Astronaut Brain Volume Changes and Pituitary Gland Deforms During Long Spaceflights

 


Astronauts' vision has been known to deteriorate over long periods of time in space. Long-distance space travel may have a greater impact, with the potential to alter brain volume and deform the pituitary gland, according to a new study published in Radiology. 


After prolonged exposure to the microgravity of space, more than half of the crew members on the International Space Station (ISS) have reported experiencing changes in their vision. Evaluation after the flight has revealed optic nerve swelling, retinal bleeding, and other ocular structural changes. 


During spaceflight, scientists have hypothesized that prolonged exposure to elevated intracranial pressure—or pressure inside the head—may be a factor in these changes. A hydrostatic gradient, or fluid pressure that gradually rises from your head to your feet while standing or sitting, is caused by the gravitational field on Earth. Space does not contain this pressure gradient. 


According to study lead author Larry A Kramer, MD, from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, "When you're in microgravity, fluid like your venous blood no longer pools toward your lower extremities but redistributes headword". "That movement of fluid toward your head may be one of the mechanisms causing the changes we are observing in the eye and intracranial compartment", Dr Kramer went on to explain. 


Before going to the ISS, Dr Kramer and his colleagues did a brain MRI on 11 astronauts, including 10 men and 1 woman, to learn more. A day after the astronauts returned, the researchers conducted MRI studies, which they repeated several times over the following year. 


The astronauts' combined brain and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) volumes increased after prolonged exposure to microgravity, according to MRI findings. CSF is the liquid that streams into and around the empty spaces of the cerebrum and spinal cord. At one year after flight, the combined volumes remained elevated, indicating permanent change


Dr Kramer stated, "There is a significant increase in volume in the brain's white matter from preflight to post flight that no one has really identified before". In fact, the largest post flight increase in combined brain and cerebrospinal fluid volumes is attributed to white matter expansion. The pituitary gland, which is a pea-sized structure at the base of the skull and is frequently referred to as the "master gland" due to its role in regulating the functions of numerous other glands in the body, also showed changes as a result of the MRI. 


MRI results showed pituitary gland deformation in the majority of the astronauts, pointing to elevated intracranial pressure during spaceflight. Dr Kramer stated, "We discovered that the pituitary gland loses height and is smaller post flight than it was before flight". Additionally, post flight evidence of flattening or concavity was observed in astronauts whose pituitary gland dome was predominantly convex, even though they had not previously been in microgravity. The presence of this kind of deformation indicates exposure to elevated intracranial pressures


The astronauts' lateral ventricles, which are spaces in the brain that contain CSF, also increased in volume on average after the flight. The changes resembled those seen in people who had to lie in bed for extended periods of time with their heads slightly angled downward.

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