June 6, 2025 • 19 mins
Exploring Xenon Gas for Altitude Acclimatization and Sport Performance
In this episode of Wilderness Medicine Updates, host Patrick Fink delves into the use of inhaled xenon gas for sports performance enhancement and altitude acclimatization. The discussion is prompted by a recent claim from a UK climbing team that xenon helped them achieve a rapid ascent of Mount Everest. Xenon, a noble gas traditionally used as an anesthetic, has been shown to trigger hypoxia response pathways and boost EPO levels in animal studies. However, human trials have yet to demonstrate significant performance benefits or lasting changes in blood composition. The episode also examines the safety concerns and potential risks associated with unsupervised xenon use. While xenon shows some promise, current evidence suggests it may be more of a placebo effect rather than a reliable tool for enhancing athletic performance or altitude adaptation.
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Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Wilderness Medicine Updates
00:19 Xenon Gas in Sports and Altitude Acclimatization
02:26 The Science Behind Xenon Gas
06:13 Human Studies on Xenon Gas
12:19 Risks and Side Effects of Xenon Gas
15:50 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
18:04 Social Media Announcement
Sources
Dias, K.A. et al. (2019). Effect of acute and chronic xenon inhalation on erythropoietin, hematological parameters, and athletic performance. Journal of Applied Physiology, 127(6), 1503-1510
Lawley, J.S. et al. (2019). Safety, hemodynamic effects, and detection of acute xenon inhalation: rationale for banning xenon from sport. Journal of Applied Physiology, 127(6), 1511-1518
Ma, D. et al. (2009). Xenon preconditioning protects against renal ischemic-reperfusion injury via HIF-1α activation. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 20(4), 713-720
Pappas, S. (2023). “Did Inhaling Xenon Gas Really Help Mount Everest Climbers Reach the Summit in Record Time?” Scientific American
Hackett, P. (2025). “Xenon Gas and High-Altitude Performance: What We Know and What We Don’t.” Uphill Athlete
As always, thanks for listening to Wilderness Medicine Updates, hosted by Patrick Fink MD FAWM.
Connect with us by email at wildernessmedicineupdates@gmail.com.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Patrick (00:13):
Hello and welcome back to Wilderness Medicine Updates
the show for providers at theedges.
I'm your host, Patrick Fink.
Today we're gonna talk aboutinhaled xenon gas for sport
performance, for altitudeacclimatization, and the risks
associated with its use.
You might have heard about thisrecently as a team of climbers
from the UK recently ascendedMount Everest and claimed that
(00:36):
exposure to xenon gas helpedthem make one of the fastest
ascents ever seen, essentiallyat a round trip in a week from
the uk.
Let's dive right in.
In recent years, inhaling Xenongas has been proposed as a
shortcut for athletes to boostendurance and speed up altitude.
(00:58):
Acclimatization the idea gotattention after reports that
Russian athletes use Xenonbefore the 2014 Sochi Olympics,
which prompted the worldAnti-Doping Agency or WADA to
ban xenon and argon asprohibited performance
enhancers.
More recently, this commercialexpedition claimed that climbers
summited mount Everest in a weekby using xenon inhalation as an
(01:21):
acclimatization aid.
These headlines have sparkedinterest in the science Behind
Xenon.
Essentially, can a Noble Gasreally enhance performance or
altitude adaptation?
So what did the expedition do?
This group, which included fourformer Special Forces members
under the direction of MountainGuide Lucas TBA conducted a
(01:41):
typical physical trainingregimen of conditioning leading
up to the expedition.
Though the details of theirtraining hasn't been shared,
beginning around.
Beginning around 10 weeks beforethe expedition, they used
(02:04):
hypoxic tents at home to beginthe acclimatization process.
And then two weeks before theexpedition, they traveled to
Germany to be treated with xenonexposure by an anesthesiologist.
Then after arriving at EverestBase Camp, the group climbed to
the summit in less than threedays using supplemental oxygen,
and they claim that xenonexposure was critical to their
fast ascent and short stay atEverest.
(02:26):
So how might Xenon work?
Xenon is a colorless, odorless,noble gas, traditionally known
for its use as an anesthetic.
It's still in use as ananesthetic occasionally in
places like Russia.
Um, what is a Noble gas inbrief?
I'm not a chemist or aphysicist, but essentially it's
a gas that has its full outershell of electrons full.
(02:47):
So you probably are mostfamiliar with helium.
Um, and then xenon argon, thosenoble gases go right down the
right side of the periodictable.
And what that means, becausetheir outer shell of electrons
is full, is that they don't liketo play with others.
