Garrido E, Castelló A, Ventura J L, Capdevila A, Rodríguez F A
CEARE (Centre d'Estudis d'Alt Rendiment Esportiu, Barcelona, Spain.
Int J Sports Med. 1993 May;14(4):232-4. doi: 10.1055/s-2007-1021169.
The purpose of the present study is to detect by means of MRI any structural changes in the brain and their correlation with the clinical history of climbers who have ascended to extremely high altitudes without supplementary oxygen. Clinical history, neurological examinations and brain MRI were obtained from a group of 26 climbers who ascended to over 7000 m without supplementary oxygen, and the results were compared with a control group (n = 21) of healthy subjects. All the MRI studies were carried out between 26 days and 36 months after return to sea level. Significant neuropsychological disorders were experienced by all climbers during the ascent with residual neurobehavioural impairment after returning to sea level in 58% of them. The neurological examination was normal in all subjects. Almost half of the climbers showed MRI abnormalities (46%). Characteristic signal patterns of cortical atrophy were detected in five subjects. Periventricular hyperintensity lesions in the T2-weighted images were observed in other five climbers. Both types of lesions were found in two subjects. These pathological findings did not correlate with age, sex, clinical symptoms, maximal altitude reached, or length of exposure to extreme altitude. The exact long-term pathological significance of these MRI abnormalities is as yet unknown.
本研究的目的是通过磁共振成像（MRI）检测攀登至极高海拔且未使用辅助氧气的登山者大脑的任何结构变化及其与临床病史的相关性。从一组26名未使用辅助氧气攀登至7000米以上的登山者那里获取了临床病史、神经学检查和脑部MRI结果，并将结果与一组21名健康受试者的对照组进行了比较。所有MRI研究均在返回海平面后26天至36个月内进行。所有登山者在攀登过程中均经历了明显的神经心理障碍，返回海平面后，58%的人存在残留的神经行为损伤。所有受试者的神经学检查均正常。几乎一半的登山者（46%）显示出MRI异常。在五名受试者中检测到了皮质萎缩的特征性信号模式。在另外五名登山者的T2加权图像中观察到脑室周围高信号病变。在两名受试者中发现了这两种类型的病变。这些病理结果与年龄、性别、临床症状、到达的最高海拔或暴露于极端海拔的时间无关。这些MRI异常的确切长期病理意义尚不清楚。
