Predictors and models of hypoxia and altitude tolerance in humans

人类前往海拔高度工作和娱乐的频率越来越高，经常会遇到疲劳、头痛和表现不佳等困难，这主要是由于这些地点的氧气水平较低。这些反应的机制还不是很清楚。尽管进行了数十年的研究，但很难预测哪些人能很好地适应海拔，哪些人不能。许多明显的潜在预测指标，如年龄、健康状况，甚至血液中的氧气水平，都被证明是不可靠的。造成这种情况的一个关键原因是，海拔以外的因素会给人体带来压力，并导致类似的反应。这些因素包括劳累、脱水，甚至宿醉或偏头痛。这项拟议的研究的目的是寻找新的方法来预测哪些人会在高原表现良好。我们特别着眼于神经预测因素(如平衡和认知)和遗传预测因素(表明一个人是否会在高原表现良好的基因)。我们的初步工作表明，基本平衡测试似乎能够辨别出谁会在高原上患上急性高原反应。我们还发现了两个潜在的基因，它们可能有助于我们预测谁在高原表现不佳。我们希望在以前研究的基础上，在实验室和实地进行一系列研究。此外，我们还发现，坊间传闻，那些在高原上执行更具认知挑战性的任务的人可能比那些不在高原上执行任务的人表现得更差。我们想要科学地测试具有认知挑战性的活动是否会使个人在高原上的表现变得更差。我们将结合实验室研究(在我们的高空舱进行)和在尼泊尔喜马拉雅山脉的研究地点进行的实地研究，来验证我们现有的预测因素，并寻找和测试新的海拔反应预测因素。我们已经开发了一款新的智能手机应用程序，可以用来收集这些数据中的大部分，还可以测量诸如平衡、协调和大气压力等重要变量。找到这些新的海拔反应预测因子不仅将提高我们预测谁将在高原表现或遭受痛苦的能力，还将增强我们对人类如何应对高海拔背后的机制的理解。

Humans travel to altitude with increasing frequency for work and for recreation, and are frequently subject to difficulties such as fatigue, headache and poor performance, primarily as a result of the low levels of oxygen at these locations. The mechanism of these responses is not well understood. Despite decades of research, it is hard to predict those individuals who will be highly acclimatize well to altitude, and those who are not. Many obvious potential predictors such as age, fitness, and even the level of oxygen in the blood have proven to be unreliable. A key reason for this is that factors other than altitude can stress the human body, and cause similar responses. These factors include exertion, dehydration, and even hangover or migraine. The purpose of the proposed research is to look for new ways to predict which individuals will perform well at altitude. We specifically aim to look at neurological predictors (such as balance and cognition), and genetic predictors (genes that indicate whether an individual will perform well at altitude). Our preliminary work has shown that a basic balance test seems to be able to discern who develops acute mountain sickness at altitude. We have also found two potential genes that might help us predict who performs poorly at altitude. We would like to build on this previous research with a series of studies in the laboratory and in the field. Furthermore, we have found anecdotally that those who perform more cognitively challenging tasks while at altitude may perform worse than those who do not. We would like to scientifically test whether cognitively challenging activity makes individuals perform worse at altitude.We will combine both laboratory research (performed in our altitude chamber) and field research, conducted at our research sites in the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal, to validate our existing predictors, and to search for and test new predictors of altitude response. We have developed a novel smartphone application that can be used to collect much of this data, and will be able to also measure important variables such as balance, coordination and atmospheric pressure.Finding these new predictors of altitude response will not only improve our ability to predict who will perform or suffer at altitude, it will also enhance our understanding of the mechanisms behind how humans respond to high altitude.