They're replete with electrons.
They're not interested informing bonds, and so they tend
to be very inert, meaning thatthey don't engage in chemical
(03:10):
processes very easily.
Now xenon when inhaled producesanesthesia.
It's thought to do that byblocking NMDA receptors in the
brain dampening neural activity.
This NMDA receptor blockade isalso associated with
neuroprotective effects.
It's been shown to reduce braincell damage in models of stroke
(03:31):
and trauma.
And these protective propertiesin low oxygen conditions have
suggested that Xenon could helpthe body cope with altitude
stress.
Some animal studies.
Found that Xenon can activatethe body's hypoxia response
pathways.
It induces what's called hypoxiainducible factor alpha, which is
a genetic transcription factorthat triggers genes that help
(03:53):
the body cope with low oxygenenvironments.
So by activating HIF.
One alpha xenon increasesproduction of epo, which is the
kidney hormone that stimulatesred blood cell formation to
carry more oxygen.
Best known for its use as ablood doping agent that has been
used previously in professionalcycling.
(04:14):
this EPO boosting effect is themain reason Xenon drew interest
as a performance enhancer.
More red blood cells meanshigher oxygen carrying capacity
akin to the benefit of altitudetraining or that blood topping.
In fact, early preclinicalexperiments showed dramatic
effects using xenon.
For example, in a mouse study, atwo hour exposure to 70% xenon
(04:37):
gas activated hf, one alpha inthe kidneys, and significantly
upregulated EPO and vascularendothelial growth factor which
helps you form new blood vesselsand capillaries.
And that happened all within 24hours of the exposure.
Mice pretreated with xenon werealso protected from kidney
injury in a low oxygenexperiment, an effect that
(04:58):
disappeared if HI one alpha wasintentionally blocked, which
implies that specifically xenontricks the body into mounting an
oxygen starvation responsemediated by HF one alpha, and
that potentially improves redcell count and protects organs
from hypoxic damage.
Sounds fantastic.
From a sports perspective, thesemechanisms sound promising.
(05:20):
Athletes have long used altitudetraining or simulated hypoxia
like hypoxic tents to naturallyincrease EPO and red blood
cells.
A substance that could rapidlyinduce EPO without actual high
altitude exposure would be anattractive shortcut to training.
However, by 2014, evidence wasmostly from cells and animals.
No human data had yet shown thatxenon inhalation actually raised
(05:44):
blood EPO levels or improvedexercise capacity.
Nevertheless, out of caution anddue to reports of use by
athletes, WADA added Xenon tothe band list in 2014,
classifying it as a prohibitedmethod of artificially boosting
epo.
That's set the stage forscientists to start
investigating.
Does xenon inhalation trulyenhance red blood cells or
(06:04):
performance in people, or is itjust another thing that works in
mice and doesn't bear out inhumans?
So what about humans?
To date, no published humanstudies have demonstrated any
improvement in athleticperformance from Xenon.
The primary evidence on Xenon inathletes comes from a 2019
(06:25):
clinical trial funded in part byanti-doping authorities.
In that randomized study, 12endurance athletes underwent a
regimen of daily xenoninhalation versus a placebo over
several weeks.
The Xenon group inhaled a subanesthetic dose, which was 70%
xenon, mixed with oxygen for twominutes each day over four
weeks.
Researchers then tracked thecascade of effects that came
(06:47):
from that EPO levels, bloodvolume and hemoglobin mass VO O2
max, as well as a threekilometer run performance test
before and after theintervention.
So what did they find?
They found that EPO spikesacutely after exposure to even a
single xenon inhalation.
Within hours of breathing thatxenon mix EPO levels were
(07:07):
slightly elevated relative tobaseline, which confirmed that
acute hypoxia inducible factorand EPO response is that we saw
in animals, also occurs inhumans.
However, there were no lastingchanges.
To blood composition.
Despite the e PPO bump, therewas no significant increase in
hemoglobin mass or total redblood cell volume After four
(07:28):
weeks of daily xenon use.
The initial EPO stimulationwasn't enough to substantially
ramp up red cell production inthese athletes over time.
One transient effect that wasnoted was a short term expansion
of plasma volume after a week ofxenon dosing.
Essentially the watery part ofthe blood, but this didn't
translate into improved oxygencarrying capacity.
(07:50):
It is worth noting though thatplasma volume expansion is one
of the adaptations that we seein people who are undergoing
acclimatization.
Last and most importantly, theyfound no improvement in fitness
or performance.
The Xenon group saw no gains intheir VO O2 max, or in their
running time trial performancecompared to the placebo group.
