Title
The 2018 Global Research Expedition on Altitude Related Chronic Health (Global REACH) to Cerro de Pasco, Peru: an Experimental Overview
Date Issued
01 January 2021
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Tymko M.M.
Hoiland R.L.
Tremblay J.C.
Stembridge M.
Dawkins T.G.
Coombs G.B.
Patrician A.
Howe C.A.
Gibbons T.D.
Moore J.P.
Simpson L.L.
Steinback C.D.
Meah V.L.
Stacey B.S.
Bailey D.M.
MacLeod D.B.
Gasho C.
Anholm J.D.
Bain A.R.
Lawley J.S.
Ainslie P.N.
Publisher(s)
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Abstract
New Findings: What is the central question of this study? Herein, a methodological overview of our research team's (Global REACH) latest high altitude research expedition to Peru is provided. What is the main finding and its importance? The experimental objectives, expedition organization, measurements and key cohort data are discussed. The select data presented in this manuscript demonstrate the haematological differences between lowlanders and Andeans with and without excessive erythrocytosis. The data also demonstrate that exercise capacity was similar between study groups at high altitude. The forthcoming findings from our research expedition will contribute to our understanding of lowlander and indigenous highlander high altitude adaptation. Abstract: In 2016, the international research team Global Research Expedition on Altitude Related Chronic Health (Global REACH) was established and executed a high altitude research expedition to Nepal. The team consists of ∼45 students, principal investigators and physicians with the common objective of conducting experiments focused on high altitude adaptation in lowlanders and in highlanders with lifelong exposure to high altitude. In 2018, Global REACH travelled to Peru, where we performed a series of experiments in the Andean highlanders. The experimental objectives, organization and characteristics, and key cohort data from Global REACH's latest research expedition are outlined herein. Fifteen major studies are described that aimed to elucidate the physiological differences in high altitude acclimatization between lowlanders (n = 30) and Andean-born highlanders with (n = 22) and without (n = 45) excessive erythrocytosis. After baseline testing in Kelowna, BC, Canada (344 m), Global REACH travelled to Lima, Peru (∼80 m) and then ascended by automobile to Cerro de Pasco, Peru (∼4300 m), where experiments were conducted over 25 days. The core studies focused on elucidating the mechanism(s) governing cerebral and peripheral vascular function, cardiopulmonary regulation, exercise performance and autonomic control. Despite encountering serious logistical challenges, each of the proposed studies was completed at both sea level and high altitude, amounting to ∼780 study sessions and >3000 h of experimental testing. Participant demographics and data relating to acid–base balance and exercise capacity are presented. The collective findings will contribute to our understanding of how lowlanders and Andean highlanders have adapted under high altitude stress.
Start page
86
End page
103
Volume
106
Issue
1
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Fisiología
Subjects
DOI
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85085075198
PubMed ID
Source
Experimental Physiology
ISSN of the container
09580670
Sponsor(s)
The success of this expedition is directly attributed to the impressive problem-solving abilities and resiliency of the team members. We would like to give thanks to our local Peru collaborators for their support in the weeks leading up to and during data collection in Peru. The authors are grateful to all other members and participants of the 2018 Global REACH expedition to Peru: Tyler Vermeulen, Alexander Hansen, Courtney Tymko, Andrew Steele, Florian Hofstatter, Simon Rainer, Joseph Donnelly, Lisa Wong, Victoria Meah, Kaitlyn Tymko, Rachel Stone, Lydia Simpson, Christopher Hearon, Sachin Amin, Suman Thapamagar, Gilberto Moralez, Aimee Drane, John Atkins, Alex Williams, Antoinette Santoro, Daniela Bermudez Pumasunco and Romulo Joseph Figueroa Mujica. The 2018 Global REACH expedition to Peru was funded, in part, by a Canada Research Chair (CRC) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) to P.N.A. M.M.T., R.L.H., and J.C.T. were supported by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Doctoral Grant. P.N.A. supported by Canada Research Chair. D.M.B. supported by Royal Society Wolfson Research Fellowship (#WM170007), Royal Society International Exchanges Award (IES\R2\192137), and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Research Fellowship (#JSPS/OF317).
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus