Decompression Sickness (Bends)

A condition occurring as a result of exposure to a rapid fall in ambient pressure. Gases, nitrogen in particular, come out of solution and form bubbles in body fluid and blood. These gas bubbles accumulate in joint spaces and the peripheral circulation impairing tissue oxygenation causing disorientation, severe pain, and potentially death.

Also Known As:

Networked: 2121 relevant articles (31 outcomes, 122 trials/studies)

Relationship Network

Disease Context: Research Results

Related Diseases

1.	Pain (Aches)
2.	Patent Foramen Ovale
3.	Anemia
4.	Decompression Sickness (Bends)
5.	Air Embolism (Gas Embolism)

Experts

1.	Blatteau, Jean-Eric: 15 articles (01/2019 - 08/2008)
2.	Lambrechts, Kate: 11 articles (01/2018 - 01/2014)
3.	Doolette, David J: 10 articles (01/2022 - 06/2003)
4.	Mahon, Richard T: 10 articles (01/2021 - 01/2006)
5.	Buzzacott, Peter: 10 articles (12/2020 - 01/2014)
6.	Risso, Jean-Jacques: 10 articles (01/2019 - 01/2012)
7.	Vallée, Nicolas: 10 articles (01/2019 - 06/2012)
8.	Gempp, Emmanuel: 10 articles (01/2018 - 08/2008)
9.	Guerrero, François: 9 articles (10/2020 - 01/2009)
10.	Mazur, Aleksandra: 8 articles (01/2018 - 01/2014)

Drugs and Biologics

Drugs and Important Biological Agents (IBA) related to Decompression Sickness:

