Relation between flight hours and peripheral nervous conduction velocity.
The peripheral nervous system is highly sensitive to variations in the internal medium. A neurophysiological study (peripheral nervous conduction velocity) and an enzymatic study (catalase and glutathione-peroxidase) were performed in both instructor and student pilots. Pilots do not show the age-dependent decrease in the peripheral sensory nervous conduction velocity observed in non-pilot subject controls. The sensory conduction velocity (SCV) was significantly (p less than 0.01) increased when hours of flight experience increased, yielding a positive correlation (r = 0.6461; p = 0.0016). A significant (p less than 0.01) increase in the erythrocite catalase and glutathione-peroxidase activities were observed in pilots vs. controls. The present data suggest that a chronically increased oxygen consumption could be the reason for the increase in peripheral nervous conduction velocity observed in pilots.
Garcia Alcon
J L
JL
Physiology Department, Extramadura University, Badajoz, Spain.
Moreno Vazquez
J M
JM
Mena Arias
P
P
Martinez Martinez
M
M
Campillo Alvarez
J E
JE
D000328:Adult; D000337:Aerospace Medicine; D000367:Age Factors; D002374:Catalase / Q000097:blood; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008475:Median Nerve / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology; D009431:Neural Conduction; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology; D010525:Peripheral Nerves / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors
D002374:Catalase; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase