Editor: Feng R. Tang

Chemical-Induced Seizures: Mechanisms, Consequences and Treatment

eBook: US $24 Special Offer (PDF + Printed Copy): US $110
Printed Copy: US $98
Library License: US $96
ISBN: 978-1-60805-600-2 (Print)
ISBN: 978-1-60805-274-5 (Online)
Year of Publication: 2011
DOI: 10.2174/97816080527451110101

Introduction

Since the Tokyo Sarin Subway Attack, the threat of chemical warfare agents has migrated from the battlefield to become a major concern for homeland security in the 21st century. While current fielded antidotes are able to mitigate acute high mortality arising from exposure to nerve agents, achieving effective neuroprotection in subjects with nerve agent induced prolonged seizures or status epilepticus is currently lacking. To overcome this challenge, establishing an improved understanding on the mechanism linking seizure onset during chemical (including nerve agents) poisoning to the subsequent cascade of biochemical, neurotoxicological, pathophysiological, genomic and behavioral changes post exposure is vital. Due to ethical, safety and chemical surety related issues, looking for surrogate chemicals has also become important for chemical defense research. In this book, internationally well-known clinicians and basic research scientists with expertise on chemical-induced seizures will update readers on the relevant areas. Doctors (civil and military), paramedics and medical students will find this book informative and timely for the current battle against asymmetric terrorist conflicts.

Indexed in: Web of Science, Scopus, Chemical Abstracts, EBSCO

Foreword

In recent history, chemical warfare nerve agents have been used as a weapon in the battlefield as well as an instrument to spread panic by terrorists on innocent public. Unfortunately, because of limited scientific interest, there are not many laboratories engaged in chemical defence research in the world to help mitigate the threats. Hence, several gaps still exist in understanding of the toxic effects of such agents in the victims for the immediate and longer term. For example, we do not have a thorough understanding on the pathophysiological and behavioural changes after nerve agent poisoning to help us explain the psychological, mental effects and neurological impairment reported in victims with chronic signs and systems. This situation is not helped by the lack of experience and scarcity of clinical cases in daily clinical practice; doctors hardly ever see patients whose conditions have any similarity to casualties of nerve agent intoxication.

Drs Feng Ru Tang and Weng Keong Loke from Singapore are to be commended for this initiative to edit and organize an eBook, “Chemical-induced seizures: mechanisms, consequences and treatment”. It represents a collection of the latest scientific understanding in this topic of nerve agents and their deleterious impact from the relatively limited number of world renowned specialists in this field. Furthermore each article list several relevant references thus collating into this eBook the relevant information from publications and articles, which are currently spread over a wide range of journals and books. Both Dr Tang and Dr Loke have been researching in epilepsy and in the medical effects of chemical warfare agents for many years. I am confident that this eBook will not only benefit scientists, and doctor but also policy and emergency planners for national emergencies and security.

Professor Lionel Lee
Defence Medical and Environmental Research Institute
DSO National Laboratories
Singapore.


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