• Comparison of insulation provided by dry or wetsuits among recreational divers during cold water immersion (< 5 degrees C)Peer reviewedOpen access 

      05 octobre 2021, Lafère, Pierre; Guerrero, François; GERMONPRÉ, Peter; BALESTRA, Costantino, HE Bruxelles Brabant
      Article scientifique
      BACKGROUND: Divers thermal status influences susceptibility to decompression sickness hence the need for proper insulation during immersion in cold water. However, there is a lack of data on thermal protection provided by diving suits, hence this study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two different groups of divers wearing either a wetsuit (n = 15) or a dry suit (n = 15) volunteered for this study. Anthropometric ...
    • Comparison of insulation provided by dry or wetsuits among recreational divers during cold water immersion (< 5 degrees C)Peer reviewedOpen access 

      05 octobre 2021, Lafère, Pierre; Guerrero, François; GERMONPRÉ, Peter; BALESTRA, Costantino, HE Bruxelles Brabant
      Article scientifique
      BACKGROUND: Divers thermal status influences susceptibility to decompression sickness hence the need for proper insulation during immersion in cold water. However, there is a lack of data on thermal protection provided by diving suits, hence this study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two different groups of divers wearing either a wetsuit (n = 15) or a dry suit (n = 15) volunteered for this study. Anthropometric ...
    • Critical Flicker Fusion Frequency: A Marker of Cerebral Arousal During Modified Gravitational Conditions Related to Parabolic FlightsPeer reviewedOpen access 

      02 octobre 2018, BALESTRA, Costantino; Machado, Marie-Laure; Theunissen, Sigrid; BALESTRA, Ambre; Cialoni, Danilo; Clot, Christian; Besnard, Stépane; Kammacher, Laura; Delzenne, Julie; GERMONPRÉ, Peter; Lafère, Pierre, HE Bruxelles Brabant
      Article scientifique
      In situ evaluation of human brain performance and arousal remains challenging during operational circumstances, hence the need for a rapid, reliable and reproducible tool. Here we hypothesized that the Critical flicker fusion frequency (CFFF) reflecting/requiring visual integration, visuo-motor skills and decision-taking process might be a powerful, fast and simple tool in modified gravity environments. ...
    • Dark chocolate reduces endothelial dysfunction after successive breath-hold dives in cool waterPeer reviewedOpen access 

      16 septembre 2013, THEUNISSEN, Sigrid; Schumacker, Julie; Guerrero, François; Tillmans, Frauke; BOUTROS, Antoine; Lambrechts, Kate; Mazur, Alexandra; Pieri, Massimo; GERMONPRÉ, Peter; BALESTRA, Costantino, HE Bruxelles Brabant
      Article scientifique
      Objective: The aim of this study is to observe the effects of dark chocolate on endothelial function after a series of successive apnea dives in non-thermoneutral water. Methods: Twenty breath-hold divers were divided into two groups: a control group (8 males and 2 females) and a chocolate group (9 males and 1 female). The control group was asked to perform a series of dives to 20 m adding up to ...
    • Decreased Incidence of Pulmonary Barotrauma After Discontinuation of Emergency Free Ascent TrainingPeer reviewedOpen access 

      22 août 2018, Lafère, Pierre; GERMONPRÉ, Peter; Guerrero, François; Marroni, Alessandro; BALESTRA, Costantino, HE Bruxelles Brabant
      Article scientifique
      INTRODUCTION: Because a significant association between training to perform emergency free ascent (EFA) and the occurrence of pulmonary barotrauma (PBT) was demonstrated in 2006, the Belgian Underwater Federation (BUF) decided to discontinue this procedure. An evaluation was needed 10 yr after the implementation of this change. METHODS: All medical records with a diagnosis of PBT that occurred in ...
    • Diving deeper into SCUBA SciencePeer reviewedOpen access 

      12 février 2017, BALESTRA, Costantino; GERMONPRÉ, Peter, HE Bruxelles Brabant
      Livre/Ouvrage ou monographie
      The editors of and authors of this book are a cadre of scientists and physicians with broad experience and knowledge of diving physiology and decompression theory. As is often the case, it requires a group effort to succeed in advancing practical knowledge. The colloquialism "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts" is often true and the PHYPODE Reasearch Group epitomizes this concept. By ...
    • Diving physiopathology: the end of certainties? Food for thoughtPeer reviewedClosed access 

      27 juin 2019, BALESTRA, Costantino; GERMONPRÉ, Peter; Rocco, Monica; Biancofiore, Giovanni; Kot, Jacek, HE Bruxelles Brabant
      Article scientifique
      Our understanding of decompression physiopathology has slowly improved during this last decade and some uncertainties have disappeared. A better understanding of anatomy and functional aspects of Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) have slowly resulted in a more liberal approach toward the medical fitness to dive for those bearing a PFO. Circulating vascular gas emboli (VGE) are considered the key actors in ...
    • Early detection of diving-related cognitive impairment of different nitrogen-oxygen gas mixturesPeer reviewedOpen access 

