Behind the extraordinary power of the Himalayan Sherpa

Hundreds of generations of ethnic Sherpa living in the highlands have experienced a genetic revolution to adapt to hypoxia.

On the towering peaks of the Himalayas, this ethnic Nepalese group is known for its speed records for mountain climbing, exploring unprecedented routes, navigation capabilities and other skills.

The Sherpa people are extraordinary people

What is the reason for the good Sherpa to climb in the thin atmosphere of the world's highest mountain range?

According to a new study, they can be better at controlling and utilizing oxygen than others. This finding is also a suggestion to find a solution to help normal people whose tissue tissue is deficient in oxygen due to illness.

'You don't need to stay long to realize the people here, particularly the Sherpa, still perform extremely well when on high, much better than we are,' said Andrew Murray, a physiologist at the University. Study Cambridge (UK) and is one of the authors of the study, said. 'Certainly their abilities are very different'.

A Sherpa carrying a ladder for people to conquer Mount Everest.(Photo: Tashi Sherpa / AP).

In addition, the study also provides evidence of their gene role .

From at least 6,000 years ago, Sherpa people and other ethnic groups live in the highlands of the Himalayas, at an altitude of nearly 4,500m above sea level. Currently, most of us still cannot adapt to life in such a high place.

People living in low places who move to high places face many risks. Contacting the limited amount of oxygen from a height of 2,500m or more, you may develop symptoms such as headache, poor appetite, and difficulty sleeping. Cases of severe elevation syndrome can cause cerebral edema, or pulmonary edema. These two diseases can cause rapid death.

Pregnant women also have increased rates of miscarriage and other complications because of high blood pressure when moving to the highlands. This demonstrates the possibility of a revolution that selects genes that help people living in the mountains to cope with the lack of oxygen.

So how do Sherpas do? Murray said that, over thousands of years, the bodies of alpine people have grown in the direction of making the best use of oxygen.

When we climb mountains, the erythropoietin (EPO) hormone promotes the production of red blood cells, which then carry more oxygen to the muscles. But extra cells also make the blood more dense, adding pressure to the heart to pump blood, and can cause elevation syndrome (also known as altitude sickness ). Sherpa people also increase the number of red blood cells when they are high, but not as much as those from lowland areas.

Sherpa is a professional janitor on the roof of the world.(Photo: Tashi Sherpa / AP).

To better understand, Murray and his colleagues studied a group of 15 Sherpas and 10 people living in the lowlands on a trip to Everest Base Camp in 2013.

A few weeks earlier, they were not allowed to climb high mountains. The journey begins by taking them from London (England) or Kathmandu (Nepal) to Lukla, Nepal, at an altitude of nearly 2,800m. All participants were provided the same food within 10 days of trekking to Everest Base Camp, located at an altitude of 5,300m.

Before, during and after the trekking, the research team collected blood samples, small pea tissue samples of all subjects. The results are published in the Proceedings journal of the National Academy of Sciences.

The muscle cells of the two research groups appear interesting differences. In Sherpa muscle tissue, the mitochondria of the cell - the energy production unit - convert much oxygen into energy. Murray said: 'Mitochondria in Sherpa people have fewer openings, so they are more effective than mitochondria in Westerners. They (Sherpa) are better at using oxygen . '

Sherpa can also produce more energy in the absence of oxygen, in a process called anaerobic respiratory metabolism.

According to Tatum Simonson, a genetic researcher and physiologist of the highly adaptive ability at the University of California (San Diego, USA), the findings are linked to the findings of previous studies that reveal about DNA mutation of Sherpa people. In 2010, Simonson and his colleagues examined the genome of highland Tibetans, and found many genes with a marked mutation that seemed to be related to oxygen metabolism, and to adapt to a lesser environment. oxygen.

In order to further examine the potential role of one of these genes (the gene also appears in the ancestors of Ethiopian people living in the highlands), Murray has based on Simonson's research, and has taken a step further.

According to this study, the transition in Sherpa and lowland people is similar in low areas. Thus, the genetic differences between the two groups appear only in high areas.

Because Sherpa people have adapted to the altitude for hundreds of generations, they have opened the door to our body's potential in coping with hypoxia.

The girl with high altitude syndrome breathed through the oxygen mask to avoid hypoxia.(Photo: Thinkstock).

Simonson said the difference in genes - the point that helps Sherpa overcome the loss of oxygen - sometimes appears in the general population on Earth. This study explains why some people can tolerate better if they have hypoxia, or low oxygen levels in their tissue due to altitude, either from heart disease, respiratory disease or cancer.

According to Murray, in the hospital, about 25% of people with hypoxia die. The passerby did not recover healthily as before. Traditional treatment focuses on increasing oxygen levels, but that plan is not very effective, even harmful.

We can try to study the medication that helps patients mimic what Sherpa is doing - effectively using the limited oxygen they have.