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Ritzmann, S. E.

Publications and source records attributed to Ritzmann, S. E..

7 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1975

Skylab experiment results: Hematology studies

Studies were conducted to evaluate specific aspects of man's immunologic and hematologic systems that might be altered by or respond to the space flight environment. Biochemical functions investigated included cytogenetic damage to blood cells, immune resistance to disease, regulation of plasma and red cell volumes, metabolic processes of the red blood cell, and physicochemical aspects of red blood cell function. Measurements of hematocrit value showed significant fluctuations postflight, reflecting observed changes in red cell mass and plasma volume. The capacity of lymphocytes to respond to an in vitro mitogenic challenge was repressed postflight, and appeared to be related to mission duration. Most other deviations from earth function in these systems were minor or transient.

Kimzey, S. L.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Investigation of man's immune system (M112), part B

Fifty-six days of residence in a Skylab-type environment produce essentially no change in the reactivity of the human immune system, as typified by the rate of RNA or DNA synthesis in small lymphocytes. The one point of divergence between the Skylab simulation crew and previous Apollo crews, a marked depression in synthesis rates on the fourteenth day after the chamber study, may be due to some technical difficulty in the experiment. Lymphocyte morphology changes paralleled functional changes.

Ritzmann, S. E.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Effects of the space flight environment on man's immune system. II - Lymphocyte counts and reactivity.

The present studies were undertaken to assess the effects of the environment of space flights on the cellular division of the human immune system. Peripheral blood absolute lymphocyte counts were determined at various preflight and postflight intervals for the 21 crewmen of Apollo Missions 7-13. Mean lymphocyte numbers tended to exhibit a delayed significant but fluctuating increase shortly after recovery, although a variety of responses was seen in individual astronauts. The in vitro reactivity of lymphocytes, reflected by RNA and DNA synthesis rates by unstimulated and PHA-stimulated lymphocytes tissue-cultured preflight and postflight from the same participants, was found to remain within previously established normal ranges. These results indicate that functional integrity of cellular immune potential as reflected by in vitro techniques is maintained during this spaceflight experience.

Fischer, G. L.↗