Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Sejvar, James J.

Titel

Neurochemical and Neurobiological Weapons

Ist Teil von

• Neurologic clinics, 2020-11, Vol.38 (4), p.881-896

Ort / Verlag

United States: Elsevier Inc

Erscheinungsjahr

2020

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Nerve agents and neurobiological weapons are among the most devastating and lethal of weapons. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors act by increasing the amount of acetylcholine in the neuromuscular junction, resulting in flaccid paralysis. Tabun, VX, soman, and sarin are the major agents in this category. Exposure to nerve agents can be inhalational or through dermal contact. Neurotoxins may have peripheral and central effects on the nervous system. Atropine is an effective antidote to nerve agents. Neurobiological weapons entail using whole organisms or organism-synthesized toxins as agents. Some organisms that can be used as biological weapons include smallpox virus.