The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) has announced that a pathfinder study is underway in Cologne, Germany to investigate the effects of simulated spaceflight conditions on brain physiology.

NSBRI has deployed a team of American neurologists and scientists to conduct a pilot demonstration experiment at :envihab, a newly-built specialized facility of the German Aerospace Center (DLR), located in Cologne, Germany.

The DLR's Institute of Aerospace Medicine is overseeing the study, which examines how the human brain adapts to increased levels of fluid inside the skull in combination with elevated carbon dioxide levels. These conditions may be experienced by astronauts living and working on board the International Space Station (ISS) and could be implicated in the vision changes that some astronauts have experienced during spaceflight.

The study has implications for people on Earth who suffer from brain disorders, including elevated pressure on the brain. "NSBRI is once again breaking new ground on behalf of the U.S. human space program, as we have done before with the Mars 500 study between 2009 and 2011.

The :envihab facility offers unique capabilities as a space analog environment and we are delighted to be collaborating with the DLR in addressing a major risk to astronaut health: the visual impairment syndrome," said Dr. Jeffrey P. Sutton, NSBRI's President, CEO and Institute Director.

Dr. Dorit Donoviel, NSBRI Deputy Chief Scientist and Industry Forum Lead, assembled the research team that is using state-of-the-art portable medical devices capable of monitoring brain physiology in real time. These devices have the potential to transform brain health monitoring for patients on Earth such as a Volumetric Induction Phase-Shift Spectroscopy (VIPS) device delivered by Cerebrotech Medical Systems of Pleasanton, California.

The VIPS technology non-invasively and continuously monitors fluid shifts inside the brain that can arise from conditions such as progressive swelling or bleeding. In addition, Ornim Medical, based in Kfar Saba, Israel has supplied the c-FLOW monitor, an FDA-cleared non-invasive, continuous, real-time, and easy-to-use blood flow brain monitor. Vittamed Corporation, with offices located in Kaunas, Lithuania and Lexington, MA, has also provided a CE-marked non-invasive quantitative absolute intracranial pressure meter.

These innovative devices, along with sophisticated MRI imaging and standard transcranial Doppler measurements, are revealing neurological changes following prolonged exposure to simulated spaceflight conditions. In addition, a newly developed battery of cognitive and neurological tests called Cognition is being tested to assess the concomitant effects on mental capabilities and behavior.

Cognition was first developed for astronaut use by NSBRI-funded researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and is now being tested on the ISS as well as in numerous research studies throughout the world. In the near future, this battery of tests is likely to be used to clinically evaluate patients with various brain impairments or disorders.

Dr. Rupert Gerzer, Director of the DLR's Institute of Aerospace Medicine declared, "I am thrilled with this collaborative project that focuses on a real 'space syndrome' that must be understood and solved before we can send humans to space for really long missions beyond Earth. This project is also a breakthrough as a novel way of using a unique 'terrestrial analog to the ISS', :envihab, in joint international studies that focus on important health challenges of astronauts as well as of patients on Earth."

The study began on June 15 and will run through July 1. Six healthy middle-aged men have volunteered to be subjects. The results will be published via a series of scientific papers, and the lessons learned from the study will be presented to the international space medicine community at scientific conferences.