Ocular Deformities in Spaceflight-Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome and Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension

"Spaceflight-Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome (SANS)" shares several clinical elements with Idiopathic Intracranial-Hypertension (IIH), namely disc edema, globe-flattening, hyperopic-shift, and choroidal folds. In IIH, globe-flattening is caused by increased intracranial pressure (ICP); the cause in SANS is less certain.[1,2] A comparison of ocular deformities in SANS and IIH might provide insights into the underlying biomechanics and the role of ICP in SANS. If increased ICP alone causes SANS, then the deformities of the globe should be similar to IIH; if not, alternative mechanisms would be implicated.