Little is known about the eVects of age and symptoms of acute mountain sickness and the potential benefit of short term acclimatisation on fine motor performance at altitude. There is uncertainty about whether time spent at altitude results in permanent neurological sequelae. Nine hole pegboard tests were performed on a group of trekkers at sea level (n=61), after ascending to Kanchenjunga base...

Populations living at high altitudes (HAs), particularly in the Peruvian Andes, are characterized by a mixture of subjects with erythrocytosis (16 g dl(-1)21 g dl(-1)). Elevated haemoglobin values (EE) are associated with chronic mountain sickness, a condition reflecting the lack of adaptation to HA. According to c...

The beneficial role of erythrocytosis for O2 transport has been questioned by evidence from bloodletting and hemodilution research as well as by studies suggesting the existence of an "optimal" hematocrit (Hct) or hemoglobin concentration ([Hb]) value. To assess to what extent erythrocytosis is beneficial in Andean men at high altitude, we examined and discussed optimal [Hb] using a mathematica...

Chronic mountain sickness (CMS) is a condition in which hematocrit is increased above the normal level in residents at high altitude. In this article we take issue with the "Consensus Statement On Chronic And Subacute High Altitude Diseases" of 2005 on two essential points: using a questionnaire to evaluate the symptoms of CMS to use the term "loss of adaptation" as opposed to "adaptation to di...

Acetazolamide (Acz) is used at altitude to prevent acute mountain sickness, but its effect on exercise capacity under hypoxic conditions is uncertain. Nine healthy men completed this double-blind, randomized, crossover study. All subjects underwent incremental exercise to exhaustion with an inspired O(2) fraction of 0.13, hypoxic ventilatory responses, and hypercapnic ventilatory responses afte...