron particles at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Following irradiation rats were tested on a series of behavioral tasks: amphetamine-induced taste aversion learning, operant responding and spatial learning and memory. The results indicated that the performance of the irradiated rats maintained on the antioxidant diets was, in general, significantly better than that of the control animals, although the effectiveness of the diets ameliorating the radiation-induced deterioration in performance varied as a function of both the specific diet and the specific endpoint. In addition, animals fed antioxidant diets prior to exposure showed reduced heavy particle-induced tumorigenesis one year after exposure compared to the animals fed the control diet. These results suggest that antioxidant diets have the potential to serve as part of a system designed to provide protection to astronauts against the effects of heavy particles on exploratory missions outside the magnetic field of the earth.
Document ID
20050232136
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Rabin, Bernard M.
(University of Maryland Baltimore County Baltimore, MD 21250, United States)
Shukitt-Hale, Barbara
Joseph, James
Todd, Paul
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
June 1, 2005
Publication Information
Publication: Gravitational and space biology bulletin : publication of the American Society for Gravitational and Space Biology
Volume: 18
Issue: 2
ISSN: 1089-988X
Subject Category
Aerospace Medicine
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAG1-529
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAG9-1190
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
Non-NASA Center
NASA Discipline Radiation Health
Review, Tutorial
Review

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