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Have to get that copy of Radiology and review it, but if a medicinal way of managing this isn't possible a gravity centrifuge of some type is definitely in order for long missions like Mars.
Aviation Week....
Aviation Week....
Study Finds Eye, Brain Problems Post-ISS
Some astronauts who have spent extended periods in microgravity on the International Space Station (ISS) have developed abnormalities in their eyes and pituitary gland/brain connectors that are similar to a type of intracranial hypertension that occurs on the ground.
The finding may help earthbound physicians understand what causes the potentially serious condition, but it already has NASA flight surgeons pondering how they can mitigate it when astronauts travel into deep space.
A report in the journal “Radiology†cites magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tests on 27 astronauts who have spend an average of 108 days in microgravity on the space shuttle and ISS, including eight who underwent a second MRI after a second mission lasting an average of 39 days.
None of the astronauts studied lost flight status as a result of the findings, which the chief flight surgeon at Johnson Space Center (JSC) says were “suspicious but not conclusive of intracranial hypertension,†according to the Radiological Society of North America, which publishes “Radiology.†But the findings included expansion of the cerebral spinal fluid space around the optic nerve in nine of the astronauts studied (33%), flattening of the rear of the eyeball in six astronauts (22%), bulging of the optic nerve in four of them (15%) and changes in the connection between the brain and pituitary gland in three (11%).
“Microgravity-induced intracranial hypertension represents a hypothetical risk factor and a potential limitation to long-duration space travel,†says Dr. Larry A. Kramer, professor of diagnostic and interventional imaging at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston.
Earlier studies found “visual degradation†in about 60% of astronauts on long-duration flights, including two who suffered optic disk edema — which can cause significant vision loss — in flight. On Earth, intracranial hypertension is considered potentially serious, and its cause isn’t always clear.
“The MRI findings revealed various combinations of abnormalities following both short- and long-term cumulative exposure to microgravity also seen with idiopathic intracranial hypertension,†Kramer says. “These changes that occur during exposure to microgravity may help scientists to better understand the mechanisms responsible for intracranial hypertension in nonspace traveling patients.â€
One of NASA’s objectives on the ISS is identifying medical problems associated with long-term spaceflight and finding ways to mitigate them before humans venture beyond low Earth orbit on planned missions to asteroids and eventually Mars. At Johnson, the visual problems that long-term space travelers experience is getting a lot of attention from flight surgeons.
“NASA has placed this problem high on its list of human risks, has initiated a comprehensive program to study its mechanisms and implications, and will continue to closely monitor the situation,†says Dr. William Tarver, chief of the flight medicine clinic at JSC.
Some astronauts who have spent extended periods in microgravity on the International Space Station (ISS) have developed abnormalities in their eyes and pituitary gland/brain connectors that are similar to a type of intracranial hypertension that occurs on the ground.
The finding may help earthbound physicians understand what causes the potentially serious condition, but it already has NASA flight surgeons pondering how they can mitigate it when astronauts travel into deep space.
A report in the journal “Radiology†cites magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tests on 27 astronauts who have spend an average of 108 days in microgravity on the space shuttle and ISS, including eight who underwent a second MRI after a second mission lasting an average of 39 days.
None of the astronauts studied lost flight status as a result of the findings, which the chief flight surgeon at Johnson Space Center (JSC) says were “suspicious but not conclusive of intracranial hypertension,†according to the Radiological Society of North America, which publishes “Radiology.†But the findings included expansion of the cerebral spinal fluid space around the optic nerve in nine of the astronauts studied (33%), flattening of the rear of the eyeball in six astronauts (22%), bulging of the optic nerve in four of them (15%) and changes in the connection between the brain and pituitary gland in three (11%).
“Microgravity-induced intracranial hypertension represents a hypothetical risk factor and a potential limitation to long-duration space travel,†says Dr. Larry A. Kramer, professor of diagnostic and interventional imaging at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston.
Earlier studies found “visual degradation†in about 60% of astronauts on long-duration flights, including two who suffered optic disk edema — which can cause significant vision loss — in flight. On Earth, intracranial hypertension is considered potentially serious, and its cause isn’t always clear.
“The MRI findings revealed various combinations of abnormalities following both short- and long-term cumulative exposure to microgravity also seen with idiopathic intracranial hypertension,†Kramer says. “These changes that occur during exposure to microgravity may help scientists to better understand the mechanisms responsible for intracranial hypertension in nonspace traveling patients.â€
One of NASA’s objectives on the ISS is identifying medical problems associated with long-term spaceflight and finding ways to mitigate them before humans venture beyond low Earth orbit on planned missions to asteroids and eventually Mars. At Johnson, the visual problems that long-term space travelers experience is getting a lot of attention from flight surgeons.
“NASA has placed this problem high on its list of human risks, has initiated a comprehensive program to study its mechanisms and implications, and will continue to closely monitor the situation,†says Dr. William Tarver, chief of the flight medicine clinic at JSC.