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Horn-rims and Funny Stockings on the Space Station - presented by Science@NASA
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If your favorite astronaut returns from space wearing horn-rim glasses and funny stockings, don't be too disappointed.
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it's all part of the job.
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And there's a logical explanation.
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Among the challenges astronauts face during their stints on the International Space Station, farsightedness is fairly common.
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Hence the horn-rims.
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But it may be that those funny stockings can reduce the need for them.
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"About three quarters of ISS astronauts experience changes in the structure and function of their eyes during and/or after their mission,"
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says Michael Stenger of Wyle Science Technology and Engineering Group.
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"And some of these changes in some of the astronauts do not correct themselves after the mission."
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Stenger is one of the principal investigators of an International Space Station experiment with a very long name
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that we'll call "Fluid Shifts Study" for short.
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It's investigating vision problems in space.
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During space travel, the fluids of the body shift toward the head and even move across blood vessel and cell membranes differently than they do on Earth.
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Scientists hypothesize that this headward shift of blood and other fluids causes increased pressure in the brain,
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pushing on the back of the eye and causing it to change shape.
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The retina swells and the entire eye slightly flattens, resulting in farsightedness -
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and maybe those glasses.
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Stenger and his colleagues seek to fully characterize these changes and investigate ways to prevent them.
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"We want to know exactly how much fluid shifts and how it redistributes in the body.
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How does it move in or out of cells and blood vessels?
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How do the fluid shifts affect fluid pressure in the head, changes in vision, and eye structures?
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Those are the kinds of questions we'll answer.
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We expect to find individualized responses to the headward fluid shift that correlate to vision changes."
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To find the answers, they'll take measurements of 10 astronauts' saliva, urine, and blood at different points in their missions.
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Other details collected will be their intracranial pressure, intraocular pressure, ocular structure, blood pressure, and heart rate,
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in addition to ultrasound measurements of their fluid shifts.
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Another aim of this study is to find out whether the Russian Chibis suit
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(also known as the lower body negative pressure suit, or funny stockings) can help keep the bodies' fluids where they need to be.
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"The Russian cosmonauts use the Chibis suit during the last 3 weeks of their missions as part of their preparation for re-entry.
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It's really just a pair of semi-rigid leggings that seal at the waist.
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A vacuum can be applied to reduce the pressure in the device, which acts to trap fluid in the lower body."
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The researchers will take cardio, cerebrovascular, and ocular measurements on the test subjects before and during 25 mmHg of vacuum in the Chibis.
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"If it turns out that lower body negative pressure helps reverse fluid shifts and prevent the visual symptoms,
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it may indicate that crew members should use the Chibis earlier and more often on long missions.
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We've seen some promising results in our first subjects."
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Stenger and company will also be looking at other things that might exacerbate vision problems on the space station.
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"For example, we may find that an exercise that's good for bone or muscle is bad for elevated intracranial pressure."
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Space travel veterans Scott Kelly from NASA and Mikhail Kornienko from Roscosmos are the first test subjects for this study.
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They will spend nearly a year aboard the station, twice as long as a typical crew member.
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They're having measurements taken for the Fluid Shifts Study early in their flight, at its mid-point, and about 45 days before they return.
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Here's hoping they come back in style-no horn-rims and hosiery required.
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For more from the international space station, go to www.nasa.gov/station
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For news from the always fluid world of science, visit science.nasa.gov