Scans have revealed potentially serious abnormalities in NASA
astronauts.  Scans have revealed potentially serious
abnormalities in NASA astronauts. Photo: NASA  Brain scans of
NASA astronauts who have returned to Earth after more than a
month in space have revealed potentially serious abnormalities
that could jeopardise long-term space missions.  Doctors
examined 27 astronauts who had flown long-duration missions with
the US space agency and found a pattern of deformities in their
eyeballs, optic nerves and pituitary glands that remain
unexplained.  The problems are similar to those caused by
intracranial hypertension, a rare medical condition that occurs
when pressure inside the skull rises and presses on the brain
and the backs of the eyes.  Medical crews at NASA and space
agencies in Europe, Russia, Japan and Canada are now screening
astronauts before, during and after space missions. Astronauts
who had flown on the Space Shuttle and International Space
Station reported changes to eyesight, with some seei