Protein tau concentration in blood increases after SCUBA diving: an observational study Show others and affiliations
2022 (English) In: European Journal of Applied Physiology, ISSN 1439-6319, E-ISSN 1439-6327, Vol. 122, no 4, p. 993-1005Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Purpose: It is speculated that diving might be harmful to the nervous system. The aim of this study was to determine if established markers of neuronal injury were increased in the blood after diving. Methods: Thirty-two divers performed two identical dives, 48 h apart, in a water-filled hyperbaric chamber pressurized to an equivalent of 42 m of sea water for 10 min. After one of the two dives, normobaric oxygen was breathed for 30 min, with air breathed after the other. Blood samples were obtained before and at 30–45 and 120 min after diving. Concentrations of glial fibrillary acidic, neurofilament light, and tau proteins were measured using single molecule array technology. Doppler ultrasound was used to detect venous gas emboli. Results: Tau was significantly increased at 30–45 min after the second dive (p < 0.0098) and at 120 min after both dives (p < 0.0008/p < 0.0041). Comparison of matching samples showed that oxygen breathing after diving did not influence tau results. There was no correlation between tau concentrations and the presence of venous gas emboli. Glial fibrillary acidic protein was decreased 30–45 min after the first dive but at no other point. Neurofilament light concentrations did not change. Conclusions: Tau seems to be a promising marker of dive-related neuronal stress, which is independent of the presence of venous gas emboli. Future studies could validate these results and determine if there is a quantitative relationship between dive exposure and change in tau blood concentration.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages Springer Nature , 2022. Vol. 122, no 4, p. 993-1005
Keywords [en]
Biomarkers, Brain, Central nervous system, Diving, Diving research, Proteins, Venous gas embolism
National Category
Physiology and Anatomy
Identifiers URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-320545 DOI: 10.1007/s00421-022-04892-9 ISI: 000753780900002 PubMedID: 35142945 Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85124572251 OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-320545 DiVA, id: diva2:1706985
Note QC 20221028
2022-10-282022-10-282025-02-10 Bibliographically approved