BACKGROUND Because of the logistical obstacles to measurement under hyperbaric conditions, the effect of nitrous oxide (N2O) alone on spinal neuronal responses has not been tested. We hypothesized that, like other inhaled anesthetics, N2O would depress spinal neuronal responses to noxious stimulation. METHODS The lumbar spinal cord was exposed in rats anesthetized with isoflurane. Mechanicall...

Most infants admitted to premature baby or neonatal surgical units are nursed in incubators during part of their stay in hospital. There are many advantages of nursing these infants in incubators, but there is also one great disadvantage, the danger of bacterial colonization and contamination inside the incubator. The temperature inside the incubator approaches that of the body and many of thes...

BACKGROUND We previously published an article about the pressure effect using a rheumatoid animal model. Hyperbaric therapy appears to be beneficial in treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by reducing the inflammatory process in an animal model. In this sense, acquiring the optimal pressure-treatment time parameter for RA is important and no optimal hyperbaric therapy time has been suggested up t...

PURPOSE To determine whether the atmospheric pressure (ATM) change experienced during diving can induce changes in the intraocular pressure (IOP) of eyes in a normal population. METHODS The IOP of 27 healthy volunteers (ages, 23.8 +/- 4.9 years; range, 18-44) was measured with a Perkins applanation tonometer by two independent investigators who were masked to the previous measurements. Measur...

Records at the Hyperbaric Medicine Division, United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, were reviewed to determine the utility of the pressure cuff test as an aid in the diagnosis of Type I decompression sickness (DCS). Applying local pressure with a blood pressure cuff has been described as a useful test to differentiate the pain of DCS from that of other musculoskeletal conditions....

Nitrogen narcosis is often compared to alcohol intoxication, but no actual studies have been carried out in humans to test the comparability of these effects. If a common mechanism of action is responsible for the behavioral effects of these substances, biological variability of response to alcohol should correlate to that of nitrogen in the same individual. To test this hypothesis, subjective ...

We conducted experimental trials of flying after diving using profiles near the no-decompression exposure limits for recreational diving. The objective was to determine the dependence of DCS occurrence during or after flight on the length of the preflight surface intervals (PFSI). One to three dives were conducted during a single day with dry, resting subjects in a hyperbaric chamber at depths ...