Chemical Warfare Agents

Brief history and use of chemical warfare agents in warfare and terrorism. Chemistry of chemical warfare agents. Chemical warfare agent threat to drinking water. Health effects of low-level exposure to nerve agents. Toxicokinetics of nerve agents. Application of genomic, proteomic, and metabolomic technologies to the development of countermeasures against chemical warfare agents. Novel approaches to medical protection against chemical warfare nerve agents. Nerve agent bioscavengers: progress in development of a new mode of protection against organophosphorus exposure. Butyrylcholinesterase and its synthetic c-terminal peptide confer in vitro suppression of amyloid fibrils formation. Novel medical countermeasure for organophosphorus intoxication: connection to alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Inhalation toxicology of nerve agents. Vesicants and oxidative stress. Health effects of exposure to vesicant agents. Cyanides: toxicology, clinical presentation, and medical management. Chemical used for riot control and personal protection. Mechanism of action of botulinum neurotoxin and overview of medical countermeasures for intoxication. Ricin and related toxins: review and perspective. Screening smokes: applications, toxicology, clinical considerations, and medical management. Clinical detection of exposure to chemical warfare agents. Personal protective equipment: practical and theoretical considerations. Chemical warfare agent decontamination from skin. Chemical warfare, chemical terrorism, and traumatic stress responses: an assessment of psychological impact. Emergency response to a chemical warfare agent incident: domestic preparedness, first response, and public health considerations. Emergency medical response to a chemical terrorist attack. Index