A review of case reports, hypobaric chamber training data, and experimental evidence indicated that the threshold for incidence of Altitude Decompression Sickness (DCS) was influenced by various factors such as prior denitrogenation, exercise or rest and period of exposure, in addition to individual susceptibility. Fitting these data with appropriate statistical ...

To evaluate the effect of extreme altitude on cardiac function in normal young men, electrocardiograms were recorded at rest and during maximal exercise at several simulated altitudes up to the equivalent of the summit of Mt. Everest (240 torr or 8,848 m). The subjects spent 40 days in a hypobaric ...

Skiing, which may involve strenuous exercise in the cold at high altitude, could place considerable stress on the coronary circulation. To explore this possibility, we obtained by telemetry electrocardiograms on 149 men during recreational skiing at altitudes above 3100 m (10 150 ft). Tachycardia was impressive; heart rate exceeded 80% ...

Man can only survive and do work in the severe oxygen deprivation of great altitudes by an enormous increase in ventilation which has the advantage of defending the alveolar PO2 against the reduced inspired PO2. Nevertheless the arterial PO2 on the summit of Mt Everest at rest is less than ...

Before 1981, Pb in petrol in Hong Kong averaged about 0.84 g/l. Then the Pb level was stepwisely reduced and by early 1987, it was at 0.25 g/l. The effect of Pb reduction in petrol on the roadside environment was assessed by comparing the Pb content in kerbside dust samples ...

Ascents to altitudes above 3,050 m have been shown to cause adverse changes in symptoms and moods. The severity of these changes may depend not only on the altitude and rate of climb, but also on the length of stay and the effort expended to reach the desired altitude. In ...

Morphological and biochemical characteristics of biopsies obtained from gastrocnemius (GAS) and triceps brachii muscle (TRI), as well as maximal O2 uptake (VO2 max) and O2 deficit, were determined in 10 well-trained cross-country skiers before and after a 2-wk stay (2,100 m above sea level) and training (2,700 m above sea ...

The aim of the present investigation carried out on six members of the Swiss 1981 Mt. Lhotse Shar (8398 m) expedition was to assess the quantitative role of some of the determinants of VO2max at altitude. The loss of VO2max expected for the investigated altitude range was partially counterbalanced by ...

High altitude hypoxia induces a decrease in the cardiac chronotropic function at maximal exercise or in response to isoproterenol infusion, suggesting an alteration in the cardiac sympathetic activation. Iodine-123 metaiodobenzylguanidine [( 123I]MIBG) was used to map scintigraphically the cardiac sympathetic neuronal function in six male subjects (aged 32 +/- 7 ...

In May 1978 the two Italians, Messner and Habeler, climbed to the summit of Mt. Everest (8848 m above sea level) without use of supplementary oxygen. This must be the extreme limit of what the human organism can do. The upper limit of permanent living for man is considered to ...

Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are widely distributed throughout the area studied including different altitudes ranging from sea level to 2500 ft above sea level. VAM fungi were recorded from 88% of the sites examined with Glomus fasciculatum and Glomus macrocarpum being the most commonly recorded. Mean species diversity was found to ...

Citrate anticoagulation has been used as an alternative to heparin for hemodialysis in high-risk patients; however, its use in hemofiltration has not been well studied. We examined citrate in 6 patients placed on slow hemofiltration for up to 6 h duration. During the experiments, the systemic citrate level increased from ...

The intention of this study was to determine the metabolic consequences of reduced frequency breathing (RFB) at total lung capacity (TLC) in competitive cyclists during submaximal exercise at moderate altitude (1520 m; barometric pressure, PB = 84.6 kPa; 635 mm Hg). Nine trained males performed an RFB exercise test (10 ...

A US Marine Corps Battalion Landing Team (BLT) of 638 men was deployed on a winter training exercise to an altitude of 2,065 to 2,620 m. Nine marines (1.4%) presented to the medical officers with incapacitating symptoms consistent with acute mountains sickness. Seven were treated with acetazolamide and experienced relief ...

Pulmonary gas exchange was studied in eight normal subjects both before and after 2 wk of altitude acclimatization at 3,800 m (12,470 ft, barometric pressure = 484 Torr). Respiratory and multiple inert gas tensions, ventilation, cardiac output (Q), and hemoglobin concentration were measured at rest and during three levels of ...

To verify the presence of the constitutional abnormality implicated in the pathogenesis of high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE), we evaluated the hemodynamic responses to hypoxia, hypobaria, and exercise in HAPE-susceptible subjects (HAPE-S). HAPE-S were five males with a history of HAPE. Five healthy volunteers who had repeated experiences of mountain climbing ...

An increase in utilization of prenatal diagnosis was observed from 1985 to 1986 in South Carolina. The overall rate of 39.9% for 1986 is comparable with other areas of the U.S. Utilization was correlated with geographic residence, race, and referral source. While there was considerable variation in prenatal diagnostic test ...