(08:10):
In the three K run tests, thereare times and physiological
responses like heart rate andbreathing seem to be unchanged
by xenon inhalation.
So in short, breathing, xenonfor a month intermittently did
not make the athletes any fasteror fitter.
These results align with otherevidence that simply raising E
PPO a bit may not confer aperformance edge unless it leads
(08:31):
to a real increase in red bloodcell count.
Even direct epo, doping withinjections hasn't consistently
improved exercise performance athigh altitude in controlled
studies.
So how did this team go upEverest so quickly?
The central promise of Xenon formountaineers is that it could
accelerate acclimatizationmeaning help the body adjust to
(08:53):
high altitude more quickly byincreasing red blood cells or
protecting against low oxygendamage.
For this Everest expedition, thefour climbers inhaled xenon
before their rapid ascent, butthey also underwent extensive
conventional preparation withhypoxic tents for six to eight
weeks to pre acclimatize, andthey used supplemental oxygen
during the climb.
Hypoxic training is a provenmethod to boost red blood cell
(09:16):
count and ventilatoryadaptation.
With those factors in play, anyhelp that they got from Xenon
may be difficult to discern.
Indeed, Dr.
Peter Hackett, a leading highaltitude medicine specialist,
wrote an excellent article onuphill athlete.com that is
linked in the show notes thatsays that Xons theoretical
(09:36):
benefit of more red cells may beof marginal benefit at extreme
elevations because above about5,000 meters.
Performance is limited more byhow well your lungs can
oxygenate blood than by theabsolute number of red cells.
Essentially, it's a problem ofgas exchange rather than oxygen
carrying capacity.
You can have all the capacity inthe world, but if you can't fill
(09:58):
it with oxygen because thepartial pressure of oxygen at
that altitude is a third of whatit is at sea level, then it just
doesn't matter how many box carsyou have, you don't have cargo.
The body's most criticaladaptation to altitude.
Is an increase in breathing andother physiologic changes that
improve oxygen uptake, not justa higher hemoglobin count.
(10:20):
So even if Xenon could slightlyelevate EPO or hemoglobin, that
might not translate to betterfunction in the death zone of
Everest.
And there's no published humantrials showing that XENON
prevents acute mountain sicknessor high altitude pulmonary or
cerebral edema.
Hackett points out that the onlyquote data on Xenon for
mountaineering so far are theseanecdotal reports from guides
(10:41):
like Lucas Kurtenbach, who claimsuccess using Xenon with some
clients previously.
And while these stories areintriguing, it's not controlled
science until proper studies aredone.
We can't confirm Xenon as areliable shortcut to
acclimatization.
Still, we can't deny that theexpedition was successful and
very quick what could play intothat?
(11:01):
First, these are former specialforces guys.
They tend to be tough, and I'mguessing that they were diligent
and thorough with their physicalpreparation.
It was probably top-notchfitness going into this trip.
Second, they use hypoxic tents.
And hypoxic tents do appear tohave some benefit to
acclimatization, which couldspeed their ability to ascend
quickly.
(11:23):
Third, they use supplementaloxygen, which is essentially a
norm now on Everest.
And that helps to address theprimary issue of climbing the
Everest Summit, where again,available oxygen is about a
third that of sea level.
And finally, Kurtenbach saidthat the primary benefit of
Xenon administration is that ithelps you, quote, feel better
with some kind of direct effecton breathing, such that
(11:45):
respiration during exercisefeels deeper and easier after
being treated with xenon.
Since Respiration and GasExchange are the primary
limiters of performance in deathzone mountaineering, it remains
possible that Xenon exposureinduces an adaptation in the
lungs that is of actual benefitat altitude.
The best way to investigate thiswould be a blinded study of
(12:07):
climbers who are treated withquote unquote gas exposure prior
to the ascent, but only some ofwhom are actually exposed to
xenon.
So is there a downside to xenonuse?
While xenon appears safe whenadministered by a medical
anesthetic professional, its useas a do it yourself performance
(12:30):
enhancer would raise seriousconcerns.
Okay, first, it's an anestheticso xenon can cause profound
sedation and cognitiveimpairment.
at high concentrations.
Xenon induces anesthesia withinseconds.
Causing rapid loss ofconsciousness, even at sub
anesthetic doses used forathletic performance, it can
cause notable impairment.
(12:50):
So in one study, subjectsinhaling 70% Xenon became so
sedated they could not reliablyperform a simple task.
After about 60 to 90 seconds,some participants experienced
restlessness or disorientationalongside that sedation.
So Xenon can significantlydegrade.
