An Antidote for Acute Cocaine Toxicity

Mechanisms of acute cocaine toxicity.

Patients with acute cocaine poisoning present with life-threatening symptoms involving several organ systems. While the effects of cocaine are myriad, they are the result of a limited number of cocaine-protein interactions, including monoamine transporters, neurotransmitter receptors and voltage-gated ion channels. These primary interactions trigger a cascade of events that ultimately produce t...

Ayurvedic herbal supplements as an antidote to 9/11 toxicity.

An in-treatment web-based survey was conducted in 2005 with 50 New York World Trade Center rescue and recovery workers, volunteers, and area residents and workers who were treated with Ayurvedic herbs for post-9/11 symptoms. The survey documented pretreatment efforts at symptom relief, post-treatment symptom impact, and the context for using the herbal intervention. Herbal treatment was adminis...

Hydrogen Sulfide—Mechanisms of Toxicity and Development of an Antidote

Hydrogen sulfide is a highly toxic gas-second only to carbon monoxide as a cause of inhalational deaths. Its mechanism of toxicity is only partially known, and no specific therapy exists for sulfide poisoning. We show in several cell types, including human inducible pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived neurons, that sulfide inhibited complex IV of the mitochondrial respiratory chain and induce...

British anti-lewisite as an antidote for acute mercury poisoning.

Cocaine toxicity after laryngoscopy in an infant.

Iatrogenic cocaine toxicity was observed in a 5.5-month-old male who received intranasal cocaine as a topical anesthetic for laryngoscopy. He became agitated, diaphoretic, tachycardic, and hypertensive shortly following the procedure. To control his signs and symptoms, he required 3 doses of IV lorazepam. Systemic absorption and toxicity can vary amongst individuals, making it difficult to dete...