Abstract

Objective: Wound healing in an extreme environment with microgravity is not well characterized, despite the likelihood that the increasing use of manned spaceflight as a research and commercial enterprise raises the probability of traumatic injury in this state. Hence, this study was conducted to determine the impact of the isolated environment of the Mars Desert Research Station on mucosal immunity and wound healing.

Materials and Methods: Two punch biopsy wounds were placed on the hard palate of two crewmembers. The first wound was made during summer vacation, whereas the second was placed on the contra-lateral side 3 days before the Mars analog mission began. Thus, each crewmember served as his/her own control. Two independent methods were used to assess healing. A ten-item perceived stress scale, salivary cortisol, Immunoglobulin A, IgG and IgM were measured.

Results: There were significant differences in the proportion of the wound size healed between vacation and the mission. Salivary IgA, IgM, IgG and cortisol levels showed significant differences between vacation and mission.

Conclusion: These data suggest that stress can have significant consequences for wound healing. The effects of stress on wound repair could have important clinical implications, including for recovery from surgery.