Stress Challenges and Immunity in Space - From Mechanisms to Monitoring and Preventive Strategies (Relié)

Stress of either a psychological or a physical nature can activate and/or paralyze humans' innate and adaptive immunity. However, adequate immunity is crucial to the maintenance of health on earth and in space. During space flight, human physiology and health are challenged by complex environmental stressors (such as confinement, lack of gravitation, oxygen tension, and cosmic radiation) which might be at their most pronounced during lunar or interplanetary missions.
This book adopts an interdisciplinary approach in seeking to identify the impact of living conditions in space on the adaptation of the immune system. While other publications have addressed the physiological changes that occur during space flight, to the authors' knowledge this is the first book to be directed specifically at analyzing the complex interaction of living conditions in space with stress-sensitive response systems, from the brain to the immune cell.
The possible mechanisms of interaction and the consequences for the astronauts' health are discussed. It is explained how such analysis of the consequences of stress for the immune system may help in preventing, diagnosing, and counteracting immune-related alterations in health in space as well as on earth.