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—Venous blood samples were collected for biochemical analyses from 16 members of a year-long expedition to the Vostok research station in Antarctica. The physiologically important factors were hypobaric hypoxia (Р = 460 mm Hg) due to the station location (the ice dome of Central Antarctica), hypokinesia due to prolonged stay indoor because of the extremely low temperatures outside the station, physical and social isolation from the outer world. The participants were divided into two groups: the experimental one, who periodically received a vitamin-amino acid complex for the prevention and correction of asthenia, and the control one, who received a placebo. Biochemical analysis revealed undulating blood levels of protein and main protein fractions within the physiological norm. Starting from month 4 of the expedition, concentrations of γ- and β-globulins showed a statistically significant increase. This increase persisted for 2 months after the expedition, therefore, there are sufficient body reserves. There were no differences in concentrations of the studied parameters between the experimental and control groups. It is speculated that hypobaric hypoxia plays a positive role in maintaining non-specific body resistance in the year-long period of life in isolation and hypokinesia.
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The study was carried out under the Program of Basic Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences, topic 64.1.
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Ilyin, E.A., Larina, I.M. & Nosovsky, A.M. Levels of Protein and the Main Protein Fractions in Human Blood during a Year-long Exposure to Hypobaric Hypoxia, Hypokinesia, and Isolation. Hum Physiol 46, 811–816 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0362119720070063
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0362119720070063