Remote ischemic preconditioning delays the onset of acute mountain sickness in normobaric hypoxia.
Acute mountain sickness (AMS) is a neurological disorder occurring when ascending too fast, too high. Remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) is a noninvasive intervention protecting remote organs from subsequent hypoxic damage. We hypothesized that RIPC protects against AMS and that this effect is related to reduced oxidative stress. Fourteen subjects were exposed to 18 hours of normoxia (21% oxygen) and 18 h of normobaric hypoxia (12% oxygen, equivalent to 4500 m) on different days in a blinded, randomized order. RIPC consisted of four cycles of lower limb ischemia (5 min) and 5 min of reperfusion, and was performed immediately before the study room was entered. A control group was exposed to hypoxia (12% oxygen, n = 14) without RIPC. AMS was evaluated by the Lake Louise score (LLS) and the AMS-C score of the Environmental Symptom Questionnaire. Plasma concentrations of ascorbate radicals, oxidized sulfhydryl (SH) groups, and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) signal intensity were measured as biomarkers of oxidative stress. RIPC reduced AMS scores (LLS: 1.9 ± 0.4 vs. 3.2 ± 0.5; AMS-C score: 0.4 ± 0.1 vs. 0.8 ± 0.2), ascorbate radicals (27 ± 7 vs. 65 ± 18 nmol/L), oxidized SH groups (3.9 ± 1.4 vs. 14.3 ± 4.6 μmol/L), and EPR signal intensity (0.6 ± 0.2 vs. 1.5 ± 0.4 × 10(6)) after 5 h in hypoxia (all P < 0.05). After 18 hours in hypoxia there was no difference in AMS and oxidative stress between RIPC and control. AMS and plasma markers of oxidative stress did not correlate. This study demonstrates that RIPC transiently reduces symptoms of AMS and that this effect is not associated with reduced plasma levels of reactive oxygen species.
Department of Anesthesiology, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and General Critical Care Medicine, Salzburg General Hospital Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria ma.berger@salk.at.
Marc M
MM
Berger
Department of Anesthesiology, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Hannah
H
Köhne
Department of Anesthesiology, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and General Critical Care Medicine, Salzburg General Hospital Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
Lorenz
L
Hotz
Department of Internal Medicine VII, Division of Sports Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Moritz
M
Hammer
Department of Internal Medicine VII, Division of Sports Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Kai
K
Schommer
Department of Internal Medicine VII, Division of Sports Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Peter
P
Bärtsch
Department of Internal Medicine VII, Division of Sports Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Heimo
H
Mairbäurl
AMS; high altitude; oxidative stress; prevention; reactive oxygen species