The Adventure Life with Steve Casimiro Himalaya Study: High-Altitude Climbing Damages Brain Cells

Text by West Coast Editor Steve Casimiro

High-altitude climbing can cause brain damage that impairs motor skills and memory, reports a study by Italian researchers published this month in the European Journal of Neurology.

Exposure to the oxygen-depleted heights of high altitudes reduced the volume and density of “white matter” near what’s called the motor cortex and in “grey matter” near the left angular gyrus. Nine climbers with at least 10 years experience each were tested with MRI scans before and after trips to Mt. Everest or K2 that did not use supplemental oxygen. They were measured against a group of 19 control subjects and the results were examined by testers who didn’t know which was which. One of the climbers summited both Everest and K2, two others summited one or the other, and the rest spent at least two weeks about 6,500 meters.

“Our results provide evidence that extremely high-altitude climbs with no external oxygen supply may cause subtle changes in brain tissue, even when well acclimatised individuals do not experience any neurological symptoms,” said Dr Margherita Di Paola of the Rome-based Neuroimaging Laboratory at the IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia.

There was no measured impairment in neurological tests before and after the expeditions, but two-thirds of the climbers scored lower than average on what’s called the Digit Symbol test, which measures the ability to anticipate and adapt. Four of the nine also score lower than average on visual/motor skills, three scored lower in short-term memory, and three scored lower in long-term memory.

“Some of the subjects did show abnormal scores on the neuropsychological tests, but in these cases there was no significant difference between the baseline and follow up results,” said Di Paola. “This suggests that there were no significant changes as a result of a single expedition.

“As they had been carefully checked for any pathological conditions that could cause these abnormal scores, we conclude that these test results are most likely to be due to progressive, subtle, brain insults caused by repeated high-altitude exposure.”

Comments

[David Ng]

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[shuan T insanity workout]

yeach,it is a funny activity.

[Mindful]

This is hardly surprising, as this is an extreme activity.