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06 29th, 2009| 
Book Description:
In consolidation of the most updated experimental results and perspectives from diverse research fields on a main theme - Intermittent Hypoxia, this book encompasses the structural, physiological, pathophysiological, biochemical, genetic, metabolic, and therapeutic aspects of intermittent hypoxia and provides an open forum to promote the bench-to-bed translational implications of both adaptive (beneficial) and maladaptive (detrimental) responses to intermittent hypoxia in animals and humans. Authored by 74 leading scientists from 17 countries in Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceana, the 30 chapters are grouped under 7 different sections covering the profound effects of intermittent hypoxia particularly on cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous, and skeletal muscular systems. Special attentions are paid to the protective or injurious roles played by intermittent hypoxia and their underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms in several major human diseases such as acute myocardial infarction, stroke, sleep apnea, and Parkinson’s disease. Several chapters have also reviewed the use of intermittent hypoxia training for enhancing exercise performance in elite athletes. Overall, as endorsed by Professor John B. West (Member, Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences of U.S.A.; Editor-in-Chief, High Altitude Medicine and Biology) through his Foreword for the book, this is the most comprehensive monograph to date on the topic of intermittent hypoxia, which can cause significant structural and functional impact on the systemic, organic, cellular and molecular processes of human physiology and pathophysiology. Hence, this book could serve as a thorough reference for research scientists, physicians, academic faculty, graduate and medical students, athletic coaches and trainers, who are interested in enhancing their knowledge about the past, present, and future of intermittent hypoxia research and its translational applications for prevention and treatment of major diseases and improving exercise performance.
J Sports Sci. 2009 Apr; Esteva et al.
findings support our previous results on skeletal and cardiac muscle capillarization after passive intermittent simulated altitude exposure, thus providing morphofunctional and biochemical evidence for increased cardiac aerobic efficiency.
Wilderness Environ Med. 2009 Spring
Increases in arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) in response to intermittent hypoxic exposure (IHE) are well established. However, IHE protocols have historically involved static hypoxic environments.
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The dynamic intermittent hypoxic conditioning protocol used in the present study resulted in an acclimation response, such that SpO2 was significantly increased at all altitudes tested, with shorter exposure times than generally reported.
The researchers examined whether athletes become more economical because of high-altitude training — consuming less oxygen at any given speed once they return to sea level. Chapman said the researchers did not see any improvements. Economy was the same or worse, he said, in part because of the elevated breathing the athletes experienced when they returned to sea level. The study, “Running Economy Changes After High Altitude Training: Role of Ventilatory Acclimatization,” was presented during the Altitude and Hypoxia:
Training and Performance Session on Friday morning. Coauthors of this study are Lundgren, Wilhite, Laymon, McKenzie and Chapman.
Semenza GL. Regulation of oxygen homeostasis by hypoxia-inducible factor 1.
Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) is a transcription factor that regulates oxygen homeostasis and plays key roles in development, physiology, and disease.
HIF-1 activity is induced in response to continuous hypoxia, intermittent hypoxia, growth factor stimulation, and Ca(2+)
signaling. HIF-1 mediates adaptive responses to hypoxia, including erythropoiesis, angiogenesis, and metabolic reprogramming. In each case, HIF-1 regulates the expression of multiple genes encoding key components of the response pathway. HIF-1 also mediates maladaptive responses to chronic continuous and intermittent hypoxia, which underlie the development of pulmonary and systemic hypertension, respectively.
Anesthesiology. 2009 Apr;110(4):922-7.
Brown KA.
Intermittent hypoxia, a powerful and unique stimulus, leads to physiologic changes that are distinct from those
associated with either single or continuous hypoxic exposure.
Soccer teams from high altitude countries have a significant advantage when playing at both low and high altitudes, finds a new study.
In contrast, lowland teams are unable to acclimatise to high altitude, reducing physiological performance.
At altitude, lack of oxygen (hypoxia), cold and dehydration can lead to breathlessness, headaches, nausea, dizziness and fatigue, and possibly altitude sickness. Activities such as soccer (known as football in some countries including the UK) can make symptoms worse, preventing players from performing at full capacity.
FULL article
ScienceDaily (June 1, 2009) — A study by Indiana University researchers found that athletes’ elevated or heavier breathing at sea level immediately following high-altitude training accounts for a substantial amount of the gains from the high-altitude training. The heavy breathing is temporary, however, said Robert Chapman, lecturer in IU’s Department of Kinesiology, and makes a case for why athletes should consider giving themselves one week to 10 days at sea level before a major competition.
J Hypertens. 2009 Apr 20
Haider et al.
CONCLUSION: Eucapnic normoxic mild COPD patients already showed signs of cardiovascular autonomic abnormalities at baseline, which normalized with hypoxic training. If confirmed in more severe patients, interval hypoxic training [altitude training] may be a therapeutic strategy to rebalance early autonomic dysfunction in COPD patients.
Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2009 Mar;4(1):68-83.
Cycling performance following adaptation to two protocols of acutely intermittent hypoxia.
Bonetti DL, Hopkins WG, Lowe TE, Boussana A, Kilding AE.
Institute of Sport and Recreation Research, New Zealand School of Sort and Recreation, AUT University, Auckland, NZ.
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Compared with control, the combined hypoxic groups showed clear enhancements in peak power (4.7%; 90% confidence limits, +/-3.1%), lactate-profile power (4.4%; +/-3.0%), and heart-rate profile power (6.5%; +/-5.3%) at 3 d postintervention, but at 14 d the effects were unclear.