Men, women and Mars... (From The Northern Echo)

Men, women and Mars...

3:18pm Wednesday 14th December 2011 in Echo Woman By Barry Nelson, Health Editor

Four decades after being inspired astronauts walking on the moon, Dr Saralyn Mark has achieved many of her ambitions. Health Editor Barry Nelson met the distinguished American doctor on a visit to the region.

"I KNEW I always wanted to do two things in my life. I always wanted to be a doctor and I always wanted to practise medicine on the moon,” says the remarkable Dr Saralyn Mark. And while she has achieved her first ambition, she – so far – has not achieved the second.

Dr Mark can console herself with the knowledge that as a senior medical advisor to the American space agency, Nasa, she is now working on ways to ensure that the next generation of astronauts who have Mars in their sights will return from the Red Planet in good health.

The first senior medical advisor specialising in women’s health to be appointed by Nasa, she was in the North-East as part of a three-day tour organised by the County Durham Development Company, the strategic investment arm of Durham County Council, as part of Project C, a community outreach programme designed to get people interested in science.

Dr Mark also had her new book – Stellar Medicine: A Journey Through the Universe of Women’s Health – to promote.

“Those were my goals because I was a child of the Apollo space programme days,” she recalls.

While the moon is no longer a target for manned missions by Nasa the prospect of a much more challenging expedition to the Red Planet is now exciting Dr Mark.

“We recently launched a new unmanned mission to Mars, but we are also beginning the develop the vehicles and the medical standards to keep people healthy during their two-year journey to and from the planet.”

A few weeks ago, she took part in a conference at George Washington University in the US capital and spoke on the many health issues facing future space travellers bound for Mars.

While most American astronauts have been men so far, Dr Mark says women are just as well equipped to make the long journey. “We have been involved in developing medical standards for both male and female astronauts,” she says.

Famously, it was the Russians who claimed the distinction of putting the first woman in space, when Valentina Tereshkova, went into orbit in 1963. It was not until 1983 when the first American woman, Sally Field, blasted off alongside male colleagues.

Dr Mark, who is medical consultant to government organisations and companies across the world, is recognised as a worldwide expert on the effects of sex and gender on healthcare. One of the major issues for astronauts is the impact of being in a low-gravity environment, which leads to a gradual erosion of bone density.

“On the moon you are in one-sixth gravity, when you are on Mars you are in three-eighths gravity, but when you are in deep space you are heading into more of a zero gravity environment,” she explains.

On Earth we lose about one per cent of our total bone density each year, but in space this can lead to up to a four per cent loss every month.

“That is true for both men and women, but remember women often start with a lower bone density anyway, so this loss may be more significant for them,” says Dr Mark.

SPACE flight in zero gravity also leads to a loss of muscle, with subtle changes taking place to muscle fibre. “Having said that, there are counter measures we can use to help people regain lost bone,” says Dr Mark. “We believe that the negative effect on muscle strength is actually greater in men rather than women.”

Overall, she says women astronauts “do extremely well” when they get back from missions. “We are just trying to understand the differences between men and women so we can take better care of them during and after a mission.”

Dr Mark, who is president of SolaMed Solutions, is fascinated by gender differences as far as health and medical treatment is concerned.

She points out that eight out of ten drugs which have had to be taken off the market in the US in recent years had to be withdrawn because they were more toxic for women than men. Incredibly, despite lots of subtle differences between men’s bodies and women’s bodies, drugs are still mostly tested on men.

Dr Mark is convinced that this greater awareness of gender differences will eventually lead to a more personalised approach to healthcare.

“It makes sense when you consider that we give different dosages of medication to children and adults,” she adds.

“It is only recently that we have acknowledged these differences between the sexes. For example, take a common drug like aspirin. We know that it has different effects in men and women. Research has shown that women may have some protection against stroke from using aspirin, but men do not. It is predominantly more of a protection against heart disease.”

During her visit to the region, Dr Mark met a group of North-East girl guides and visited NETPark at Sedgefield, where she saw some of the cutting edge technology being developed. She also visited the International Centre for Life, in Newcastle, where she was bowled over by its science education programme for young people.

“I think it’s fantastic. They have a really exciting, innovative approach to getting young people engaged in science. I love the way in which young people’s eyes are filled with excitement because it is hands-on.

When you do that, it makes science come to life.”

While Dr Mark waits for her call to the moon, she is looking forward to seeing astronauts walking on the red soil of Mars. “It is going to happen,” she says, “and, hopefully, within my lifetime.”