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Neurovestibular Symptoms in Astronauts Immediately after Space Shuttle and International Space Station Missions

OBJECTIVES: (1) To assess vestibular changes and related sensorimotor difficulties, especially instability of posture and gait, among astronauts immediately after they return from space and to compare the effects experienced after short- and long-duration space missions. (2) To determine whether any...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Reschke, Millard F., Good, Edward F., Clément, Gilles R.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: SAGE Publications 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6239149/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30480196
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2473974X17738767
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author Reschke, Millard F.
Good, Edward F.
Clément, Gilles R.
author_facet Reschke, Millard F.
Good, Edward F.
Clément, Gilles R.
author_sort Reschke, Millard F.
collection PubMed
description OBJECTIVES: (1) To assess vestibular changes and related sensorimotor difficulties, especially instability of posture and gait, among astronauts immediately after they return from space and to compare the effects experienced after short- and long-duration space missions. (2) To determine whether any difficulties experienced were severe enough to impair the astronauts’ ability to leave the spacecraft in the event of an emergency. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Kennedy Space Center and Johnson Space Center. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Fourteen crewmembers of 3 Space Shuttle missions that lasted about 1 week and 18 crewmembers of 8 International Space Station missions that lasted about 6 months were given brief vestibular examinations 1 to 5 hours after landing. These examinations focused on the presence of vestibular and motor coordination difficulties, as well as motion sickness and motion sensations. Standardized tests included the observation of abnormal eye movements, finger-to-nose pointing, standing up from a seated position, postural stability, and tandem gait. RESULTS: Unsteady walking and postural instabilities were observed after short- and long-duration missions. Motion sickness symptoms were observed after long-duration missions but not after short-duration missions. The symptom most frequently reported by the astronauts was an exaggerated perceived motion associated with sudden head movements during reentry and after landing. CONCLUSION: The severity of the observed abnormalities would limit the ability of crewmembers during the first 5 hours after landing and increase the time required to leave the spacecraft during this period.
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spelling pubmed-62391492018-11-26 Neurovestibular Symptoms in Astronauts Immediately after Space Shuttle and International Space Station Missions Reschke, Millard F. Good, Edward F. Clément, Gilles R. OTO Open Original Research OBJECTIVES: (1) To assess vestibular changes and related sensorimotor difficulties, especially instability of posture and gait, among astronauts immediately after they return from space and to compare the effects experienced after short- and long-duration space missions. (2) To determine whether any difficulties experienced were severe enough to impair the astronauts’ ability to leave the spacecraft in the event of an emergency. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Kennedy Space Center and Johnson Space Center. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Fourteen crewmembers of 3 Space Shuttle missions that lasted about 1 week and 18 crewmembers of 8 International Space Station missions that lasted about 6 months were given brief vestibular examinations 1 to 5 hours after landing. These examinations focused on the presence of vestibular and motor coordination difficulties, as well as motion sickness and motion sensations. Standardized tests included the observation of abnormal eye movements, finger-to-nose pointing, standing up from a seated position, postural stability, and tandem gait. RESULTS: Unsteady walking and postural instabilities were observed after short- and long-duration missions. Motion sickness symptoms were observed after long-duration missions but not after short-duration missions. The symptom most frequently reported by the astronauts was an exaggerated perceived motion associated with sudden head movements during reentry and after landing. CONCLUSION: The severity of the observed abnormalities would limit the ability of crewmembers during the first 5 hours after landing and increase the time required to leave the spacecraft during this period. SAGE Publications 2017-10-23 /pmc/articles/PMC6239149/ /pubmed/30480196 http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2473974X17738767 Text en © The Authors 2017 http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
spellingShingle Original Research
Reschke, Millard F.
Good, Edward F.
Clément, Gilles R.
Neurovestibular Symptoms in Astronauts Immediately after Space Shuttle and International Space Station Missions
title Neurovestibular Symptoms in Astronauts Immediately after Space Shuttle and International Space Station Missions
title_full Neurovestibular Symptoms in Astronauts Immediately after Space Shuttle and International Space Station Missions
title_fullStr Neurovestibular Symptoms in Astronauts Immediately after Space Shuttle and International Space Station Missions
title_full_unstemmed Neurovestibular Symptoms in Astronauts Immediately after Space Shuttle and International Space Station Missions
title_short Neurovestibular Symptoms in Astronauts Immediately after Space Shuttle and International Space Station Missions
title_sort neurovestibular symptoms in astronauts immediately after space shuttle and international space station missions
topic Original Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6239149/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30480196
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2473974X17738767
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