Several studies have shown that hemorrheological parameters are modified by physical exercise and exposure to altitude hypoxia. These changes result in a decrease in red cell deformability (RCD). Similarly, it has been shown that a daily dietary fish oil supplement increases RCD. The purpose of this study was to evaluate ...

The renin-aldosterone system may be depressed in subjects exercising at high altitude, thereby preventing excessive angiotensin I (ANG I) and aldosterone levels, which could favor the onset of acute mountain sickness. The role of beta-adrenoceptors in hormonal responses to hypoxia was investigated in 12 subjects treated with a nonselective beta-blocker, ...

Chronic exposure to high altitude reduces maximal O2 uptake (VO2max). At extreme altitudes approaching the summit of Mt. Everest [inspiratory PO2(PIO2) = 43 Torr], mean VO2max have been determined to be 15.3 ml.kg-1.min-1 in two subjects who breathed 14% O2 at 6,300 m on Mt. Everest (West et al., J. ...

Sizes of spleen and liver were studied by measuring spleen index calculated by multiplying the maximal length by the maximal width of the spleen and liver length at right mid-clavicular line below the costal margin using ultrasonography in 26 Papua New Guineans and in 25 Japaneses living in Papua New ...

The incidence of the different degrees of expression of Carabelli's trait in the deciduous and permanent dentitions was obtained on 651 skulls of three human prehistoric aboriginal samples from Gran Canaria (n = 329), Tenerife (n = 297) and La Gomera (n = 25) Islands. In the Gran Canaria sample, ...

In Drosophila melanogaster daily fecundity has been recorded throughout life of flies kept at various gravity levels (1-5 g). Hypergravity (HG) did not decrease total fecundity but modified its expression during life. The 1 g group could be opposed to the various HG groups, i.e. a clear regression of the ...

Computerised microdensitometry was used to study diameter changes in 93 arterial and 91 venous vessel sites in the retinas of four mountain climbers before and after spending seven weeks in the Himalaya mountains. The vascular response to short-term strenuous exercise was measured at sea level, to acute hypoxia of simulated ...

The purpose of this study was to measure female susceptibility to decompression sickness (DCS) during simulated extravehicular activity (EVA) at a candidate (7.8 psia) suit pressure. Thirty female volunteer subjects, in groups of three, were exposed to three consecutive daily EVA simulations at 7.8 psia (5,031 m altitude equivalent) continuously ...

To assess the nature of the combined effect of the hypoxias of altitude (ALT) and CO exposure, 11 men and 12 women nonsmokers served as subjects in a double-blind experiment. The exposure conditions were four ambient CO levels (0, 50, 100, and 150 ppm) at each of four ALT (55, ...

In order to assess the combined effects of altitude and acute carbon monoxide exposure, 11 male and 12 female subjects, nonsmokers in good health, were given incremental (two minutes at each workload) maximal aerobic capacity tests at four levels of ambient carbon monoxide (0, 50, 100, and 150 parts per ...

The risk of decompression sickness (DCS) is greatly increased with exercise at altitude. Bends is the commonest symptom in altitude DCS. Though the adverse effect of exercise at altitude is well known, the role of exercise during decompression is not clear. In this paper, a case of bends occurring with ...

The effect of altitude on human performance is complex. Numerous variables are known to change from sea-level measures. Maximum aerobic power is depressed as ascent occurs and this impairs the ability to work maximally. While changes in haematological variables would theoretically counterbalance the loss in aerobic power, they have not ...

Outward Bound programs are carried out throughout the world, and many of these courses occur at altitudes above 3000 m (10,000 ft). As more knowledge is accumulated about health problems at high altitudes, exercise has been implicated as a factor contributing to acute mountain sickness in susceptible individuals. Thus, exercise ...

The purpose of this study was to examine the resting and exercise response patterns of plasma Peptide F immunoreactivity (ir) to altitude exposure (4300 m) and caffeine ingestion (4 mg.kg b.w.-1). Nine healthy male subjects performed exercise tests to exhaustion (80-85% VO2max) at sea level (50 m), during an acute ...

Several investigators have reported that intravascular bubbles can be detected in decompressed subjects before they develop bends. The altitude exposures were generally of short duration with a limited number of subjects. This important preliminary finding needed to be verified in a larger sampling of long duration altitude exposures. In this ...

Personal anecdotes suggest that ascent to high altitude can cause mood changes such as depression, apathy, and drowsiness. Observed behaviors at high altitude indicate that people can become more euphoric, irritable, or argumentative. Since there are few systematic and quantitative studies assessing the effects of altitude on mood, this study ...

In previous work (Weisman IM, Zeballos RJ, Johnson BD: Cardiopulmonary and gas exchange responses to acute strenuous exercise at 1,270 meters in sickle cell trait. Am J Med 1988; 84: 377-383), no significant differences in cardiopulmonary and gas exchange responses to acute, strenuous exercise were observed between volunteers with sickle ...

