Nerve agent soman. Medical search. Frequent questions

The organophosphate nerve agents tabun (GA), sarin (GB), soman (GD), and cyclosarin (GF) are among the most toxic chemical warfare agents known. (medscape.com)
Tabun is the first of the G-series nerve agents along with GB (sarin), GD (soman) and GF (cyclosarin). (wikipedia.org)
Treatment for suspected tabun poisoning is often three injections of a nerve agent antidote, such as atropine. (wikipedia.org)
G agents (e.g. sarin, tabun and soman) are primarily designed to act via inhalation, while V agents (eg. (who.int)
Sarin and tabun mixes easily with water (whereas VX does not mix with water as easily as other nerve agents), so it could be used to poison water or food. (who.int)
Following release of sarin and tabun into water, people can be exposed by touching or drinking water that contains G agents. (who.int)
Along with tabun and sarin, these agents were collectively called "G-agents" -- the G standing for German. (medpagetoday.com)
The Nazi regime mass-produced almost 9,000 tons of tabun, 1,300 tons of sarin, and 20 tons of soman. (medpagetoday.com)
Examples of G agents include tabun (GA), sarin (GB), soman (GD), and cyclosarin (GF). (emdocs.net)
G-series agents, or G agents, include GA (tabun), GB (sarin), GD (soman), and GF (cyclosarin), which were developed by Nazi Germany before and during World War II. (msdmanuals.com)
IIG1 exhibited a high catalytic efficiency with a homologous series of alkylmethylfluorophosphonates but had low efficiency with the phosphoramidate tabun and was virtually ineffective with the nerve agent VX. (inra.fr)

PON1 also hydrolyzes nerve agents like sarin and soman. (biochemia-medica.com)

chemical and biological weapons including sarin- and cyclosarin nerve gas and possibly mustard gas and soman mixes, 6. (drexel.edu)
Cyclosarin is a man-made highly toxic organic phosphate warfare agent. (wren-clothing.com)
Recently, a chimeric PON1 mutant, IIG1, was engineered toward the hydrolysis of the toxic isomers of soman and cyclosarin with high in vitro catalytic efficiency. (inra.fr)
In order to investigate the suitability of IIG1 as a catalytic bioscavenger, an in vivo guinea pig model was established to determine the protective effect of IIG1 against the highly toxic nerve agent cyclosarin. (inra.fr)

with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons confirming it held almost 40,000 metric tons of chemical agents, including VX nerve gas, sarin, soman, mustard gas and phosgene. (finchannel.com)

Chemically and toxicologically, the nerve gases are similar to many of the commercial organophosphate pesticides and, while information on severe nerve gas poisoning in humans is rather limited, there are extensive data on human exposure to some of these pesticides. (who.int)
This research brief outlines assistance that RAND provided to the OSAGWI in investigating the health effects of eight areas of possible causes of illness: infectious diseases, pyridostigmine bromide, immunizations, wartime stress, chemical and biological warfare agents, oil well fires, depleted uranium, and pesticides. (rand.org)
This research brief outlines RAND's investigations into the health effects of infectious diseases, pyridostigmine bromide (PB), immunizations, wartime stress, chemical warfare and biological warfare (CW/BW) agents, oil well fires, depleted uranium (DU), and pesticides. (rand.org)
Nerve agents are similar to organophosphate pesticides in their mechanism of action and symptomology. (emdocs.net)
Then last year, a group of researchers under the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command and the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program narrowed the primary causes to three: chemical nerve agents, pesticides, and the use of Pyridostigmine Bromide pills. (91outcomes.com)
Chemical nerve agents, PB, and many of the pesticides to which Gulf War veterans were exposed belong to a class of chemicals called Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. (91outcomes.com)

At room temperature, the G-series nerve agents are volatile liquids, making them a serious risk for exposure from dermal contact with liquid nerve agent or inhalation of nerve agent vapor. (medscape.com)

Nerve agents inhibit the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE), which hydrolyzes the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) once ACh has finished activating receptors in neurons, muscles, and glands. (msdmanuals.com)

