The effect of high altitude on nasal nitric oxide levels

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether nasal nitric oxide (nNO) levels change in relation to high altitude in a natural setting where the weather conditions were favorable. The present study included 41 healthy volunteers without a history of acute rhinosinusitis within 3 weeks and nasal polyposis. The study group consisted of 31 males (76 %) and 10 females (24 %) and the mean age of the study population was 38 ± 10 years. The volunteers encamped for 2 days in a mountain village at an altitude of 1,500 m above sea level (masl) and proceeded to highlands at an altitude of 2,200 masl throughout the day. The measurements of nNO were done randomly, either first at the mountain village or at sea level. Each participant had nNO values both at sea level and at high altitude at the end of the study. The nNO values of sea level and high altitude were compared to investigate the effect of high altitude on nNO levels. The mean of average nNO measurements at the high altitude was 74.2 ± 41 parts-per-billion (ppb) and the mean of the measurements at sea level was 93.4 ± 45 ppb. The change in nNO depending on the altitude level was statistically significant (p < 0.001). The current investigation showed that nNO levels were decreased at high altitude even if the weather conditions were favorable, such as temperature, humidity, and wind.

HSPA1A gene polymorphism rs1008438 is associated with susceptibility to acute mountain sickness in Han Chinese individuals

“…NO is an effective vasodilator and plays an important role in acclimatization and adaptation to hypoxia. In the vasculature, NO acts locally via relaxing smooth muscles and thereby causing vasodilatation and is produced by NO synthases (NOSs) encoded by NOS3 (Altundag et al, 2014;MacInnis et al, 2011;Mansoor et al, 2005;Wang et al, 2010Wang et al, , 2013. Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) family is a critical component of cytoprotective gene products (Qi et al, 2009).…”

“…However, the pathophysiology of AMS is not fully illustrated. Some biochemical medium genetic mutations have been identified and characterized in different populations, which may affect the oxygen sensing mechanism, such as polymorphisms in the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) (Altundag et al, 2014;Ding et al, 2011;Mansoor et al, 2005;Rossetti et al, 2017;Sun, Wang, Xi, & Hu, 2013;Tissot van Patot et al, 2005;Wang, Ha, Kidd, Koehle, & Rupert, 2010). eNOS plays a significant role in the production of nitric oxide (NO) gaseous hormone and is an essential regulator of physiological functions (Wang et al, 2013).…”

Travel-Related Paediatric ENT Infections

“…No other condition, such as middle ear infection, a lung infection or a viral episode, should be present. A swift symptomatic improvement when additional oxygen is supplied helps to confirm the diagnosis [32][33][34][35][36][37]. Management of high altitude sickness does not differ between adults and children [28][29][30].…”

Nasal nitric oxide and its metabolites as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis and follow-up of allergic rhinitis

“…[4] In later years, it has been shown to be a very important autacoid that plays a role in inflammation and autoimmunity. [5,6] Nitric oxide is a free radical and quite reactive. It may freely diffuse in a liquid environment, may easily pass through cell membranes, and combines with other free radicals in a few seconds.…”