Pharmacological countermeasures to spaceflight-induced alterations of the immune system

Abstract

Human bioastronautic programs have grown during the last 50 years. Medical and physiological findings from these missions have demonstrated that spaceflight impacts almost all physiological systems, including bone demineralization and reduced immunological competence. These adaptive responses can affect crew health and performance. Indeed, about half of the astronauts encountered immune dysregulations during space travels. Developing efficient countermeasures to preserve the astronaut’s immune system is therefore a prerequisite before undertaking future long-duration space missions. In this chapter, we present promising pharmacological countermeasures to mitigate that risk.