Space Travel Provides Insights into Vision Problems

Medical News Today reports that "missions on board the International Space Station have revealed previously unreported effects of long-duration space flight on eyesight. Now, a study published in The FASEB Journal reports a new and significant finding in this area, as senior author Dr. Scott M. Smith, a researcher in the Biomedical Research and Environmental Sciences Division at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX, explains: "We've identified a genetic link in astronauts with vision issues." He and his colleagues discovered that two significant genetic differences can affect astronaut vision. The differences influence enzymes that direct an essential biochemical process in cells. Dr. Smith explains that while they have not identified the exact mechanism that leads to vision problems, their findings narrow down who to study and should hasten the search for the cause and how to treat the problem." Read more.

Space Travel Causes Optical Abnormalities

Medical News Today reports that "magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the eyes and brains of 27 astronauts who have spent prolonged periods of time in space revealed optical abnormalities similar to those that can occur in intracranial hypertension of unknown cause, a potentially serious condition in which pressure builds within the skull. A retrospective analysis of the MRI data appears online in the journal Radiology." Read more.