Overcoming apathy in research on organophosphate poisoning

doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7476.1231

BMJ 2004;329:1231-1233 (20 November), doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7476.1231

Education and debate

Overcoming apathy in research on organophosphate poisoning

Nick A Buckley, director of clinical pharmacology¹, Darren Roberts, PhD student¹, Michael Eddleston, Wellcome Trust career development fellow²

¹ South Asian Clinical Toxicology Research Collaboration, Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Canberra Hospital, PO Box 11, Woden, ACT 2606, Australia, ² Ox-Col Collaboration, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Correspondence to: N A Buckley Nick.Buckley@act.gov.au

High rates of pesticide poisoning in developing countries andincreasing risk of nerve gas attacks in the West mean effectiveantidotes for organophosphates should be a worldwide priority

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Introduction

Organophosphate pesticide poisoning is a leading cause of morbidityand premature loss of life in many developing countries of theAsia-Pacific region. The efficacy of current antidotes is largelyunproved, and many other potential antidotes have been developedbut are yet to be tested in humans. Meanwhile, preparation forthe terrorist use of organophosphate nerve agents is leadingto the stockpiling of large amounts of these unproved antidotesto treat mass poisoning. An international collaboration of academia,industry, and military is needed to make a concerted effortto develop and test new treatments that would benefit both groupsof patients.

A problem shared is a problem halved?

Countries in the developed and developing world seem to havedifferent priorities in dealing with the public health problemof poisoning. Yet both are making slow progress and ignoringcommon links. These common links indicate that a collaborationwould be of immense benefit to both and that its lack is . . . [Full text of this article]

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Global failure of antidote development

Collaboration and support are needed

Different incentives

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