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Otto Appenzeller, MD, PhD

Arch Neurol. 1998;55:1007-1009.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

INTRODUCTION

Traditionally, altitude research has been conducted by those who profess themselves to be physiologists, pulmonologists, cardiologists, and other general physicians. There are no eminent neurologists among altitude medicine researchers. This is likely a reflection of the comparatively recent establishment of the specialty of neurology. Nevertheless, the dependence of the brain on oxygen and hypoxia at high altitudes should long ago have attracted the attention of neurologists avowedly concerned with the function of the nervous system.

Human adaptation to the hypoxic mountain environment is clearly possible, as evidenced by the millions of people who inhabit the high-altitude regions of the world. However, as Hurtardo¹ points out, the process by which these individuals adapt to high elevations is poorly understood:

An understanding of how a healthy man [and woman] is able to tolerate and compensate for hypoxia, and maintain a successful physiological adjustment, may help the clinician in . . . [Full Text of this Article]