In addition to preparing for space colonization, Donna Roberts, M.D., an MUSC Health neuro-radiologist and the primary investigator for this research paper, says studies like this one also help doctors learn more about conditions that affect people on earth generally. “We can learn more about the role gravity plays on fluid around the brain, for instance,” she said. “And it gives us insight into how disorders of cerebrospinal fluid circulation affect patients not just in space but also here on earth.”
Roberts and her team found that astronauts with SANS had increased intracranial dural venous volumes compared to their MRI scans taken just before flight. As large veins that take blood from the brain to the heart, the dural venous sinuses serve a vital role in blood circulation and shouldn’t stretch or change. But with SANS, blood volume increases, and the dural venous sinuses enlarge. These findings suggest that there is an association between intracranial venous congestion and the development of SANS.
NASA has deemed SANS one of its highest research priorities, according to Roberts, and the results of this paper move that research forward by providing insight into what happens to the brain and eyesight in space. Much research focuses on muscle loss in space, but rarely does it look at the brain specifically.
“If we’re planning on setting up a colony in space, we’re going to have to understand how gravity affects the entire human body,” Roberts said. “And that includes the brain.”
Rosenberg agrees. “As clinicians, one of the things we do is treat the human body,” he said. “And that’s not just now but in the future as well. So really understanding these conditions as a whole, before they start to affect colonists already on a foreign planet where everything wants to kill them, is probably one of the best ways we can apply this research.”
Next, Roberts and Rosenberg will look at the ways SANS may differ between genders. Without being able to perform an MRI in space, Roberts says it’s difficult to pinpoint when exactly the change in the dural venous sinuses occurs—it could be during flight takeoff, in space or while acclimating to earth upon return—so she is also looking into a mobile MRI machine to perform scans in space to better understand how the condition develops.
“As we head into this new era of human spaceflight, SANS remains one of our biggest problems and obstacles,” Roberts said. “But we are making progress in understanding the condition.”
Source: Medical University of South Carolina
Source: Healthcare in Europe
