Optic nerve sheath diameter and acute mountain sickness.

Objective: Increased intracranial pressure (ICP) may contribute to acute mountain sickness (AMS). Measuring optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) by ultrasound (US) is a noninvasive technique to detect elevated ICP, and increased ONSD has been associated with AMS. We hypothesized that ONSD would increase with acute, rapid ascent to 4300 m and that increased ONSD would be associated with symptoms of AMS.

Ginkgo biloba does--and does not--prevent acute mountain sickness.

Objective: To determine the efficacy of 2 different sources of Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) in reducing the incidence and severity of acute mountain sickness (AMS) following rapid ascent to high altitude.

Methods: Two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled cohort studies were conducted in which participants were treated with GBE (240 mg x d(-1)) or placebo prior to and including the day of ascent from 1600 m to 4300 m (ascent in 2 hours by car). Acute mountain sickness was diagnosed if the Environmental Symptom Questionnaire III acute mountain sickness-cerebral (AMS-C) score was > or =0.

Ginkgo biloba for prevention of acute mountain sickness: does it work?

Tissot van Patot, Martha, Linda E. Keyes, Guy Leadbetter III, and Peter H. Hackett.

Prophylactic low-dose acetazolamide reduces the incidence and severity of acute mountain sickness.

Previous studies have shown low-dose acetazolamide to be effective in preventing AMS in persons already at high altitude and then moving higher, a relatively low risk situation. We wished to evaluate prophylactic administration of low-dose acetazolamide for reducing the incidence and severity of AMS in a high-risk setting: rapid ascent from 1600 to 4300 m. We performed a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study with human subjects (n=44) exposed to 4300 m for 24 h.

Detection of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Panton-Valentine leukocidin directly from clinical samples and the development of a multiplex assay using real-time polymerase chain reaction.

Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major pathogen responsible for significant numbers of healthcare-associated infections and isolates containing Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) that cause severe skin infections are emerging as a serious problem. The rapid detection of MRSA would be an invaluable tool in a diagnostic laboratory. The aim of this study is to develop real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays for the detection of MRSA and PVL directly from clinical samples, and then combining these assays.