Recent research efforts have attempted to determine the effectiveness of the combination of a pharmacological cardiac stimulant (theophylline) and pulmonary vasodilator (ambrisentan) in attenuating performance losses and mountain sickness at altitude. This combination has been observed to improve hypoxic exercise performance in rats, but never tested in human subjects. In the current study, 30 male participants were tested in a paired fashion to assess whether this drug combination would improve exercise performance and/or decrease symptoms of AMS. The experimental group (EXP, n = 15) received a treatment of 400 mg theophylline and 5 mg ambrisentan, while the placebo group (PLA, n = 15) received a placebo combination. Data collection was performed in the field at an altitude of 4,267 m. Participants completed two 2-mile time trials (TT) on subsequent days, between which they spent the night at 3,048 m. Treatment with theophylline and ambrisentan was not associated with improved 2-mile TT performances or AMS symptoms. The EXP group had significantly lower measures of diastolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure compared to PLA while at altitude (69.2 ± 7.9 vs 77.7 ± 8.0 mmHg and 90.8 ± 8.9 vs 97.2 ± 7.9 mmHg, respectively), main effect for group, p<0.05. Significantly, this study was the first to assess this drug combination in human subjects at altitude in a field setting. Additionally, the observed reduction in vascular pressures as a result of treatment may have positive implications for the health state of sojourners to altitude.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:MONTANA/oai:etd.lib.umt.edu:etd-05152014-104453 |
| Date | 20 June 2014 |
| Creators | Palakovich, Hilary Linda |
| Contributors | Dr. Holly Thompson, Dr. Charles Dumke, Dr. Brent Ruby |
| Publisher | The University of Montana |
| Source Sets | University of Montana Missoula |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.lib.umt.edu/theses/available/etd-05152014-104453/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Montana or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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