Why predominantly neurological decompression sickness in breath-hold divers?

Why predominantly neurological decompression sickness in breath-hold divers?

It has been widely believed that human free divers were immune to decompression sickness because the only inert gas added during a breath-hold dive is the nitrogen (N2) that remains in the lungs from the inhalation before submerging. However, there has been anecdotal evidence from case reports of divers suffering neurological symptoms after repeated free dives. In breath-hold divers of the Tuam...

Last Word on Viewpoint: Why predominantly neurological decompression sickness in breath-hold divers?

TO THE EDITOR: We appreciate the insightful comments provided by all authors (see Ref. 3) who commented on our Viewpoint (4) on the hypothesis that the hypoxia of breath-hold diving may recruit pulmonary shunts and lead to the arterialization of venous gas emboli (VGE). Because of the large number of comments we cannot respond to each author; however, we would like to address a couple of points...

Commentaries on Viewpoint: Why predominantly neurological DCS in breath-hold divers?

TO THE EDITOR: Schipke and Tetzlaff (5) suggest breath-hold diving may recruit intrapulmonary arteriovenous anastomoses (IPAVA), providing a pathway for venous gas emboli to become arterialized leading to transient neurological injury consistent with transient ischemic attacks. To be a valid hypothesis there must be evidence of microbubbles in the right ventricle, left ventricle, carotid, or ce...

Decompression sickness following repeated breath-hold dives.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Breath-Hold Divers with Cerebral Decompression Sickness

The mechanism of cerebral decompression sickness (DCS) is still unclear. We report 2 cases of breath-hold divers with cerebral DCS in whom magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated distinctive characteristics. One case presented right hemiparesthesia, diplopia, and gait disturbance after breath-hold diving into the sea at a depth of 20 m. Brain MRI with fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (...