UKC

A group of scientists in the UK are putting together a registry of people who have previously suffered from serious high-altitude illnesses.

More in on the new pages - http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/

In reply to Alan James - UKC:

I don't want to detract from the study of this serious / deadly affliction, but as I understand it, having not suffered HAPE is no guarantee that one won't suffer it in the future...perhaps when in high altitude, we're all just HAPE casualties waiting to happen?

In reply to chasm: There is a trip being undertaken to Everest Base Camp next year which will be accompanied by medics studying high altitude body function. The participants, who are all paying the full cost of their trip, will have lung function studied every day with the help of exercise bikes.

One of my cycling friends (who is very fit but has never been higher than 3000 metres) is going on this trip, and the oldest participant is an 85 year old man. The idea is to gather information on how a variety of people react to exercise at altitude.

In reply to chasm:

I agree completely that HAPE is a serious risk for all high altitude climbers. However, there is no doubt that some individuals are susceptible to HAPE and are very likely to get it again. The idea behind the HAPE database is to find out what causes this individual susceptibility.

The expedition to Everest next year is one of the best-planned medical research expeditions in history - they are still looking for volunteers:
http://www.xtreme-everest.co.uk/news_detail.php?newsid=219

In reply to Kenneth Baillie:

I don't see anywhere to register if you've had HACE on your site - can you direct me?

In reply to Dean:

Thanks for your interest - you can register at the same address: database@hape.org.uk. We are updating the 'site to accommodate HACE sufferers, but things have slowed down a bit since our web programmer moved to Antarctica.