Study on effects of duration of migration to high-altitude on cerebral hemodynamics and their ethnic differences

Abstract

Objective To study the effects of duration of migration from sea-level to high-altitude on cerebral hemodynamic parameters and their ethnic differences.Methods This randomized comparative study recruited 5 groups of healthy male subjects which were native Hans at sea-level (NHS),Han migrants from sea-level to high-altitude (HMSH,where HMSH-a for residence duration of 4 days,HMSH-b for 1 year,and HMSH-c for 5 years),and native Tibetans at high-altitude (NTH).Color duplex Doppler sonography (CDDS) was used to measure bilateral vertebral and internal carotid arterial diameters,mean flow velocities.The heart rate,arterial blood pressure,and arterial oxygen saturation were also recorded simultaneously,and in combination,hemoglobin was measured to assess total cerebral blood flow (TCBF),total cerebrovascular resistance (TCVR),and total cerebral oxygen supply (TCOS).Results After migration to high-altitude,Hans' TCVR and TCBF maintained the level of NHS after transient changes during early stage (P<0.05),and the TCBF was markedly higher than that of NTH (P<0.05);while the blood pressure and TCOS increased abruptly (P<0.05) at the beginning and kept for a relatively long time at a constant level which were higher than those of NTH all the time (P<0.05).Conclusions Han migrants can acclimate to high-altitude by adaptive change of cerebral blood flow over a short time and maintain a constant adaptability which is always weaker than that of native Tibetans.CDDS can be used for non-invasive measurement of actual cerebral blood flow,and is of good value in the study on high-altitude-related cerebral hemodynamics. Key words: Ultrasonography; Altitude; Hypoxia; Brain; Hemodynamic phenomena