This transcript has been edited for clarity.
Andrew N. Wilner, MD: Welcome to Medscape. I'm Dr Andrew Wilner. Today we're going to talk about a very special neuro-ocular syndrome that's affected only a very small population of the world. In fact, this population is otherwise extraordinarily healthy, but they have one thing in common: They are astronauts who have been exposed to microgravity. To speak about this, I'm really thrilled to have two participants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Dr William Tarver and Dr Tyson Brunstetter. Thank you, gentlemen.
Tyson J. Brunstetter, OD, PhD, MBA: Good morning.
William J. Tarver, MD, MPH: Thank you for inviting us for this. We're excited to speak on it.
Wilner: To set the stage, I remember reading a paper about this in the journal Radiology[1] way back in 2012. Researchers performed MRIs on 27 astronauts and found that when it came to their eyeballs, they actually changed—there were kinks in the optic nerve and all kinds of strange things. In researching this, I found that, sure enough, there are papers everywhere about what is now called spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS), which the two of you know a great deal about.
Before we get to SANS, can you first tell us who you are and how you got involved in NASA?
These NASA Docs Keep an Eye on Astronaut Health
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COMMENTARY
These NASA Docs Keep an Eye on Astronaut Health
Andrew N Wilner, MD; William J. Tarver, MD, MPH; Tyson J. Brunstetter, OD, PhD, MBA
DisclosuresSeptember 26, 2019
This transcript has been edited for clarity.
Andrew N. Wilner, MD: Welcome to Medscape. I'm Dr Andrew Wilner. Today we're going to talk about a very special neuro-ocular syndrome that's affected only a very small population of the world. In fact, this population is otherwise extraordinarily healthy, but they have one thing in common: They are astronauts who have been exposed to microgravity. To speak about this, I'm really thrilled to have two participants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Dr William Tarver and Dr Tyson Brunstetter. Thank you, gentlemen.
Tyson J. Brunstetter, OD, PhD, MBA: Good morning.
William J. Tarver, MD, MPH: Thank you for inviting us for this. We're excited to speak on it.
Wilner: To set the stage, I remember reading a paper about this in the journal Radiology[1] way back in 2012. Researchers performed MRIs on 27 astronauts and found that when it came to their eyeballs, they actually changed—there were kinks in the optic nerve and all kinds of strange things. In researching this, I found that, sure enough, there are papers everywhere about what is now called spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS), which the two of you know a great deal about.
Before we get to SANS, can you first tell us who you are and how you got involved in NASA?
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Authors and Disclosures
Authors and Disclosures
Authors
Andrew N. Wilner, MD
Professor of Neurology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee
Disclosure: Andrew N. Wilner, MD, has disclosed the following relevant financial relationships:
Serve(d) as a director, officer, partner, employee, advisor, consultant, or trustee for: Accordant Health Services, a CVS Caremark Co.
Receives royalties for: Epilepsy: 199 Answers, 3rd ed (Demos Publications) and Bullets and Brains (Createspace Independent Publishing Platform)
William J. Tarver, MD, MPH
Clinical Lead, Spaceflight Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome (SANS), Space Medicine Operations Division, Mission Operations Branch (SD-3), NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
Disclosure: William J. Tarver, MD, MPH, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
Tyson J. Brunstetter, OD, PhD, MBA
Captain, Medical Service Corps, US Navy; Aerospace Optometrist, Space Medicine Operations Division, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
Disclosure: Tyson J. Brunstetter, OD, PhD, MBA, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.