title: Oxidative stress response to acute hypobaric hypoxia and its association with indirect measurement of increased intracranial pressure: a field study.
abstract: High altitude is the most intriguing natural laboratory to study human physiological response to hypoxic conditions. In this study, we investigated changes in reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative stress biomarkers during exposure to hypobaric hypoxia in 16 lowlanders. Moreover, we looked at the potential relationship between ROS related cellular damage and optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) as an indirect measurement of intracranial pressure. Baseline measurement of clinical signs and symptoms, biological samples and ultrasonography were assessed at 262 m and after passive ascent to 3830 m (9, 24 and 72 h). After 24 h the imbalance between ROS production (+141%) and scavenging (-41%) reflected an increase in oxidative stress related damage of 50-85%. ONSD concurrently increased, but regression analysis did not infer a causal relationship between oxidative stress biomarkers and changes in ONSD. These results provide new insight regarding ROS homeostasis and potential pathophysiological mechanisms of acute exposure to hypobaric hypoxia, plus other disease states associated with oxidative-stress damage as a result of tissue hypoxia.
authors: EURAC Institute of Mountain Emergency Medicine, Bolzano, Italy.
authors: Giacomo
authors: G
authors: Strapazzon
authors: EURAC Institute of Mountain Emergency Medicine, Bolzano, Italy.|Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
authors: Sandro
authors: S
authors: Malacrida
authors: CNR Institute of Bioimaging and Molecular Physiology, Segrate (Milano), Italy.
authors: Alessandra
authors: A
authors: Vezzoli
authors: EURAC Institute of Mountain Emergency Medicine, Bolzano, Italy.
authors: Tomas
authors: T
authors: Dal Cappello
authors: Department of Neurology, General Hospital of Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy.|Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Sapienza University, Roma, Italy.
authors: Marika
authors: M
authors: Falla
authors: Department of Neurology, University of the Saarland, Homburg, Germany.
authors: Piergiorgio
authors: P
authors: Lochner
authors: CNR Institute of Bioimaging and Molecular Physiology, Segrate (Milano), Italy.
authors: Sarah
authors: S
authors: Moretti
authors: EURAC Institute of Mountain Emergency Medicine, Bolzano, Italy.
authors: Emily
authors: E
authors: Procter
authors: EURAC Institute of Mountain Emergency Medicine, Bolzano, Italy.
authors: Hermann
authors: H
authors: Brugger
authors: CNR Institute of Bioimaging and Molecular Physiology, Segrate (Milano), Italy.
authors: Simona
authors: S
authors: Mrakic-Sposta
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000532:Altitude Sickness / Q000097:blood* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism; D015237:Dinoprost / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000097:blood* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D019586:Intracranial Hypertension / Q000097:blood* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D007427:Intracranial Pressure; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009186:Myelin Sheath / Q000473:pathology; D009900:Optic Nerve / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances / Q000378:metabolism; D014463:Ultrasonography
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances; C075750:8-epi-prostaglandin F2alpha; D015237:Dinoprost