Thirty-seven young adult male highland residents at 3,600-4,100 m in La Paz, Bolivia, performed short-duration cycle ergometry at 60, 80, and 100% of maximal voluntary O2 consumption (VO2max). Three groups of subjects representing the high-altitude population mean hemoglobin (Hb), the 10th percentile Hb, and below the 1st percentile were examined ...

Serum erythropoietin (Epo) activity, hemoglobin (Hb), and hematocrit (Ht) were determined in 21 cross-country skiers during the training season. The Epo levels were not significantly reduced in the skiers relative to the normal population (P less than 0.01 and P less than 0.001, respectively). In 11 athletes Epo, Ht, urinary ...

Submaximal and maximal exercise responses were examined in persons (age, 19-30 years) residing at a moderate altitude for different periods of time. Long-term residents (LTR; 44 males, 11 females) had lived continuously between 1,830 and 2,200 m for 2 years or longer before testing. Short-term residents (STR; 22 males, 30 ...

Cardiac chronotropic response to adrenergic activity at rest and exercise has been studied in 8 sea-level natives on the first two days of exposure to high altitude hypoxia (3823 m, 473 mmHg). Maximal O2 uptake (VO2max) was determined at low altitude (day 0:D0) and high altitude (day 2:D2). Submaximal exercise ...

In a previous study we showed that there were no differences in anaerobic metabolism between groups of 11-yr-old children living at high (3,700 m) and low (330 m) altitudes. The aim of this study is to investigate changes in this metabolism during pubertal development. We compare blood lactate concentration ([L]) ...

The impact of strenuous exercise and environmental hypoxia on sickle cell trait (SCT) remains controversial. To determine if these factors induce cardiopulmonary and gas exchange abnormalities in SCT, healthy, young black male volunteers, 25 with SCT (HbAS) and 16 control subjects (HbAA), were evaluated during incremental and steady-state exercise tests ...

A study was performed to show whether debrisoquine phenotyping could be performed as an overnight procedure. Phenotyping of 33 normal volunteers was carried out during the day and night. A good correlation was observed between the day- and night-time metabolic ratios, although wide variation was observed in 3 subjects.

Previous reports have produced conflicting results as to whether changes in posture affected the pharmacokinetics of the penicillins. We have studied the pharmacokinetics of intramuscularly administered benzylpenicillin in normal subjects during bedrest and ambulation and compared it with data obtained following intravenous administration of the same dose to the same ...

Folk healing was studied in two ethnic groups of Laos during the period 1965-75. Hmong, mostly illiterate and animistic, lived in highly autonomous villages within an atomistic society, occupying remote and sparsely populated mountains. Lao, mostly literate and Buddhist, lived in lowland towns and villages within a hierarchical and integrated ...

Differences between the effects of training at sea level and at simulated altitude on performance and muscle structural and biochemical properties were investigated in 8 competitive cyclists who trained for 3-4 weeks, 4-5 sessions/week, each session consisting of cycling for 60-90 min continuously and 45-60 min intermittently. Four subjects, the ...

A recent decline in consanguineous marriages in Japan should have resulted in a decrease in the incidence of autosomal recessive disorders. Theoretical estimates were made of the chronological decrease in the incidence using a formula for Hardy-Weinberg expectation in a partially inbred population and applying appropriate consanguinity rates, taken from ...

Rats learn to prefer a place that has been paired with the rewarding effect of amphetamine. Since amphetamine is also known to produce an aversive effect, called here sickness, pairings of a place with amphetamine should produce a place-sickness association as well as the place-reward association that underlies the conditioned ...

Eight normal subjects were decompressed to barometric pressure (PB) = 240 Torr over 40 days. The ventilation-perfusion (VA/Q) distribution was estimated at rest and during exercise [up to 80-90% maximal O2 uptake (VO2 max)] by the multiple inert gas elimination technique at sea level and PB = 428, 347, 282, ...

Previously, we found resting metabolic rate increased at high altitude but the mechanism and consequences of this increase were unclear. We sought to test the role of beta-sympathetic activation for increasing metabolic rate and the contribution of an increase in metabolic rate to raising total ventilation at altitude. Following baseline ...

A new osmium-191/iridium-191m (191Os/191mIr) radionuclide generator has been developed that offers high 191mIr yield (greater than 20%/ml) and low 191Os breakthrough (less than 5 X 10(-4)%/ml) when eluted with a solution of 0.001 M oxalic acid and 0.9% (normal) saline. This is the first 191Os/191mIr generator that combines the advantages ...

This study assessed the value of controlled exercise in a bends susceptibility test. Healthy male subjects were exposed to a pressure altitude of 9,100 m (30,000 ft; 4.3 psia) for a period not exceeding 8 h on two separate days at least 1 week apart. During one exposure, subjects performed ...