Mental and motor function whileit's in your system, that makes
(13:12):
it dangerous to use withoutsupervision.
Obviously folks aren't usingthis up on the mountain.
That would be a terrible idea.
There are no reports oflong-term cognitive damage from
occasional xenon use, but wesimply don't have data on
frequent exposure in athletes.
The main risk here is the riskof overdose and asphyxiation if
used without ananesthesiologist, the margin
(13:33):
between an effective xenon doseand an anesthetic overdose is
narrow.
It requires mixing it withenough oxygen, maybe 70% xenon,
30% oxygen.
So if someone were toaccidentally inhale xenon from a
tank without sufficient oxygen,this would be a lot like
inhaling nitrous oxide from atank that hasn't been
sufficiently mixed.
If you get anoxic mixture, youcan quickly suffocate or suffer
(13:56):
brain damage.
So even with oxygen, sedationcan cause a user to pass out
while still attached to the gasdelivery, and that would be
dangerous even.
At a normal mixture in practicalterms, an athlete in their
garage trying to breathe Xenoncould lose consciousness with a
mask on Leading to anunprotected airway or continued
inhalation without breathingsupport and fatal accident would
(14:19):
be a real risk if this was doneimproperly.
Third Xenon does havecardiovascular effects.
Acute xenon inhalation does havemeasurable effects on hearts,
heart, and blood vessels.
So initially it causes a drop inperipheral vascular resistance
or vasodilation, which can lowerblood pressure, accompanied by a
(14:39):
reflex increase in heart rate.
By the end of a several minuteinhalation, studies have shown a
swing to mild hypertension orelevated blood pressure.
And increase cerebral blood flowvelocity.
These changes aren't likely tobe concerning in healthy
subjects, but they do indicatethat Xenon isn't completely
benign and has direct effects onthe circulatory system.
(15:00):
Finally, what other side effectsare there?
So, so far no specific organtoxicity or allergic reactions
have been linked to xenon.
It's chemically inert and it'sexhaled unchanged.
Unlike other inhalants, Xenondoesn't linger in the body or
metabolize into harmfulcompounds.
The main issues are theimmediate anesthetic effects.
There's no evidence of xenoncausing addiction or dependency.
(15:23):
It's not a euphoric recreationaldrug the way nitrous oxide can
be, and the biggest quote,unquote side effect might
actually be the financial cost.
A xenon is extremely rare andexpensive to procure in large
quantities.
This means that any athleteattempting to use it regularly
would have significant expenseassociated with it, and the high
cost has naturally limited howmany people have experimented
(15:45):
with it.
So the bottom line inhaled xenongas raises a fascinating
intersection of high altitudephysiology and sports doping.
But the science so far indicatesmore hype than tangible benefit.
Xenon can indeed activate thebody's low oxygen response by
(16:06):
triggering PPO release, and ithas shown organ protective
effects in lab studies, buthuman trials have not found
improvements in aerobicperformance or altitude
tolerance from Xenon.
The current evidence suggeststhat while Xenon might give a
small, short-lived bump in ppo,it doesn't translate into more
red blood cells or enhancedfitness in practice.
It remains possible that xenonexposure could induce helpful
(16:28):
changes in the lungs, but it'smore likely that it's a potent
placebo for athletes orclimbers.
Considering xenon, the risksappear to outweigh any unproven
benefits, particularly if it wasto be used outside of medical
supervision.
It's sedative power makes itsunsupervised use, extremely
dangerous, and a mix up indosage or a few extra minutes.
(16:49):
Inhaling could knock someone outcold.
Essentially using Xenon foracclimatization is akin to using
an anesthetic as a trainingtool, which should give you
pause.
That's it for this episode ofWilderness Medicine Updates.
I hope you enjoyed that diveinto the science that we have
around xenon exposure.
(17:11):
Don't go try this at home.
Not even with nitrous oxide.
It's not a safe option.
I look forward to seeing moreresearch on this as I'm sure
that this news has stimulated alot of research interest in the
topic that probably, um,wouldn't have occurred
otherwise.
And do check out the sources andnews articles down in the show
(17:31):
notes if you wanna learn more.
I particularly like, uh, Dr.
Hackett's article, Xenon Gas andHigh Altitude Performance.
What we Know and What We Don't.
I'm Uphill Athlete.
And Uphill Athlete is just agreat resource for information
about training for trips toaltitude as well.
If you wanna learn more abouthypoxic training on there, they
link within that article and youcan really take a deep dive.
(17:59):
Also, sort of pains me to saythis, but you asked for it and
here it is.
Wilderness Medicine updates, hassome social media accounts now.
