Acute mountain sickness (AMS) is the greatest challenge of military medicine and wilderness medicine, as the increasing populations of entering Tibet and others who rapidly ascend to high altitude. AMS is considered as a kind of vascular dysfunction and disequilibrium of body fluid diseases induced by environmental stress. Studies reveal that endogenous nitric oxide (NO) , a predominant endogenous vessel dilator, plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of AMS. The decreased production and blocked delivery of NO cause dysfunction of the vascular system in hypoxic situations. Subsequently , AMS develops under the facilitations of alterations in brain and pulmonary blood vessels. NO or L - arginine (the precursor of NO) can also be used to prevent and treat AMS. This review will summarize the progress on the roles of NO in the pathogenesis, pathophysiology, treatment and prophylaxis of AMS.
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