Local Scientist In Xtreme Challenge For Medical Research
9 April 2007
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A bio-medical scientist from Hackney is preparing for a modern
day adventure when he sets off on Saturday April 28th to climb
Mount Everest as part of a pioneering medical research project:
Caudwell Xtreme Everest.
Ken Edwards works as the Principal Bio-Medical Scientist in the
Pathology unit at The London Clinic. He is one of 200 volunteers
from the general public who have been selected from across the UK
to take part in the three-month expedition (March – June 2007)
organised by The Centre for Altitude, Space and Extreme Environment
Medicine (CASE) at University College London.
The project aims to place a research team on the summit of
Everest who will use the extreme environment as a means of
investigating critical illness and human physiology. As a
volunteer, Ken will be playing a vital role by allowing the
expedition researchers to carry out specific tests on him to study
the human response to low oxygen levels (hypoxia).
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Dr Denny Levett, who works in the Critical Care Unit at The
London Clinic and is one of the key researchers on the Xtreme
Everest expedition explains:
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“Low oxygen levels (hypoxia) are an almost universal problem in
critically ill patients on breathing machines. However, it is
difficult to study the effects of low oxygen levels on their own in
a hospital setting, such as The London Clinic, as patients have so
many other health problems occurring at the same time. Studying
healthy individuals with low oxygen levels on the expedition will
be invaluable in helping to increase our understanding of the
effects of hypoxia and enable us to use this knowledge when caring
for critically ill children and adults affected by it back at
home.”
For three weeks (April 28th – May 20th 2007) Ken will be
travelling in a group of 16 volunteers including three other
colleagues from The London Clinic. Staff at the independent
hospital were offered the opportunity to apply for one of three
‘golden’ places to take part in the expedition. The chosen team
will have plenty of time to ‘bond’ on the expedition spending much
of their time trekking together, often for 4 to 5 hours a day,
staying in tea houses en route and a three-night stay at Everest
Base Camp in tents. Ken recently had a taste of the adventure when
he took part in a pre-trek training weekend in Snowdonia including
talks and advice on equipment and acclimatisation, a presentation
on the trek itself, a training walk and plenty of time to relax and
get to know his fellow trekkers.
Looking forward to the expedition, Ken comments:
“I have always loved the mountain environment and regularly ski
and climb. To be able to combine the experience of taking part in a
challenging outdoor trek with being a volunteer for a major
scientific study really is a dream scenario for me. As a scientist,
I will have a natural interest in the medical tests that I will be
taking part in and am also very aware of the potential benefits
that this research could bring to patients in the future”
The London Clinic, one of the UK’s most established independent
hospitals, is dedicated to providing progressive technology and
medical excellence for all its patients. The research project holds
particular significance for The London Clinic as it is home to one
of the capital’s busiest, fully equipped Critical Care Units
(CCUs). As part of its 75th anniversary celebrations, The London
Clinic is thrilled to be supporting the Caudwell Xtreme Everest
project – both by sponsoring the medical research programme and
funding four Clinic staff members as expedition volunteers.