Big thanks to listener James whoreached out and offered to take
this on.
So we're gonna be pushing outsome content through a few
different wilderness medicinesocial accounts, which are
(18:21):
linked down in the show notes.
We're on X, we're on blue sky,we're on Instagram.
So you can get showannouncements, you can get other
tidbits, news articles, um,throwbacks clips.
So if you want to connect withus or you want to pass along
some feedback.
Get in touch with wildernessmedicine updates, check out the
links down in the show notes andreach out to us on social, like,
(18:42):
follow, subscribe, do all thatstuff.
until next time, if you likethis show, give us a five star
review on iTunes.
I hear people who are listeningon Audible get out there on
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Those reviews and those starshelp us reach more people, and
this has been accelerating andit's great to see.
(19:02):
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And until next time, share theshow with someone who you think
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Another climber, another nurse,doctor, medical student, SAR
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(19:22):
little dorky science.
I'm your host, Patrick Fink.
Until next time, stay fit, stayfocused, and have fun.
Hello and welcome back to Wilderness Medicine Updates
the show for providers at theedges.
I'm your host, Patrick Fink.
Today we're gonna talk aboutinhaled xenon gas for sport
performance, for altitudeacclimatization, and the risks
associated with its use.
You might have heard about thisrecently as a team of climbers
from the UK recently ascendedMount Everest and claimed that
(00:36):
exposure to xenon gas helpedthem make one of the fastest
ascents ever seen, essentiallyat a round trip in a week from
the uk.
Let's dive right in.
In recent years, inhaling Xenongas has been proposed as a
shortcut for athletes to boostendurance and speed up altitude.
(00:58):
Acclimatization the idea gotattention after reports that
Russian athletes use Xenonbefore the 2014 Sochi Olympics,
which prompted the worldAnti-Doping Agency or WADA to
ban xenon and argon asprohibited performance
enhancers.
More recently, this commercialexpedition claimed that climbers
summited mount Everest in a weekby using xenon inhalation as an
(01:21):
acclimatization aid.
These headlines have sparkedinterest in the science Behind
Xenon.
Essentially, can a Noble Gasreally enhance performance or
altitude adaptation?
So what did the expedition do?
This group, which included fourformer Special Forces members
under the direction of MountainGuide Lucas TBA conducted a
(01:41):
typical physical trainingregimen of conditioning leading
up to the expedition.
Though the details of theirtraining hasn't been shared,
beginning around.
Beginning around 10 weeks beforethe expedition, they used
(02:04):
hypoxic tents at home to beginthe acclimatization process.
And then two weeks before theexpedition, they traveled to
Germany to be treated with xenonexposure by an anesthesiologist.
Then after arriving at EverestBase Camp, the group climbed to
the summit in less than threedays using supplemental oxygen,
and they claim that xenonexposure was critical to their
fast ascent and short stay atEverest.
(02:26):
So how might Xenon work?
Xenon is a colorless, odorless,noble gas, traditionally known
for its use as an anesthetic.
It's still in use as ananesthetic occasionally in
places like Russia.
Um, what is a Noble gas inbrief?
I'm not a chemist or aphysicist, but essentially it's
a gas that has its full outershell of electrons full.
(02:47):
So you probably are mostfamiliar with helium.
Um, and then xenon argon, thosenoble gases go right down the
right side of the periodictable.
And what that means, becausetheir outer shell of electrons
is full, is that they don't liketo play with others.
They're replete with electrons.
They're not interested informing bonds, and so they tend
to be very inert, meaning thatthey don't engage in chemical
(03:10):
processes very easily.
Now xenon when inhaled producesanesthesia.
It's thought to do that byblocking NMDA receptors in the
brain dampening neural activity.
This NMDA receptor blockade isalso associated with
neuroprotective effects.
It's been shown to reduce braincell damage in models of stroke
(03:31):
and trauma.
And these protective propertiesin low oxygen conditions have
suggested that Xenon could helpthe body cope with altitude
stress.
Some animal studies.
Found that Xenon can activatethe body's hypoxia response
pathways.
It induces what's called hypoxiainducible factor alpha, which is
a genetic transcription factorthat triggers genes that help
(03:53):
the body cope with low oxygenenvironments.
So by activating HIF.
One alpha xenon increasesproduction of epo, which is the
kidney hormone that stimulatesred blood cell formation to
carry more oxygen.
Best known for its use as ablood doping agent that has been
used previously in professionalcycling.
(04:14):
this EPO boosting effect is themain reason Xenon drew interest
as a performance enhancer.
More red blood cells meanshigher oxygen carrying capacity
akin to the benefit of altitudetraining or that blood topping.
