Long-duration spaceflight alters estimated intracranial pressure and cerebral blood velocity

Key points

During long‐duration spaceflights, some astronauts develop structural ocular changes including optic disc oedema that resemble signs of intracranial hypertension.

In the present study, intracranial pressure was estimated non‐invasively (nICP) using a model‐based analysis of cerebral blood velocity and arterial blood pressure waveforms in 11 astronauts before and after long‐duration spaceflights.

Our results show that group‐averaged estimates of nICP decreased significantly in nine astronauts without optic disc oedema, suggesting that the cephalad fluid shift during long‐duration spaceflight rarely increased postflight intracranial pressure.

The results of the two astronauts with optic disc oedema suggest that both increases and decreases in nICP are observed post‐flight in astronauts with ocular alterations, arguing against a primary causal relationship between elevated ICP and spaceflight associated optical changes.

Cerebral blood velocity increased independently of nICP and spaceflight‐associated ocular alterations. This increase may be caused by the reduced haemoglobin concentration after long‐duration spaceflight.

Abstract

Persistently elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) above upright values is a suspected cause of optic disc oedema in astronauts. However, no systematic studies have evaluated changes in ICP from preflight. Therefore, ICP was estimated non‐invasively before and after spaceflight to test whether ICP would increase after long‐duration spaceflight. Cerebral blood velocity in the middle cerebral artery (MCAv) was obtained by transcranial Doppler sonography and arterial pressure in the radial artery was obtained by tonometry, in the supine and sitting positions before and after 4−12 months of spaceflight in 11 astronauts (10 males and 1 female, 46 ± 7 years old at launch). Non‐invasive ICP (nICP) was computed using a validated model‐based estimation method. Mean MCAv increased significantly after spaceflight (ANOVA, P = 0.007). Haemoglobin decreased significantly after spaceflight (14.6 ± 0.8 to 13.3 ± 0.7 g/dL, P < 0.001). A repeated measures correlation analysis indicated a negative correlation between haemoglobin and mean MCAv (r = −0.589, regression coefficient = −4.68). The nICP did not change significantly after spaceflight in the 11 astronauts. However, nICP decreased significantly by 15% in nine astronauts without optic disc oedema (P < 0.005). Only one astronaut increased nICP to relatively high levels after spaceflight. Contrary to our hypothesis, nICP did not increase after long‐duration spaceflight in the vast majority (>90%) of astronauts, suggesting that the cephalad fluid shift during spaceflight does not systematically or consistently elevate postflight ICP in astronauts. Independently of nICP and ocular alterations, the present results of mean MCAv suggest that long‐duration spaceflight may increase cerebral blood flow, possibly due to reduced haemoglobin concentration.

During long‐duration spaceflights, some astronauts develop structural ocular changes including optic disc oedema that resemble signs of intracranial hypertension.

In the present study, intracranial pressure was estimated non‐invasively (nICP) using a model‐based analysis of cerebral blood velocity and arterial blood pressure waveforms in 11 astronauts before and after long‐duration spaceflights.

Our results show that group‐averaged estimates of nICP decreased significantly in nine astronauts without optic disc oedema, suggesting that the cephalad fluid shift during long‐duration spaceflight rarely increased postflight intracranial pressure.

The results of the two astronauts with optic disc oedema suggest that both increases and decreases in nICP are observed post‐flight in astronauts with ocular alterations, arguing against a primary causal relationship between elevated ICP and spaceflight associated optical changes.

Cerebral blood velocity increased independently of nICP and spaceflight‐associated ocular alterations. This increase may be caused by the reduced haemoglobin concentration after long‐duration spaceflight.

Mapping in-vivo optic nerve head strains caused by intraocular and intracranial pressures

Although it is well documented that abnormal levels of either intraocular (IOP) or intracranial pressure (ICP) can lead to potentially blinding conditions, such as glaucoma and papilledema, little is known about how the pressures actually affect the eye. Even less is known about potential interplay between their effects, namely how the level of one pressure might alter the effects of the other. Our goal was to measure in-vivo the pressure-induced stretch and compression of the lamina cribrosa due to acute changes of IOP and ICP. The lamina cribrosa is a structure within the optic nerve head, in the back of the eye. It is important because it is in the lamina cribrosa that the pressure-induced deformations are believed to initiate damage to neural tissues leading to blindness. An eye of a rhesus macaque monkey was imaged in-vivo with optical coherence tomography while IOP and ICP were controlled through cannulas in the anterior chamber and lateral ventricle, respectively. The image volumes were analyzed with a newly developed digital image correlation technique. The effects of both pressures were highly localized, nonlinear and non-monotonic, with strong interactions. Pressure variations from the baseline normal levels caused substantial stretch and compression of the neural tissues in the posterior pole, sometimes exceeding 20%. Chronic exposure to such high levels of biomechanical insult would likely lead to neural tissue damage and loss of vision. Our results demonstrate the power of digital image correlation technique based on non-invasive imaging technologies to help understand how pressures induce biomechanical insults and lead to vision problems.

Characterization of the mechanical behavior of the optic nerve sheath and its role in spaceflight-induced ophthalmic changes

Visual impairment and intracranial pressure (VIIP) syndrome is characterized by a number of permanent ophthalmic changes, including loss of visual function. It occurs in some astronauts during long-duration spaceflight missions. Thus, understanding the pathophysiology of VIIP is currently a major priority in space medicine research. It is hypothesized that maladaptive remodeling of the optic nerve sheath (ONS), in response to microgravity-induced elevations in intracranial pressure (ICP), contributes to VIIP. However, little is known about ONS biomechanics. In this study, we developed a custom mechanical testing system that allowed for unconfined lengthening, twisting, and circumferential distension of the porcine ONS during inflation and axial loading. Data were fit to a four-fiber family constitutive equation to extract material and structural parameters. Inflation testing showed a characteristic "cross-over point" in the pressure-diameter curves under different axial loads in all samples that were tested; the cross-over pressure was [Formula: see text] mmHg ([Formula: see text]). Large sample-to-sample variations were observed in the circumferential strain, while only modest variations were observed in the circumferential stress. Multiphoton microscopy revealed that the collagen fibers of the ONS were primarily oriented axially when the tissue was loaded. The existence of this cross-over behavior is expected to be neuroprotective, as it would avoid optic nerve compression during routine changes in gaze angle, so long as ICP was within the normal range. Including these observations into computational models of VIIP will help provide insight into the pathophysiology of VIIP and could help identify risk factors and potential interventions.