L-Arginine Supplementation Enhances Exhaled NO,Breath Condensate VEGF,and Headache at 4342 m

Abstract

Mansoor, Jim K., Brian M. Morrissey, William F. Walby, Ken Y. Yoneda, Maya Juarez, Radhika Kajekar, John W. Severinghaus, Marlowe W. Eldridge, and Edward S. Schelegle. L-Arginine supplementation enhances exhaled NO, breath condensate VEGF, and headache at 4342 m. High Alt. Med. Biol. 6:289–300, 2005.—We examined the effect of dietary supplementation with L-arginine on breath condensate VEGF, exhaled nitric oxide (NO), plasma erythropoietin, symptoms of acute mountain sickness, and respiratory related sensations at 4342 m through the course of 24 h in seven healthy male subjects. Serum L-arginine levels increased in treated subjects at time 0, 8, and 24 h compared with placebo, indicating the effectiveness of our treatment. L-arginine had no significant effect on overall Lake Louise scores compared with placebo. However, there was a significant increase in headache within the L-arginine treatment group at 12 h compared with time 0, a change not seen in the placebo condition between these two time points. There was a trend (p = 0.087) toward greater exhaled NO and significant increases in breath condensate VEGF with L-arginine treatment, but no L-arginine effect on serum EPO. These results suggest that L-arginine supplementation increases HIF-1 stabilization in the lung, possibly through a NOdependent pathway. In total, our observations indicate that L-arginine supplementation is not beneficial in the prophylactic treatment of AMS.