In fact, early preclinicalexperiments showed dramatic
effects using xenon.
For example, in a mouse study, atwo hour exposure to 70% xenon
(04:37):
gas activated hf, one alpha inthe kidneys, and significantly
upregulated EPO and vascularendothelial growth factor which
helps you form new blood vesselsand capillaries.
And that happened all within 24hours of the exposure.
Mice pretreated with xenon werealso protected from kidney
injury in a low oxygenexperiment, an effect that
(04:58):
disappeared if HI one alpha wasintentionally blocked, which
implies that specifically xenontricks the body into mounting an
oxygen starvation responsemediated by HF one alpha, and
that potentially improves redcell count and protects organs
from hypoxic damage.
Sounds fantastic.
From a sports perspective, thesemechanisms sound promising.
(05:20):
Athletes have long used altitudetraining or simulated hypoxia
like hypoxic tents to naturallyincrease EPO and red blood
cells.
A substance that could rapidlyinduce EPO without actual high
altitude exposure would be anattractive shortcut to training.
However, by 2014, evidence wasmostly from cells and animals.
No human data had yet shown thatxenon inhalation actually raised
(05:44):
blood EPO levels or improvedexercise capacity.
Nevertheless, out of caution anddue to reports of use by
athletes, WADA added Xenon tothe band list in 2014,
classifying it as a prohibitedmethod of artificially boosting
epo.
That's set the stage forscientists to start
investigating.
Does xenon inhalation trulyenhance red blood cells or
(06:04):
performance in people, or is itjust another thing that works in
mice and doesn't bear out inhumans?
So what about humans?
To date, no published humanstudies have demonstrated any
improvement in athleticperformance from Xenon.
The primary evidence on Xenon inathletes comes from a 2019
(06:25):
clinical trial funded in part byanti-doping authorities.
In that randomized study, 12endurance athletes underwent a
regimen of daily xenoninhalation versus a placebo over
several weeks.
The Xenon group inhaled a subanesthetic dose, which was 70%
xenon, mixed with oxygen for twominutes each day over four
weeks.
Researchers then tracked thecascade of effects that came
(06:47):
from that EPO levels, bloodvolume and hemoglobin mass VO O2
max, as well as a threekilometer run performance test
before and after theintervention.
So what did they find?
They found that EPO spikesacutely after exposure to even a
single xenon inhalation.
Within hours of breathing thatxenon mix EPO levels were
(07:07):
slightly elevated relative tobaseline, which confirmed that
acute hypoxia inducible factorand EPO response is that we saw
in animals, also occurs inhumans.
However, there were no lastingchanges.
To blood composition.
Despite the e PPO bump, therewas no significant increase in
hemoglobin mass or total redblood cell volume After four
(07:28):
weeks of daily xenon use.
The initial EPO stimulationwasn't enough to substantially
ramp up red cell production inthese athletes over time.
One transient effect that wasnoted was a short term expansion
of plasma volume after a week ofxenon dosing.
Essentially the watery part ofthe blood, but this didn't
translate into improved oxygencarrying capacity.
(07:50):
It is worth noting though thatplasma volume expansion is one
of the adaptations that we seein people who are undergoing
acclimatization.
Last and most importantly, theyfound no improvement in fitness
or performance.
The Xenon group saw no gains intheir VO O2 max, or in their
running time trial performancecompared to the placebo group.
(08:10):
In the three K run tests, thereare times and physiological
responses like heart rate andbreathing seem to be unchanged
by xenon inhalation.
So in short, breathing, xenonfor a month intermittently did
not make the athletes any fasteror fitter.
These results align with otherevidence that simply raising E
PPO a bit may not confer aperformance edge unless it leads
(08:31):
to a real increase in red bloodcell count.
Even direct epo, doping withinjections hasn't consistently
improved exercise performance athigh altitude in controlled
studies.
So how did this team go upEverest so quickly?
The central promise of Xenon formountaineers is that it could
accelerate acclimatizationmeaning help the body adjust to
(08:53):
high altitude more quickly byincreasing red blood cells or
protecting against low oxygendamage.
For this Everest expedition, thefour climbers inhaled xenon
before their rapid ascent, butthey also underwent extensive
conventional preparation withhypoxic tents for six to eight
weeks to pre acclimatize, andthey used supplemental oxygen
during the climb.
Hypoxic training is a provenmethod to boost red blood cell
(09:16):
count and ventilatoryadaptation.
With those factors in play, anyhelp that they got from Xenon
may be difficult to discern.
Indeed, Dr.