1.	Oxygen (Dioxygen)IBA 05/01/2010 - "The data show that prebreathing oxygen, more effective with HBO than NBO, decreases air bubbles and platelet activation and, therefore, may be beneficial in reducing the development of decompression sickness." 10/01/2004 - "This could also be protective against decompression sickness and EVA-related 100% oxygen requirements before and during this activity, both of which predispost to EI." 12/15/2015 - "Despite "gold standard" hyperbaric oxygen treatment, 30% of patients suffering from neurological decompression sickness still exhibit incomplete recovery, including sensory impairments. " 06/01/2011 - "Oxygen pretreatment as protection against decompression sickness in rats: pressure and time necessary for hypothesized denucleation and renucleation." 01/01/1977 - "It was demonstrated that oxygen breathing on the ground and at an altitude of 8 km for 20 and 50-60 min eliminated severe symptoms and lowered the frequency of occurrence of mild symptoms of decompression sickness during the subsequent 10-20 and 60-120 min exposures to altitudes of 40,000 and 11,000 m respectively. "
2.	FluorocarbonsIBA 01/01/2015 - "Intravenous perfluorocarbons (PFC) have reduced the effects of decompression sickness (DCS) and improved mortality rates in animal models. " 01/01/2018 - "Perfluorocarbon in delayed recompression with a mixed gender swine model of decompression sickness. " 01/01/2018 - "Perfluorocarbon in Delayed Recompression with a Mixed Gender Swine Model of Decompression Sickness." 06/01/2010 - "Intravenous perfluorocarbon after onset of decompression sickness decreases mortality in 20-kg swine." 01/01/2006 - "Decompression sickness in a swine model: isobaric denitrogenation and perfluorocarbon at depth."
3.	DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid)IBA 10/22/2013 - "We determined that mispair-containing DNAs were bent more by MutS than complementary sequence DNA (csDNA), did not promote tetramer formation, and allowed MutS conversion to a sliding clamp conformation that eliminated the DNA bends. " 01/01/2021 - "Earlier biochemical studies have suggested that LTTR binding to promoter DNA bends the DNA and, upon inducer binding, the bend angle of the DNA is reduced through a quaternary structure change of the tetrameric LTTR, leading to the activation of transcription. " 01/01/2020 - "Here, we use in vitro binding studies with purified Apl and pR-pL DNA to show that Apl binds to multiple sites with high cooperativity, bends the DNA and spreads from specific binding sites into adjacent non-specific DNA; features that are shared with other RDFs. " 12/07/2012 - "In accord with prior biochemical and structural studies, TOP2A significantly bends its DNA substrate using a bipartite, nucleolytic center formed at an N-terminal dimerization interface of the cleavage core. " 11/01/2006 - "Previous studies have supported a direct role for DNA bending and conformation in gene expression, which suggests that agents that induce bends in DNA might be able to control gene expression. "
4.	Biomarkers (Surrogate Marker)IBA 08/01/2023 - "At the end of each exposure period, were evaluated behavioral biomarkers of body bends, pharyngeal pumping, and feeding behavior. " 12/01/2022 - "We evaluated the Body bends and pharyngeal pumping rate, and social feeding as behavioral biomarkers. " 04/01/2016 - "Dive, food, and exercise effects on blood microparticles in Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus): exploring a biomarker for decompression sickness." 03/01/2016 - "Venous gas emboli detected by two-dimensional echocardiography are an imperfect surrogate endpoint for decompression sickness." 03/01/2014 - "To date, there are limited data examining the influence of scuba diving on these biomarkers, particularly when symptoms of decompression sickness (DCS) occur. "
5.	PolymersIBA 12/25/2006 - "Reduced loss through improved fabrication for single air interface bends in polymer waveguides." 07/03/1998 - "The present study extends the applicability of the worm-like chain model to polymers containing bends or sections of different flexibility. " 03/03/2021 - "The innate etching contrast, the spontaneous sharp bends and junctions, and the range of demonstrated periodicity and line/space ratios make these conformationally asymmetric rod-coil polymers attractive for nanoscale pattern generation." 07/17/2020 - "The damping properties and specifically the bend losses of polymer optical fibres (POFs) have so far only been documented by experimental work, investigating bending parameters such as bending radius, length, and distance of the bends. " 01/31/2020 - "When applying a voltage of 100 V, the transparent actuator bends visibly with a displacement of 14 mm. The actuation mechanism is a large volume change between polymers when they are Joule-heated by the electrical current. "
6.	EnzymesIBA 01/01/2020 - "Therefore, the novel approach of using capillaries with semicircular bends could prove particularly useful for enzyme investigating in disease." 12/28/2017 - "Visualized bends on zymogram confirmed these activities and demonstrated that laccases were the dominant ligninolytic enzymes in the studied species. " 07/27/2016 - "When enzyme is added, the hinge bends and brings the leaves together, trapping objects in the middle. " 07/01/2016 - "The kink index (indicating abrupt bends in fibres) of the enzyme-treated group decreased sharply by 45 % after the first recycling, compared with a reduction of only 1 % in the control group. " 10/01/2003 - "The number of maxima observed in the mobility pattern can be increased by adding a bend from another plasmid, such as Litmus 28; the number of maxima can be decreased by removing one of the bends in pUC19 by restriction enzyme digestion and religation. "
7.	helioxIBA 01/01/2015 - "The main objectives of the present study was to establish an animal model of decompression sickness (DCS) after heliox saturation diving, and to use this model to evaluate possible morphological changes in the CNS induced by DCS using structural MRI. " 09/01/2011 - "We see no reason for reservations in the use of heliox breathing during treatment of air-diving-induced decompression sickness." 05/01/2001 - "The clinical implication of these findings might be that heliox 50:50 is the mixture of choice for the treatment of decompression sickness." 12/01/1994 - "The present experiments suggest that heliox breathing at 1 atm abs may not exacerbate limb bends." 09/01/1991 - "The effect of heliox treatment on CNS decompression sickness after air dives is discussed."
8.	Fluoxetine (Prozac)FDA LinkGeneric 01/01/2012 - "Protective effects of fluoxetine on decompression sickness in mice." 01/01/2017 - "We study for the first time the effect of a 35-day fluoxetine treatment (20 mg/kg) on the occurrence of decompression sickness in laboratory rats (n = 79). " 01/01/2017 - "Thirty-five Day Fluoxetine Treatment Limits Sensory-Motor Deficit and Biochemical Disorders in a Rat Model of Decompression Sickness." 01/01/2016 - "Only 7% of KO-TREK-1 treated with fluoxetine (KOflux) and 4% of mice treated with both spadin and fluoxetine (KO-likeflux) died from decompression sickness (DCS) symptoms. " 01/01/2016 - "Fluoxetine Protection in Decompression Sickness in Mice is Enhanced by Blocking TREK-1 Potassium Channel with the "spadin" Antidepressant."
9.	Heat-Shock Proteins (Heat-Shock Protein)IBA 05/20/2022 - "Heat shock proteins (HSPs) have protective effects against oxidative stress and decompression sickness. " 01/01/2021 - "A previous study from our team found that hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) pretreatment attenuated decompression sickness (DCS) spinal cord injury by upregulating heat shock protein 32 (HSP32) via the ROS/p38 MAPK pathway. "
10.	LipidsIBA 01/01/2020 - "However, several fundamental questions, such as what supplies membranes/lipids to build the autophagosome and how the membrane nucleates, expands, bends into a spherical shape and finally closes, have proven difficult to address. " 08/29/2018 - "In this paper we show by optical surface profiler measurements that indeed the interface of the LC film of 4-cyano-4'-octylbiphenyl (8CB) suspended in a transmission electron microscopy (TEM) grid with openings of ∼0.5 mm in diameter bends towards the lipid-coated interface. " 12/08/2016 - "The proposed new method of use the Transmittance2919/2850 ratio presented in our research is sensitive to subtle changes in conformational order resulting from rotations, kinks and bends of the lipid chains. " 03/15/2011 - "Lipid domain depletion at small localized bends imposed by a step geometry." 01/01/1997 - "Spinal cord lipid content was analyzed in 50 pigs that had experienced a simulated dive known to produce 20-80% incidence of neurologic decompression sickness (DCS). "

