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The aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of hyperoxic and hypoxic argon therapy in the correction of borderline functional states of a person.Research methods. 16 men (aged 19–42 years) were examined. In group 1 (8 people), courses of normobaric oxygen therapy and hypoxic therapy were conducted: 14 daily procedures of 30 minutes of oxygen respiration, and then (after 30 minutes) 30 minutes of breathing with a gas mixture with an oxygen content in nitrogen of 16–14% vol. Argon therapy was performed in group 2 patients: 8 daily procedures of 20 minutes of breathing with a gas mixture containing 45% oxygen, 35% argon, nitrogen the rest, and then (after 20 minutes) — 20 minutes of breathing with a mixture containing 12–10% oxygen, argon 35% vol., nitrogen the rest.Results and discussion: it was shown that in group 2 individuals, as a result of the carried-out corrective programs, there was an acceleration of recovery processes, better values of subjective, psychophysiological and somatic status indicators were recorded compared to group 1. Therefore, combined argon therapy is a more effective means of correcting functional conditions compared to standard hyperoxic and hypoxic therapy.

Developing of the Arctic territories ofRussiamakes it expedient to devise safety means for emergency enhancement of professionals’ resistance to overcooling in order to reduce health risks associated with long-term dwelling under Arctic conditions. To develop and test promising means of non-pharmacological interventions suitable for enhancing the hypothermic resistance of subjects at work under cool environmental conditions, we recruited 37 able-bodied male volunteers, which were assigned to two experimental groups. In Group 1 (25 subjects), 10 sessions of cryothermic training (CTT) consisted of placing each subject in a cryochamber at –150±2° C for 2 to 5 minutes. In Group 2 (12 subjects), CTT was supplemented with 10 sessions of normobaric hypoxic preconditioning: 40 minutes of inhaling of a gas mixture containing 15% oxygen. Hypothermic resistance was assessed during the first and the tenth training procedure. The procedures were found to enhance gradually the hypothermic resistance, the outcome being more pronounced in the Group 2. The subjective tolerance to cold was roughly the same in both groups. The mean time of tolerance to hypothermia increased during the tenth vs. the first session by 40% in Group 1 vs. 49% in Group 2. Rectal temperature decrease decelerated by 19% vs. 25%, respectively. Systemic circulation responsiveness to hypothermia decreased by 23–40% vs. 28–50%, respectively. Thus, the combined hypothermic and hypoxic preconditioning is found to be an effective and safe means of non-pharmacological emergency enhancement of tolerance to hypothermia.