Peter Hackett, a leading highaltitude medicine specialist,
wrote an excellent article onuphill athlete.com that is
linked in the show notes thatsays that Xons theoretical
(09:36):
benefit of more red cells may beof marginal benefit at extreme
elevations because above about5,000 meters.
Performance is limited more byhow well your lungs can
oxygenate blood than by theabsolute number of red cells.
Essentially, it's a problem ofgas exchange rather than oxygen
carrying capacity.
You can have all the capacity inthe world, but if you can't fill
(09:58):
it with oxygen because thepartial pressure of oxygen at
that altitude is a third of whatit is at sea level, then it just
doesn't matter how many box carsyou have, you don't have cargo.
The body's most criticaladaptation to altitude.
Is an increase in breathing andother physiologic changes that
improve oxygen uptake, not justa higher hemoglobin count.
(10:20):
So even if Xenon could slightlyelevate EPO or hemoglobin, that
might not translate to betterfunction in the death zone of
Everest.
And there's no published humantrials showing that XENON
prevents acute mountain sicknessor high altitude pulmonary or
cerebral edema.
Hackett points out that the onlyquote data on Xenon for
mountaineering so far are theseanecdotal reports from guides
(10:41):
like Lucas Kurtenbach, who claimsuccess using Xenon with some
clients previously.
And while these stories areintriguing, it's not controlled
science until proper studies aredone.
We can't confirm Xenon as areliable shortcut to
acclimatization.
Still, we can't deny that theexpedition was successful and
very quick what could play intothat?
(11:01):
First, these are former specialforces guys.
They tend to be tough, and I'mguessing that they were diligent
and thorough with their physicalpreparation.
It was probably top-notchfitness going into this trip.
Second, they use hypoxic tents.
And hypoxic tents do appear tohave some benefit to
acclimatization, which couldspeed their ability to ascend
quickly.
(11:23):
Third, they use supplementaloxygen, which is essentially a
norm now on Everest.
And that helps to address theprimary issue of climbing the
Everest Summit, where again,available oxygen is about a
third that of sea level.
And finally, Kurtenbach saidthat the primary benefit of
Xenon administration is that ithelps you, quote, feel better
with some kind of direct effecton breathing, such that
(11:45):
respiration during exercisefeels deeper and easier after
being treated with xenon.
Since Respiration and GasExchange are the primary
limiters of performance in deathzone mountaineering, it remains
possible that Xenon exposureinduces an adaptation in the
lungs that is of actual benefitat altitude.
The best way to investigate thiswould be a blinded study of
(12:07):
climbers who are treated withquote unquote gas exposure prior
to the ascent, but only some ofwhom are actually exposed to
xenon.
So is there a downside to xenonuse?
While xenon appears safe whenadministered by a medical
anesthetic professional, its useas a do it yourself performance
(12:30):
enhancer would raise seriousconcerns.
Okay, first, it's an anestheticso xenon can cause profound
sedation and cognitiveimpairment.
at high concentrations.
Xenon induces anesthesia withinseconds.
Causing rapid loss ofconsciousness, even at sub
anesthetic doses used forathletic performance, it can
cause notable impairment.
(12:50):
So in one study, subjectsinhaling 70% Xenon became so
sedated they could not reliablyperform a simple task.
After about 60 to 90 seconds,some participants experienced
restlessness or disorientationalongside that sedation.
So Xenon can significantlydegrade.
Mental and motor function whileit's in your system, that makes
(13:12):
it dangerous to use withoutsupervision.
Obviously folks aren't usingthis up on the mountain.
That would be a terrible idea.
There are no reports oflong-term cognitive damage from
occasional xenon use, but wesimply don't have data on
frequent exposure in athletes.
The main risk here is the riskof overdose and asphyxiation if
used without ananesthesiologist, the margin
(13:33):
between an effective xenon doseand an anesthetic overdose is
narrow.
It requires mixing it withenough oxygen, maybe 70% xenon,
30% oxygen.
So if someone were toaccidentally inhale xenon from a
tank without sufficient oxygen,this would be a lot like
inhaling nitrous oxide from atank that hasn't been
sufficiently mixed.
If you get anoxic mixture, youcan quickly suffocate or suffer
(13:56):
brain damage.
So even with oxygen, sedationcan cause a user to pass out
while still attached to the gasdelivery, and that would be
dangerous even.
At a normal mixture in practicalterms, an athlete in their
garage trying to breathe Xenoncould lose consciousness with a
mask on Leading to anunprotected airway or continued
inhalation without breathingsupport and fatal accident would
(14:19):
be a real risk if this was doneimproperly.
