Publications

Selected scientific publications on diving medicine and physiology.

2015 Mar 1
Flying after diving: should recommendations be reviewed? In-flight echocardiographic study in bubble-prone and bubble-resistant divers.
Cialoni D, Pieri M, Balestra C, Marroni A.

INTRODUCTION: Inert gas accumulated after multiple recreational dives can generate tissue supersaturation and bubble formation when ambient pressure decreases. We hypothesized that this could happen even if divers respected the currently recommended 24-hour pre-flight surface interval (PFSI)...

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2015 Mar 1
The effect of pre-dive ingestion of dark chocolate on endothelial function after a scuba dive
Theunissen S, Balestra C, Boutros A, De Bels D, Guerrero F, Germonpré P.

The aim of the study was to observe the effects of dark chocolate on endothelial function after scuba diving...

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2015 Jan 22
Genetic predisposition to breath-hold diving-induced hemoptysis: Preliminary study
Cialoni D, Marabotti C, Sponsiello N, Pieri M, Balestra C, Lucchini V, Marroni A.

INTRODUCTION: Breath-hold diving-induced hemoptysis (BH-DIH) has been reported in about 25% breath-hold divers (BHD) and is characterized by dyspnea, coughing, hemoptysis and chest pain. We investigated whether eNOS G894T, eNOS T786C and ACE insertion/deletion I/D genetic variants, are possible BH-DIH risk factors...

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2014 Dec 1
A ternary model of decompression sickness in rats
Buzzacott P, Lambrechts K, Mazur A, Wang Q, Papadopoulou V, Theron M, Balestra C, Guerrero F.

Decompression sickness (DCS) in rats is commonly modelled as a binary outcome. The present study aimed to develop a ternary model of predicting probability of DCS in rats, (as no-DCS, survivable-DCS or death), based upon the compression/decompression profile and physiological characteristics of each rat...

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2014 Dec 1
Decompression Theory
apadopoulou V, Chatterton J, Popov G, Eckersley RJ, Balestra C, Karapantsios TD, Tang MX, Cialoni D & Kot J.

By using dive tables or diving computers, divers are effectively using decompression algorithms to manage the risk of developing decompression sickness (DCS). They dictate the time allowed at each depth before the dive converts from no-decompression dive into a decompression dive, as well as the decompression stops needed for a decompression dive (time to spend at various depths on the way up to the surface). These algorithms are calculations that follow from the principles of a given decompression theory; of these, different ones exist with wildly different approaches. It is clear that the principles of those algorithms are very different in terms of what the mathematical modelling translates to in reality. This highlights that we still do not know exactly how bubbles form and grow in the body and when they trigger DCS.

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