      30 juin 2019, Lafère, Pierre; HEMELRYCK, Walter; GERMONPRÉ, Peter; Matity, Luba; Guerrero, François; BALESTRA, Costantino, HE Bruxelles Brabant
      Article scientifique
      NTRODUCTION: Cognitive impairment related to inert gas narcosis (IGN) is a threat to diving safety and operations at depth that might be reduced by using enriched air nitrox (EANx) mixtures. Using critical flicker fusion frequency (CFFF), a possible early detection of cognitive abilities/cerebral arousal impairment when breathing different oxygen (O2) fractions was investigated. METHODS: Eight male ...
    • The effect of pre-dive ingestion of dark chocolate on endothelial function after a scuba divePeer reviewedClosed access 

      15 mars 2015, THEUNISSEN, Sigrid; BALESTRA, Costantino; BOUTROS, Antoine; De Bels, David; Guerrero, François; GERMONPRÉ, Peter, HE Bruxelles Brabant
      Article scientifique
      Objective: The aim of the study was to observe the effects of dark chocolate on endothelial function after scuba diving. Methods: Forty-two male scuba divers were divided into two groups: a control (n=21) and a chocolate group (n=21). They performed a 33-metres deep scuba-air dive for 20 minutes in a diving pool (Nemo 33, Brussels). Water temperature was 33⁰C. The chocolate group ingested 30 g ...
    • Evaluation of Protection Level, Respiratory Safety, and Practical Aspects of Commercially Available Snorkel Masks as Personal Protection Devices Against Aerosolized Contaminants and SARS-CoV2Peer reviewedOpen access 

      15 juin 2020, GERMONPRÉ, Peter; Van Rompaeye, Dirk; BALESTRA, Costantino, HE Bruxelles Brabant
      Article scientifique
      Introduction: The “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2” (SARS-CoV2) pandemic has led to a worldwide shortage of personal protection devices (PPD) for medical and paramedical personnel. Adaptation of commercially available snorkel masks to serve as full face masks has been proposed. Even not formally approved as PPD, they are publicized on social media as suitable for this use. Concerns ...
    • Feasibility of Detecting Brain Areas Involved in Extreme Breath-Hold DivingPeer reviewedOpen access 

      20 janvier 2021, Jissendi-Tchofo, Patrice; Jdaoudi, Yassin; GERMONPRÉ, Peter; Brizzolari, Andrea; Musimu, Patrick; BALESTRA, Costantino, HE Bruxelles Brabant
      Article scientifique
      We report Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) signal changes recorded in the brain of an elite breath-hold diver during voluntary dry long breath-hold by means of fMRI. An independent component analysis (ICA) method was applied to extract brain areas that are putatively involved in the apnea process network. We discuss the hypothesis that these BOLD signal variations express the functional adaptive ...
    • Heart Rate Variability During a Standard Dive: A Role for Inspired Oxygen Pressure?Peer reviewedOpen access 

      13 août 2021, Lafère, Pierre; LAMBRECHTS, Kate; GERMONPRÉ, Peter; Balestra, Ambre; Germonpré, Faye-Lisa; Marroni, Alessandro; Cialoni, Danilo; Bosco, Gerardo; BALESTRA, Costantino, HE Bruxelles Brabant
      Article scientifique
      Introduction: Heart rate variability (HRV) during underwater diving has been infrequently investigated because of environment limitations and technical challenges. This study aims to analyze HRV changes while diving at variable hyperoxia when using open circuit (OC) air diving apparatus or at constant hyperoxia using a closed-circuit rebreather (CCR). We used HRV analysis in time and frequency domain ...
    • Heart Rate Variability During a Standard Dive: A Role for Inspired Oxygen Pressure?Peer reviewedOpen access 

      13 août 2021, Lafère, Pierre; LAMBRECHTS, Kate; GERMONPRÉ, Peter; BALESTRA, Ambre; Germonpré, Faye-Lisa; Marroni, Alessandro; Cialoni, Danilo; Bosco, Gerardo; BALESTRA, Costantino, HE Bruxelles Brabant
      Article scientifique
      Introduction: Heart rate variability (HRV) during underwater diving has been infrequently investigated because of environment limitations and technical challenges. This study aims to analyze HRV changes while diving at variable hyperoxia when using open circuit (OC) air diving apparatus or at constant hyperoxia using a closed-circuit rebreather (CCR). We used HRV analysis in time and frequency domain ...
    • Hyperoxia Alters Ultrastructure and Induces Apoptosis in Leukemia Cell LinesPeer reviewedOpen access 

