More than 140 million people dwell at altitudes of over 2500 m. The Andes region is home to the greatest population density at an altitude of more than 3500 m. Equally, the number of persons living at sea level (SL) is growing, and they travel to medium, high, or extreme altitudes for occupational or scientific reasons, or to enjoy tourism or recreational activities, as is the case of hikers, m...

Glaucoma is a progressive optic neuropathy resulting in axonal death and is a leading cause of blindness. Several factors play a role in this progressive cell loss. Hypoxia and oxidative stress are among the risk factors for glaucomatous changes. Tissue stress is also very crucial in glaucoma. This fact is evidenced by stress proteins and heat shock proteins in glaucoma models (Tezel & Wax, 200...

Hypertension is the result of interaction between genetic vulnerability and exposure to unhealthy lifestyle. However, studies investigating the impact of cardiovascular adaptive response to hypobaric hypoxia and extreme cold in natives of high altitude on the development of hypertension have yielded conflicting results. A community based cross-sectional study was carried out in an unique popula...

People living on the high plateaus of the world have long fascinated biological anthropologists and geneticists because they live in “thin air” and epitomize an extreme of human biological adaptation. Far from posing obstacles to human habitation, the hypoxic conditions of the Tibetan Plateau, the Andean highlands, and the Amhara Plateau of Ethiopia have served as the contexts for natural exper...

Ascent to extreme High Altitude (HA) is in steps and it entails acclimatization at moderately HA locations. In terms of acclimatization, it is pertinent to understand the physiological changes, which occur on immediate ascent to moderate HA. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of ascent to 3500 m on neuro-endocrine responses in the first hour of induction. The plasma levels of catecholamines...