Therapies and Procedures

1.	Decompression 03/01/2010 - "Protection against decompression sickness (DCS) by acclimation to hyperbaric decompression has been hypothesized but never proven. " 04/01/2009 - "We previously hypothesized that the number of bubbles emerging on decompression from a dive, and the resultant risk of decompression sickness (DCS), may be reduced by a process whereby effective gas micronuclei that might otherwise have formed bubbles on decompression are shrunk and eliminated. " 03/31/2020 - "The Swedish Armed Forces conducted a laboratory dive trial using the 2008 air decompression table and 32 dives to 40 metres' seawater for 20 minutes bottom time resulted in two cases of decompression sickness (DCS) and high venous gas emboli (VGE) grades. " 12/24/2018 - "Output of commercial decompression algorithms were compared to either the probability of decompression sickness (PDCS) results from US Navy man-trials or statistical models derived from PDCS data. " 03/01/2014 - "In studies of decompression procedures, ultrasonically detected venous gas emboli (VGE) are commonly used as a surrogate outcome if decompression sickness (DCS) is unlikely to be observed. "
2.	Therapeutics 05/01/2014 - "The purpose of this study was to review the cases diagnosed as decompression sickness (DCS) with recompression therapy treament between 1963 and 1998 in Turkey. " 04/01/2005 - "[Experimental study on mechanism of recompression therapy of decompression sickness]." 01/01/2000 - "This study, conducted at Princes Haya Hussein Hospital Hyperbaric Department, examined 23 cases (22 males, 1 female), diagnosed with decompression sickness (types I and II) and treated with hyperbaric therapy. " 01/01/2023 - "This therapy has been used for the past 50 years for conditions such as decompression sickness and wound healing and has been shown to have promising effects in conditions associated with neurodegeneration and functional impairments. " 01/01/2022 - "Early recompression therapy is suggested for a better clinical outcome of decompression sickness (DCS) patients. "
3.	Semiconductors 10/20/2001 - "Improved design of a polarization converter based on semiconductor optical waveguide bends." 12/01/1988 - "Losses in semiconductor waveguide S bends fabricated by impurity-induced layer disordering." 10/01/1988 - "Polarization, scattering, and coherent effects in semiconductor rib waveguide bends." 03/01/1988 - "Low-loss semiconductor waveguide bends." 03/01/1988 - "An experimental comparison is made between the losses of waveguide bends in disorder-delineated waveguides in semiconductor superlattices composed of GaAs and AlAs layers for simple abrupt bends and abrupt bends with an additional half-angle guiding wall proposed by Shiina et al. [Opt. "
4.	Injections 07/01/2003 - "The model used a physiological description of gas flux fitted to the observed decompression sickness (DCS) incidence in two groups of pigs: untreated controls, and animals that had received intestinal injections of H2-metabolizing microbes that biochemically eliminated some of the H2 stored in the pigs' tissues. " 06/01/1978 - "Results indicate that predive injections of SMAF or exposure to the SMAF substance protected rats against decompression sickness and that higher doses appear to offer more protection." 09/01/1976 - "Since they may serve as "nuclei" for visible intravascular bubble formation, are sometimes associated with decompression sickness, and are additionally considered undesirable, it would appear prudent to minimize i.v. injections immediately before flights. " 10/01/1976 - "It appears, therefore, that levodopa might be one of the few injectable agents enhancing recovery from air-induced paraplegia, suggesting its possible use in decompression sickness."
5.	Secondary Prevention 08/01/2021 - "Transcatheter closure of a patent foramen ovale is effective in the secondary prevention of decompression sickness associated with intracardiac shunt. "