      12 février 2020, De Bels, David; Tillmans, Frauke; Corazza, Francis; Bizzarri, Mariano; GERMONPRÉ, Peter; Radermacher, Peter; Keziban, Gunce-Orman; BALESTRA, Costantino, HE Bruxelles Brabant
      Article scientifique
      Oxygenation conditions are crucial for growth and tumor progression. Recent data suggests a decrease in cancer cell proliferation occurring after exposure to normobaric hyperoxia. Those changes are associated with fractal dimension. The purpose of this research was to study the impact of hyperoxia on apoptosis and morphology of leukemia cell lines. Two hematopoietic lymphoid cancer cell lines (a ...
    • Mini Trampoline, a New and Promising Way of SCUBA Diving Preconditioning to Reduce Vascular Gas Emboli?Peer reviewedOpen access 

      29 avril 2022, LAMBRECHTS, Kate; GERMONPRÉ, Peter; Vandenheede, Joaquim; Delorme, Manon; Lafere, Pierre; BALESTRA, Costantino, HE Bruxelles Brabant
      Article scientifique
      Background: Despite evolution in decompression algorithms, decompression illness is still an issue nowadays. Reducing vascular gas emboli (VGE) production or preserving endothelial function by other means such as diving preconditioning is of great interest. Several methods have been tried, either mechanical, cardiovascular, desaturation aimed or biochemical, with encouraging results. In this study, ...
    • Nitric oxide-related endothelial changes in breath-hold and scuba diversPeer reviewedClosed access 

      01 mars 2013, THEUNISSEN, Sigrid; Guerrero, François; Sponciello, Nicholas; Cialoni, Danilo; Pieri, Massimo; GERMONPRÉ, Peter; Obeid, Georges; Tillmans, Frauke; Papadopoulou, Virginie; HEMELRYCK, Walter; Marroni, Alessandro; De Bels, David; BALESTRA, Costantino, HE Bruxelles Brabant
      Article scientifique
      Objective: Scuba and breath-hold divers are compared to investigate whether endothelial response changes are similar despite different exposure(s) to hyperoxia. Design: 14 divers (nine scuba and five breath-holding) performed either one scuba dive (25m/25 minutes) or successive breath-hold dives at a depth of 20 meters, adding up to 25 minutes of immersion time in a diving pool. Flow-mediated ...
    • The 'normobaric oxygen paradox': does it increase haemoglobin?Peer reviewedClosed access 

      14 juin 2012, De Bels, David; THEUNISSEN, Sigrid; Devriendt, Jacques; GERMONPRÉ, Peter; Lafère, Pierre; Valsamis, Joseph; SNOECK, Thyl; Meeus, Philippe; BALESTRA, Costantino, HE Bruxelles Brabant
      Article scientifique
      Background: A novel approach to increasing erythropoietin (EPO) using oxygen (O2) (the 'normobaric oxygen paradox') has been reported in healthy volunteers. We investigated whether the EPO increase is sufficient to induce erythropoiesis by comparing two protocols of O2 administration. Methods: We compared the effect of daily versus alternate days 100% O2, breathed for 30 minutes, on haemoglobin ...
    • Objective vs. Subjective Evaluation of Cognitive Performance During 0.4-MPa Dives Breathing Air or NitroxPeer reviewedClosed access 

      19 avril 2017, GERMONPRÉ, Peter; BALESTRA, Costantino; Hemelryck, Walter; Buzzacott, Peter; Lafère, Pierre, HE Bruxelles Brabant
      Article scientifique
      BACKGROUND: Divers try to limit risks associated with their sport, for instance by breathing enriched air nitrox (EANx) instead of air. This double blinded, randomized trial was designed to see if the use of EANx could effectively improve cognitive performance while diving. METHODS: Eight volunteers performed two no-decompression dry dives breathing air or EANx for 20 min at 0.4 MPa. Cognitive ...
    • Oxidative stress in breath-hold divers after repetitive divesPeer reviewedClosed access 

      08 juin 2013, THEUNISSEN, Sigrid; Sponciello, Nicholas; Rozloznik, Miroslav; GERMONPRÉ, Peter; Guerrero, François; Cialoni, Danilo; BALESTRA, Costantino, HE Bruxelles Brabant
      Article scientifique
      Introduction: Hyperoxia causes oxidative stress. Breath-hold diving is associated with transient hyperoxia followed by hypoxia and a build-up of carbon dioxide (CO₂), chest-wall compression and significant haemodynamic changes. This study analyses variations in plasma oxidative stress markers after a series of repetitive breath-hold dives. Methods: Thirteen breath-hold divers were asked to perform ...
    • Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO), Personality Traits, and Iterative Decompression Sickness. Retrospective Analysis of 209 CasesPeer reviewedOpen access 

      20 août 2017, Lafère, Pierre; BALESTRA, Costantino; Caers, Dirk; GERMONPRÉ, Peter, HE Bruxelles Brabant
      Article scientifique
      Introduction: There is a need to evaluate the influence of risk factors such as patency of foramen ovale (PFO) or "daredevil" psychological profile on contra-indication policy after a decompression sickness (DCS). Methods: By crossing information obtained from Belgian Hyperbaric Centers, DAN Emergency Hotline, the press, and Internet diving forums, it was possible to be accountable for the majority ...