Previously, several new hypotheses that geographic altitude, through its complex beneficial mechanisms were proposed by our research scientist, Dr. Rovshan Ismailov, MD MPH PhD. We all heard stories about very old men and even centenarians who reached longevity records by living in high altitudes areas such as mountains of Tibet. The most recent example, the story about a man from Bolivia who is  now 123 years old and he lives in the mountains at an altitude of more than 12,000 feet. Dr. Ismailov’s groundbreaking research articles published in several prestigious journals such as “Annals of Neurology” (the official journal of American Neurological Association), “American Heart Journal”, “Alzheimer Disease and Associate Disorders”, “Medical Hypothesis”, “Journal of Medical Hypotheses and Ideas” etc. suggests that rates of Alzheimer’s Disease, heart failure and stroke, are substantially lower in the “mountain” states as compared to “lowland” states of the US. One of the possible explanations is a hormone naturally released by human kidney in response to human presence in the high altitude area called erythropoietin and also known as EPO so that overall the higher altitude is the more of this hormone is released by kidneys. Of course, there are other important mechanisms such as higher sun exposure in the mountain area (and, therefore, higher vitamin D level in human organism) that should be considered.

Overall, the mechanisms of such beneficial effects of high altitude are complex and should be further investigated in our prospective studies. For example:

• Is extremely high altitude (i.e. more than 6,000 feet) more beneficial for our health than moderately high altitude with regard to Alzheimer’s disease?

• Do men and women diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease benefit equally from high altitude?

• Do cognitive (i.e. critical thinking, memory etc.) functions improve in the high altitude area?

• What happens with the cardiovascular and blood functions when a person moves from low altitude to high altitude area?

• Would men diagnosed with dementia in their 80s benefit equally from high altitudes as compared to, for example, men in their 70s? What about men in their 90s?

Our prospective projects concern if high altitude affects such important health concerns as Parkinson’s disease; whether high altitude affects men and women diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease differently  etc. Another direction is to examine whether those who are injured in the high altitude area are less likely to develop complications. For instance, those who have traumatic brain injury (head concussion) may have lower rates of stroke or depression if an accident occurred in the mountains compared to lowland area. This may open up new avenues for treatment as well as identify “optimal” geographic altitudes for prevention, treatment and rehabilitation for injured patients. Finally, we need to examine certain negative aspects of high altitude.