1. L-arginine supplementation enhances exhaled NO, breath condensate VEGF, and headache at 4,342 m.
- Author
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Mansoor JK, Morrissey BM, Walby WF, Yoneda KY, Juarez M, Kajekar R, Severinghaus JW, Eldridge MW, and Schelegle ES
- Subjects
- Adult, Altitude Sickness metabolism, Altitude Sickness prevention & control, Analysis of Variance, Breath Tests methods, Cross-Over Studies, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Double-Blind Method, Headache etiology, Headache metabolism, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Altitude Sickness drug therapy, Arginine administration & dosage, Headache drug therapy, Nitric Oxide metabolism, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A metabolism
- Abstract
We examined the effect of dietary supplementation with L-arginine on breath condensate VEGF, exhaled nitric oxide (NO), plasma erythropoietin, symptoms of acute mountain sickness, and respiratory related sensations at 4,342 m through the course of 24 h in seven healthy male subjects. Serum L-arginine levels increased in treated subjects at time 0, 8, and 24 h compared with placebo, indicating the effectiveness of our treatment. L-arginine had no significant effect on overall Lake Louise scores compared with placebo. However, there was a significant increase in headache within the L-arginine treatment group at 12 h compared with time 0, a change not seen in the placebo condition between these two time points. There was a trend (p = 0.087) toward greater exhaled NO and significant increases in breath condensate VEGF with L-arginine treatment, but no L-arginine effect on serum EPO. These results suggest that L-arginine supplementation increases HIF-1 stabilization in the lung, possibly through a NO-dependent pathway. In total, our observations indicate that L-arginine supplementation is not beneficial in the prophylactic treatment of AMS.
- Published
- 2005
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