Re: NBC Nightly News this evening (Friday, March 10, 2006) Airplane IAQ

[Guest guest]

I heard a report similar from another source. Basically it is thought

to be due to cramped quarters and inability to move your legs around

for long periods of time in individuals who could be susceptible.

Same thing that happened to NBC new reporter in Iraq who died of blood

clot. My brother has it and it is a constant worry, clot will break

off and go to head or lungs.

Airplanes have fought the air quality criticism. Perhaps again, so

many people in cramped quarters. I'm sure no outdoor air getting in

as it would depressurize plane. Of course they could put in hepa or

similar filtration. That's all I know about it.

>

> This evening (March 10, 2006) on NBC Nightly News,

reported

> that The Lancet published a study regarding deep vein thrombosis and

poor

[Guest guest]

Here is part of an article on the NBC news segment regarding DVT and

air travel, including mention of low oxygen content of aircraft air.

In another article they mentioned low quality of air due to

continuous recirculation.

LONDON - Air travel, particularly long-haul flights, can increase

the odds of

developing dangerous blood clots but researchers said on Friday they

are not

only due to being immobile for long periods.

Low pressure and low oxygen levels in aircraft may also contribute

in some

people to the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

DVT, often called " economy class syndrome " because of the cramped

conditions on

planes, usually develops in the legs and can be fatal if the clot

dislodges and

moves to the brain or lungs.

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Professor Frits Rosendaal of Leiden University Hospital in the

Netherlands and

his team compared concentrations of markers for blood clotting in 71

healthy

people before, during and immediately after an 8-hour flight.

They also looked at the markers in the volunteers after 8 hours in

the cinema

and after doing daily activities.

" Activation of coagulation (clotting) occurs in some individuals

after an 8-hour

flight, indicating an additional mechanism to immobilization

underlying air

travel related to thrombosis, " Rosendaal said in the study published

in The

Lancet medical journal.

The researchers said concentrations of the clotting markers were

higher after

the flight than they were after sitting in the cinema or doing daily

activities,

particularly in patients who had other risk factors for DVT.

Rosendaal said about 40 percent of the people in the study had an

increased risk

of DVT because of a genetic mutation or were women taking oral

contraceptives,

which also carry a raised risk of DVT.

In a commentary on the research, Dr. Hans Stricker of the Ospedale

Regionale in

Locarno, Switzerland described the research as an " important piece

of evidence

to the mosaic of travel-induced thrombosis. "

He advised air travelers to avoid taking sedatives or drinking too

much alcohol

during flights to reduce the risk of DVT. Compressive stockings that

improve

blood flow could also help.

But Stricker said medical preventions such as low-dose anti-clotting

drugs

should be limited to people who have an increased risk of DVT such

as those who

have had recent surgery to the lower extremities.

>

> This evening (March 10, 2006) on NBC Nightly News,

reported

> that The Lancet published a study regarding deep vein thrombosis

and poor

> indoor air quality in airplanes.