For the millions of people suffering from asthma around the world, pioneering research in orbit is opening new ways to understand what goes wrong in patients with airway inflammation. The results are helping to develop quick lung tests for an improved quality of life – both on Earth and in space.
With each lungful of air, our bodies absorb oxygen and exhale waste-product molecules. In people with asthma, inflammation in the lung adds nitric oxide to exhaled air. Doctors measure the amount of nitric oxide exhaled by patients to diagnose inflamed lungs and asthma.
Up on the International Space Station, astronauts are breathing for the sake of science. The Airway Monitoring experiment looks at the amount of nitric oxide expelled by the space travellers in a microgravity environment.
They breathe into a specially-developed mask at normal pressure and in the Quest airlock – the module installed to allow astronauts to venture outside on spacewalks. There, the pressure is reduced by 30% – the equivalent to being at 3000 m altitude on Earth or in future habitats on Mars.
“We had to design new hardware and break new grounds. This is the first ever human physiology experiment conducted at reduced pressure on the Space Station,” explains Lars Karlsson, lead investigator from the Karolinska Institutet of Sweden.
A total of eight astronauts have helped to collect data on their lungs for this experiment. The latest ESA astronaut to travel to space, Paolo Nespoli, will also take part. The aim is to investigate possible airway inflammation and act before it becomes a health problem.
“In the future, drugs could be designed based on exhaled nitric oxide measurements to treat inflamed airways and lungs.”
Better clinical tools
“Our experiment will help us gain further knowledge on the use of nitric oxide as a biomarker for airway inflammation. This could improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients on Earth,” adds Karlsson.
The device that measures the nitric oxide exhaled by the astronauts is lightweight, easy-to-use and accurate. The same instrument is today used in clinics and hospitals, helping asthmatics and offering a quick and cheap way to diagnose lung problems around the world. It was developed in close collaboration between med-tech industry and the researchers at Karolinska Institutet.
In a similar collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry the same researchers have developed a nitric oxide-donating drug (Supernitro) with a uniquely selective effect in lung circulation. The drug widens the blood vessels and counteracts life-threating increases of the local blood pressure.
Facts and figures
- More than 300 million people suffer from asthma
- Eight astronauts have taken part in the study, including ESA’s Samantha Cristoforetti and Tim Peake
- The NIOX MINO® device is now used by patients at health centres to monitor levels of asthma and the efficiency of medication
Inspiring children with asthma
When ESA astronaut Tim Peake took part in the Airway Monitoring experiment in 2016, he was pleasantly surprised by the innovative work done by a group of primary schoolchildren in the United Kingdom.
The pupils used the 3D printer to make something connected to space, from plant pots housing rocket seeds to a model of the International Space Station. Linking into Tim’s experiment, some children worked to create their rocket-shaped inhaler topper.
“Loved hearing about the incredible 3D printing project done at Holbrook Primary School, inspired by our respiratory research on the International Space Station.”
Healthy lungs on the Moon and Mars
On the Moon and Mars astronaut’s lungs may become easily irritated or inflamed by dust particles. The reduced gravity on those celestial bodies makes the dust floating around a real threat for humans.
Understanding the effects of weightlessness and reduced pressure on airway health would help space explorers to monitor, diagnose and treat lung inflammation during spaceflight.
European scientists are waiting for data from two more astronauts before making any definitive conclusions. This information is key to ensuring the health and safety of astronauts on longer missions beyond Earth’s orbit.