Third Xenon does havecardiovascular effects.
Acute xenon inhalation does havemeasurable effects on hearts,
heart, and blood vessels.
So initially it causes a drop inperipheral vascular resistance
or vasodilation, which can lowerblood pressure, accompanied by a
(14:39):
reflex increase in heart rate.
By the end of a several minuteinhalation, studies have shown a
swing to mild hypertension orelevated blood pressure.
And increase cerebral blood flowvelocity.
These changes aren't likely tobe concerning in healthy
subjects, but they do indicatethat Xenon isn't completely
benign and has direct effects onthe circulatory system.
(15:00):
Finally, what other side effectsare there?
So, so far no specific organtoxicity or allergic reactions
have been linked to xenon.
It's chemically inert and it'sexhaled unchanged.
Unlike other inhalants, Xenondoesn't linger in the body or
metabolize into harmfulcompounds.
The main issues are theimmediate anesthetic effects.
There's no evidence of xenoncausing addiction or dependency.
(15:23):
It's not a euphoric recreationaldrug the way nitrous oxide can
be, and the biggest quote,unquote side effect might
actually be the financial cost.
A xenon is extremely rare andexpensive to procure in large
quantities.
This means that any athleteattempting to use it regularly
would have significant expenseassociated with it, and the high
cost has naturally limited howmany people have experimented
(15:45):
with it.
So the bottom line inhaled xenongas raises a fascinating
intersection of high altitudephysiology and sports doping.
But the science so far indicatesmore hype than tangible benefit.
Xenon can indeed activate thebody's low oxygen response by
(16:06):
triggering PPO release, and ithas shown organ protective
effects in lab studies, buthuman trials have not found
improvements in aerobicperformance or altitude
tolerance from Xenon.
The current evidence suggeststhat while Xenon might give a
small, short-lived bump in ppo,it doesn't translate into more
red blood cells or enhancedfitness in practice.
It remains possible that xenonexposure could induce helpful
(16:28):
changes in the lungs, but it'smore likely that it's a potent
placebo for athletes orclimbers.
Considering xenon, the risksappear to outweigh any unproven
benefits, particularly if it wasto be used outside of medical
supervision.
It's sedative power makes itsunsupervised use, extremely
dangerous, and a mix up indosage or a few extra minutes.
(16:49):
Inhaling could knock someone outcold.
Essentially using Xenon foracclimatization is akin to using
an anesthetic as a trainingtool, which should give you
pause.
That's it for this episode ofWilderness Medicine Updates.
I hope you enjoyed that diveinto the science that we have
around xenon exposure.
(17:11):
Don't go try this at home.
Not even with nitrous oxide.
It's not a safe option.
I look forward to seeing moreresearch on this as I'm sure
that this news has stimulated alot of research interest in the
topic that probably, um,wouldn't have occurred
otherwise.
And do check out the sources andnews articles down in the show
(17:31):
notes if you wanna learn more.
I particularly like, uh, Dr.
Hackett's article, Xenon Gas andHigh Altitude Performance.
What we Know and What We Don't.
I'm Uphill Athlete.
And Uphill Athlete is just agreat resource for information
about training for trips toaltitude as well.
If you wanna learn more abouthypoxic training on there, they
link within that article and youcan really take a deep dive.
(17:59):
Also, sort of pains me to saythis, but you asked for it and
here it is.
Wilderness Medicine updates, hassome social media accounts now.
Big thanks to listener James whoreached out and offered to take
this on.
So we're gonna be pushing outsome content through a few
different wilderness medicinesocial accounts, which are
(18:21):
linked down in the show notes.
We're on X, we're on blue sky,we're on Instagram.
So you can get showannouncements, you can get other
tidbits, news articles, um,throwbacks clips.
So if you want to connect withus or you want to pass along
some feedback.
Get in touch with wildernessmedicine updates, check out the
links down in the show notes andreach out to us on social, like,
(18:42):
follow, subscribe, do all thatstuff.
until next time, if you likethis show, give us a five star
review on iTunes.
I hear people who are listeningon Audible get out there on
Spotify.
Those reviews and those starshelp us reach more people, and
this has been accelerating andit's great to see.
(19:02):
I love hearing from all of youwho reach out to us at.
Wilderness medicineupdates@gmail.com.
I read all of that informationand I eventually reply to all of
it.
And until next time, share theshow with someone who you think
might appreciate it.
Another climber, another nurse,doctor, medical student, SAR
member ski patroller, or justrecreationalists who likes a
(19:22):
little dorky science.
I'm your host, Patrick Fink.
Until next time, stay fit, stayfocused, and have fun.
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