Researchers investigate the impacts of space travel on astronauts’ eye health

As space journey turns into extra widespread, you will need to take into account the impacts of space flight and altered gravity on the human physique. Led by Dr. Ana Diaz Artiles, researchers at Texas A&M College are finding out a few of these impacts, particularly results on the attention. The findings are published within the journal npj Microgravity.

Gravitational adjustments skilled by astronauts throughout space travel could cause fluids throughout the physique to shift. This may trigger adjustments to the cardiovascular system, together with vessels in and across the eyes.

Because the commercialization of space flight turns into extra widespread and particular person space journey will increase, astronauts is not going to be the one ones experiencing these adjustments. People touring to space with industrial corporations might not be as match or wholesome as astronauts, making it much more necessary to know the function that fluid shift performs in cardiovascular and eye well being.

“Once we expertise microgravity situations, we see adjustments within the cardiovascular system as a result of gravity shouldn’t be flattening all these fluids because it sometimes does on Earth once we are in an upright position,” stated Diaz Artiles, an assistant professor within the Division of Aerospace Engineering and a Williams Brothers Development Firm College Fellow.

“Once we’re upright, a big a part of our fluids are saved in our legs, however in microgravity we get a redistribution of fluids into the higher physique.”

These fluid shifts could also be associated to a phenomenon referred to as Spaceflight Related Neuro-ocular Syndrome (SANS), which might trigger astronauts to expertise adjustments in eye form and different ocular signs, reminiscent of adjustments in ocular perfusion stress (OPP). At the moment, researchers are not sure of the precise explanation for SANS, however Diaz Artiles hopes to make clear the underlying mechanism behind it.

Diaz Artiles and her crew are investigating potential countermeasures to assist counteract the headward fluid shifts of SANS. In a current research, they examined the potential help of decrease physique damaging stress (LBNP) to fight SANS. This countermeasure has the potential to counteract the consequences of microgravity by pooling fluid again into the decrease physique.

Whereas the function of ocular perfusion stress within the improvement of SANS stays undetermined, Diaz Artiles and her crew hypothesized that microgravity publicity might result in a slight however power elevation (in comparison with upright postures) in OPP, which can have a task within the improvement of SANS.

The outcomes of the research confirmed that decrease physique damaging stress, whereas efficient in inducing fluid shift towards the decrease physique, was not an efficient methodology for lowering OPP.

Ought to elevated ocular perfusion stress be definitively linked to SANS, using LBNP might theoretically not be an efficient countermeasure to this syndrome. However they emphasize that future work ought to search to raised perceive the connection between OPP and SANS, and the impression of LBNP on these ocular responses as a part of the countermeasure improvement.

“This analysis is only one experiment of a three-part research to raised perceive the consequences of fluid shift within the physique and its relationship to SANS. Earlier experiments on this research included using a tilt desk for researchers to know the cardiovascular results of fluid shifts at completely different altered gravity ranges, recreated through the use of completely different tilt angles,” stated Diaz Artiles.

The revealed research, in addition to upcoming analysis, focuses on countermeasures to the fluid shift; on this case, decrease physique negative pressure.

In future research, the researchers will study the consequences of utilizing a centrifuge to fight the fluid shift and its results. Diaz Artiles and her crew intention to gather cardiovascular responses utilizing every countermeasure and examine results on ocular perfusion stress and different cardiovascular capabilities that could be affected by microgravity environments.

These research are carried out on Earth, so gravitational adjustments that happen in space could trigger completely different outcomes. Thus, they hope to conduct future research in true microgravity situations, reminiscent of parabolic flights.