The issue of the expiration of medications that astronauts will have to take with them on a long space trip, for example to Mars, was raised in their study by scientists at Duke University Medical Center (Duke Health) in Durham, North Carolina, USA, the scientific news site EurekAlert reported on July 23.
A Duke Health study published in Nature’s npj Microgravity journal shows that more than half of the medications typically stored in first aid kits on the ISS — essentials like painkillers, antibiotics, allergy medications and sleeping pills — have expiration dates well before they expire. Astronauts can return to Earth after a multi-year mission to Mars.
That means astronauts will have to rely on medications that have become ineffective or even harmful. The study’s senior author, associate professor of emergency medicine at Duke University School of Medicine and aerospace medicine researcher, MD Daniel Buckland, said:
“This doesn’t necessarily mean that the drugs won’t work, but just as you shouldn’t take expired medications you have at home, space exploration agencies will have to consider the fact that expired medications may be less effective.”.
Expired medicines may lose some (or a lot) of their potency, but relevant data on the actual stability and potency of drugs in space compared to Earth remains largely unknown. And there is a danger that the harsh conditions of space, including radiation, could reduce the effectiveness of drugs.
Buckland and co-author Thomas E. Diaz, a resident pharmacist at Johns Hopkins Hospital, note that expired medications could soon become a problem when planning long-duration missions to Mars and beyond.
Diaz obtained information about medications used on the space station, suggesting that NASA would use similar drugs for a mission to Mars.
Using data from an international drug expiration date database, researchers determined that 54 of 91 medications used in space had an expiration date of 36 months or less.
Study leader Buckland noted: “Previous experience and research shows that astronauts do get sick on the International Space Station, but communication with Earth is real-time and there is a well-stocked pharmacy that is replenished regularly, preventing minor injuries or illnesses from becoming problems that impact the mission.”.
The situation with interplanetary flights is completely different. In the best case, almost 60% of these drugs will expire before the end of the mission to Mars, the researchers calculated; in the worst case, this figure will reach 98%; however, the study did not take into account the possibility of accelerated degradation of the drugs.
Increasing the amount of medication carried on board could likely help offset the reduced effectiveness of expired drugs, the authors said.
“Those responsible for the health of spacecraft crews will have to find ways to extend the shelf life of medications to complete a three-year mission to Mars, choose medications with a longer shelf life, or accept the increased risk associated with consuming expired medications.””, Díaz explained the purpose of his research.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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