OBM Genetics

(ISSN 2577-5790)

OBM Genetics is an international Open Access journal published quarterly online by LIDSEN Publishing Inc. It accepts papers addressing basic and medical aspects of genetics and epigenetics and also ethical, legal and social issues. Coverage includes clinical, developmental, diagnostic, evolutionary, genomic, mitochondrial, molecular, oncological, population and reproductive aspects. It publishes research articles, reviews, communications and technical notes, etc. There is no restriction on the length of the papers and we encourage scientists to publish their results in as much detail as possible.

Archiving: full-text archived in CLOCKSS.

Rapid publication: manuscripts are undertaken in 15.0 days from acceptance to publication (median values for papers published in this journal in the second half of 2021, 1-2 days of FREE language polishing time is also included in this period).

Current Issue: 2023  Archive: 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017

Special Issue

Oxygen Transport Physiology and COVID at High Altitude

Submission Deadline: December 31, 2023 (Open) Submit Now

Guest Editors

Prof. Dr. Gustavo Zubieta-Calleja, MD, F.P.V.R.I

Head of High Altitude Pulmonary and Pathology Institute (HAPPI-IPPA), La Paz, Bolivia

Website | E-Mail

Research interests: hypoxia; chronic hypoxia; high altitude; space travel; bioengineering; Acute and Chronic Mountain Sickness and their treatment; pulmonary function; COVID-19, adaptation to high altitude; philosophy of science, tolerance to hypoxia; quantum mechanics in biology.

Dr. Natalia Zubieta-DeUrioste, MD

High Altitude Pulmonary and Pathology Institute (HAPPI-IPPA), La Paz, Bolivia

Website | E-Mail

Research interests: Chronic, intermittent, and acute hypoxia, exercise physiology, stroke, COVID-19, high altitude physiology and medicine, nutrition, respiratory physiology, neuroscience

About the topic:

Oxygen is the fundamental critical element for life on planet Earth. Unavailability of inspired oxygen for more than 5 minutes can lead to death. Generalized hypoxemia can result from hypobaric hypoxia present at high altitude, but it can also result from pulmonary diseases. Localized tissue hypoxemia can arise from vascular obstruction of circulation. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that extensive lung affectation can be associated with "silent hypoxemia". This condition is not entirely understood, although several papers have addressed the subject. Hypoxemia levels previously thought intolerable at sea level have changed the concepts of oxygen transport physiology. High altitude physiology includes “silent hypoxemia” as humans live under low levels of oxygen pressure known as chronic hypoxia. The Oxygen Transport Triad, described at high altitude, is based on three systems: the pneumo-dynamic pump (air vacuum ventilation of the lungs), the hemo-dynamic pump (blood compression through valve mechanism of the heart), and hemoglobin (oxygen transport molecule in red blood cells). These three pillars of oxygen transport in mammals respond with variations in acute and chronic hypobaric hypoxia. The extensive lung compromise in the COVID aggression, which we have defined as pneumolysis (lung destruction), gives rise to altered oxygen transport and resulting extreme hypoxemia that can be lethal. In COVID, studies are required to show the different hypoxic etiopathogenesis conditions, including shunts, uneven ventilation/ perfusion, diffusion alterations, and hypoventilation. This involves not only alveolar-capillary affectation but also respiratory center alterations. Furthermore, high altitude decreased COVID incidence, and lethality need further studies.

This special issue welcomes the submission of original research, short communications, and review manuscripts within oxygen transport physiology and COVID at high altitude, moving science towards new horizons.

Keywords

COVID-19, lung, hypoxemia, chronic hypoxia, hypoxia, pneumolysis, pathophysiology, lung fibrosis, respiration, high altitude, chronic hypobaric hypoxia

Publication

Open Access Research Article

Relationship between the Severity of Chest CT Scan Lesions, Arterial Oxygenation and Inflammatory Markers in High – Altitude Patients with Covid-19

Received: 01 December 2022;  Published: 19 April 2023;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2302180

Abstract

This study aims to determine the relationship between the severity of lung tomographic compromise with arterial oxygenation and inflammatory markers in patients with COVID-19, and to evaluate the relationship between the CTSS tomographic severity score and the mortality risk in a high-altitude population. A retrospective, longitudinal stud [...]
Open Access Review

The Actual Situation of Covid-19 Infection at High Altitudes in Perú

Received: 03 August 2022;  Published: 12 December 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2204173

Abstract

This study aimed to reveal the evolution and characteristics of the COVID-19 pandemic in high-altitude areas of Perú. An observational, descriptive, retrospe [...]
Open Access Opinion

High-Altitude Pulmonary Edema in the Context of COVID-19

Received: 18 July 2022;  Published: 09 September 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2203163

Abstract

High-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) and COVID-19 pneumonia are different diseases, but HAPE-susceptible individuals (whose susceptibility often has a genetic basis) can also suffer from severe COVID-19. We hypothesized that certain pathogenic mechanisms might overlap if such a coincidence occurs, since these patients could react [...]
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