@article{ref1,
title="Cerebral white-matter lesions in asymptomatic military divers",
journal="Aviation, space, and environmental medicine",
year="2009",
author="Erdem, Iclal and Yildiz, Senol and Uzun, Gunalp and Sonmez, Guner and Senol, Mehmet Guney and Mutluoglu, Mesut and Mutlu, Hakan and Oner, Bulent",
volume="80",
number="1",
pages="2-4",
abstract="INTRODUCTION: There is some concern that over a period of years, diving may produce cumulative neurological injury even in divers who have no history of decompression sickness. We evaluated asymptomatic divers and controls for cerebral white-matter lesions using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHODS: The study enrolled 113 male military divers (34.4 +/- 5.6 yr) and 65 non-diving men (33.1 +/- 9.0 yr) in good health. Exclusion criteria included any condition that might be expected to produce neurological effects. Patent foramen ovale was not assessed. A questionnaire was used to elicit diving history. A 1.5-T MRI device was used to acquire T1, T2-weighted, and fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images of the brain. A lesion was counted if it appeared hyperintense on both T2-weighted and FLAIR images. RESULTS: MRI revealed brain lesions in 26 of 113 divers (23%) and in 7 of 65 (11%) controls, a difference that was statistically significant. There was no significant difference between the groups with respect to blood pressure, smoking history, or alcohol consumption, and no subject reported a history of head trauma or migraine. There was no relationship between MRI findings and age, diving history, or lipid profile in divers. DISCUSSION: The higher incidence of lesions in the cerebral white matter of divers confirms the possibility that cumulative, subclinical injury to the neurological system may affect the long-term health of military and recreational divers.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0095-6562",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}