• Kai Schommer, Kai Kallenberg, Kira Lutz, Peter Bärtsch, and Michael Knauth.
• From the Department of Internal Medicine, Division VII: Sports Medicine (K.S., P.B.), and Department of Neurology, Division of Neuroradiology (K.L.), University Hospital, Heidelberg; and Neuroradiology (K.K., M.K.), University Medicine, Göttingen, Germany.
• Neurology. 2013 Nov 12;81(20):1776-9.

ObjectiveBased on recent findings of microhemorrhages (MHs) in the corpus callosum (CC) in 3 individuals after nonfatal high-altitude cerebral edema (HACE), we hypothesized that hemosiderin depositions in the brain after high-altitude exposure are specific for HACE and remain detectable over many years.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study involving 37 mountaineers in 4 groups: 10 had experienced HACE, 8 high-altitude pulmonary edema, 11 severe acute mountain sickness, and 8 had climbed to altitudes ≥6,962 m without developing any high-altitude illness. HACE was defined as ataxia necessitating assistance with walking and/or decreased consciousness. Within <1 to 38 months after the qualifying incident, MRI of the brain was performed using a 3-tesla scanner and high-resolution susceptibility-weighted magnetic resonance sequences for detection of hemosiderin depositions, which were quantified by a score.ResultsUnequivocal MHs located in the splenium of the CC were found in 8 subjects and questionable MHs were found in 2 subjects 1 to 35 months after HACE. They were located outside the CC in 5 more severe cases. MHs remained unchanged in those reexamined after 12 to 50 months. A few unequivocal MHs in the splenium of the CC were found in one subject after severe acute mountain sickness, while one subject with high-altitude pulmonary edema and 2 of the extreme altitude climbers had questionable lesions. In all other subjects, MHs were unequivocally absent.ConclusionsMHs detectable by susceptibility-weighted MRI predominantly in the splenium of the CC are long-lasting footprints of HACE.

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