Stephan Moll, MD, UNC Blood Research Center (BCR) member, and Steven Grover, PhD, former BRC member (now at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston) are coinvestigators on a 5-year NASA study called \u2018Venous Flow\u2019 that studies the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in zero gravity.<\/p>\n
The past finding of a jugular deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in an astronaut on the International Space Station (ISS) led NASA to focus their medical research on the study of venous thromboembolism (VTE) \u2013 risk factors, etiology, diagnosis, prevention and treatment.<\/p>\n
In the prospective \u201cVenous Flow\u201d study (Principal Investigator Jason Lytle, NASA) astronauts travelling to the ISS will undergo preflight upper body MRIs and vascular ultrasounds, and repeated neck venous ultrasound imaging studies during their ISS stay and after return to Earth. In addition, pre-flight, in-flight, and post-flight blood will be drawn to investigate known prothrombotic biomarkers, as well as a large number of exploratory biomarkers involved in various biologic systems contributing to thrombosis. The goal is to understand the mechanisms of DVT formation in zero gravity, determine who might be at risk, and to develop strategies to prevent VTE. The topic and the need for an understanding of VTE risk in zero gravity is of particular relevance as NASA and other international space agencies plan to embark on long-distance and longer-lasting space explorations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"