Persistent Globe Flattening in Astronauts following Long-Duration Spaceflight

Thomas H Mader; C Robert Gibson; Michael R Barratt; Neil R Miller; Prem S Subramanian; Hanspeter E Killer; William J Tarver; Ashot E Sargsyan; Kathleen Garcia; Stephen F Hart; Larry A Kramer; Roy Riascos; Tyson J Brunstetter; William Lipsky; Peter Wostyn; Andrew G Lee

doi:10.1080/01658107.2020.1791189

Persistent Globe Flattening in Astronauts following Long-Duration Spaceflight

Neuroophthalmology. 2020 Sep 3;45(1):29-35. doi: 10.1080/01658107.2020.1791189. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Thomas H Mader¹, C Robert Gibson^{2

3}, Michael R Barratt⁴, Neil R Miller⁵, Prem S Subramanian⁶, Hanspeter E Killer⁷, William J Tarver⁸, Ashot E Sargsyan³, Kathleen Garcia³, Stephen F Hart⁸, Larry A Kramer⁹, Roy Riascos⁹, Tyson J Brunstetter¹⁰, William Lipsky², Peter Wostyn¹¹, Andrew G Lee^{12

13

14

15

16

17

18}

Affiliations

¹ COL(R) US Army, Moab, Utah, USA.
² Coastal Eye Associates, Webster, Texas, USA.
³ KBR, Houston, Texas, USA.
⁴ NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
⁵ Wilmer Eye Institute, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
⁶ Department of Ophthalmology, Sue Anschutz-Rodgers UCHealth Eye Center, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
⁷ Department of Ophthalmology, Kantonsspital Aarau, Aarau, Switzerland.
⁸ NASA Johnson Space Center, Space Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.
⁹ Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Intervention, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
¹⁰ CAPT, US Navy, Detailed to NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
¹¹ Department of Psychiatry, PC Sint-Amandus, Beernem, Belgium.
¹² Department of Ophthalmology, Blanton Eye Institute, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas, USA.
¹³ Department of Ophthalmology, The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa, USA.
¹⁴ Departments of Ophthalmology, Neurology, and Neurosurgery, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, USA.
¹⁵ Department of Ophthalmology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Ophthalmology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.
¹⁷ Department of Ophthalmology; University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
¹⁸ Department of Ophthalmology, Texas A and M College of Medicine, Bryan, Texas, USA.

Abstract

Posterior globe flattening has been well-documented in astronauts both during and after long-duration space flight (LDSF) and has been observed as early as 10 days into a mission on the International Space Station. Globe flattening (GF) is thought to be caused by the disc centred anterior forces created by elevated volume and/or pressure within the optic nerve sheath (ONS). This might be the result of increased intracranial pressure, increased intraorbital ONS pressure from compartmentalisation or a combination of these mechanisms. We report posterior GF in three astronauts that has persisted for 7 years or more following their return from LDSFs suggesting that permanent scleral remodelling may have occurred.

Keywords: SANS; astronaut; hyperopic shift; international space station (ISS); long-duration space flight (LDSF); visual changes.