German authorities say their testing found that Navalny was poisoned with a Russian nerve agent, Novichok. (medpagetoday.com)
This later became a prototype of the series of Novichok agents. (medpagetoday.com)
Russia has never officially confirmed its existence, but those same scientists said Novichok nerve agents are the deadliest ever made, with some variants possibly five to eight times more potent than VX. (wren-clothing.com)
Novichok is a nerve agent developed at the GosNIIOKHT state chemical-research institute in Russia. (wren-clothing.com)
On 12 March 2018, then Prime Minister Theresa May gave a statement confirming the substance used was the same type of military-grade nerve agent as that already developed by Russia, part of a group of agents known as 'Novichok' agents. (finchannel.com)
2 The agent was a 4th generation or "A" series nerve agent, more commonly known as a Novichok agent, which means "newcomer" in Russian. (crisis-medicine.com)
The "A" series or Novichok agents were the byproduct of a classified USSR/Russian program named FOLIANT, which ran from the 1970s to the 1990s. (crisis-medicine.com)
A" series or Novichok agents are binary nerve agents. (crisis-medicine.com)
A" series or Novichok agents use the more traditional "G series" (sarin, soman, etc.) nerve agents as a chemical backbone. (crisis-medicine.com)
More recently, in 2020, Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny was similarly unsuccessfully poisoned with a Novichok agent. (crisis-medicine.com)
Novichok agents: a historical, current, and toxicological perspective. (crisis-medicine.com)
Novichok: a murderous nerve agent attack in the UK. (crisis-medicine.com)
They are also called Novichok agents, and representative compounds are A-230, A-232, and A-234, which are liquids that are even more persistent than V-series agents and are just as potent. (msdmanuals.com)

The large pores in this MOF (below, left) enable organophosphate nerve agents to reach internal catalytic sites where they are neutralized via hydrolysis (reaction on right).Blue = Zr, red = O, gray = C, white = H, orange = P, green = F. (acs.org)
We also show that the effect of the PON1 polymorphism is reversed for the hydrolysis of diazoxon, soman and especially sarin, thus changing the view of which PON1 isoform is considered to be protective. (cdc.gov)

G-type nerve agents (GA, GB, and GD) are clear, colorless liquids that are volatile at ambient temperatures. (cdc.gov)
G-type agents are clear,colorless, and tasteless liquids that are miscible in water and most organic solvents. (cdc.gov)
Nerve agent liquids are readily absorbed from the skin and eyes. (cdc.gov)
Nerve agents are mostly odourless and colourless to yellow‐brown liquids at ambient temperature, and are soluble in water except V agents. (who.int)
Most of these new agents are liquids, but two of the new agents are the first nerve agents that are solid at room temperature. (crisis-medicine.com)

Most of the nerve agents were originally synthesized in a search for insecticides, but because of their toxicity, they were evaluated for military use. (cdc.gov)
Meanwhile, the Russians employed more than 200 chemists and engineers in a program called FOLIANT, with the aim of creating third-generation nerve agents of higher toxicity than V-agents but that would be undetectable using standard NATO detection equipment. (medpagetoday.com)
Therefore, in the present study, we compared the susceptibility to soman toxicity of 10-month-old male rats with that of young-adult male rats (42 to 50 days old) and examined the protective efficacy of LY293558 in the older group. (usuhs.edu)
Thus, LY293558 is an effective countermeasure against soman toxicity also in older animals. (usuhs.edu)
The potent human toxicity of organophosphorus (OP) nerve agents calls for the development of effective antidotes. (inra.fr)

2014). Some of the examples of nerve agents include Soman, Sarin and Vx. (ivoryresearch.com)

Soman and Sarin were both invented in Germany in 1938 and 1944, respectively (Patocka, 2016). (ivoryresearch.com)

An A-series agent was used in a 2018 assassination attempt in the United Kingdom, and another A-series agent was used in the 2020 assassination attempt on Russian activist Alexei Navalny. (msdmanuals.com)

Many organophosphorus compounds (OPs) are potent cholinesterase inhibitors, accounting for their use as insecticides and, unfortunately, also as nerve agents. (cdc.gov)
Most nerve agents, like organophosphate insecticides, take hours to age fully, but GD (soman) can age essentially completely within 10 minutes of binding. (msdmanuals.com)

Nerve agents act by first binding and then irreversibly inactivating acetylcholinesterase (AChE), producing a toxic accumulation of acetylcholine (ACh) at muscarinic, nicotinic, and CNS synapses. (medscape.com)
Once it's released by a nerve cell to, for instance, trigger a muscle cell to contract, it's usually rapidly broken down by an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase. (cosmosmagazine.com)
But nerve agents block acetylcholinesterase so muscles stay contracted, brain function is warped and eventually, an afflicted individual dies unless they have antidote on hand. (cosmosmagazine.com)
OP inhibit acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and therefore standard treatment of respective poisoning includes AChE reactivators (oximes) in combination with antimuscarinic agents. (inra.fr)

Although related organophosphate chemicals are used in medicine, pharmacology, and agriculture, these are not as toxic as the nerve agents. (cdc.gov)
When human illness results from an unintentional or intentional release of a toxin (chemicals produced by metabolism in an organism [e.g., ricin]) or a toxicant (natural or synthetic chemicals not metabolically produced by an organism [e.g., nerve agents]) into the environment, uniform reporting is necessary to direct appropriate resources, assess the extent of morbidity and mortality, track poisoned persons, and monitor response to intervention. (cdc.gov)
Toxicants are synthetic (i.e., manufactured) or naturally found chemicals that are not produced by organisms as a result of cellular metabolism (e.g., nerve agents or arsenic). (cdc.gov)
2 chemicals can result in symptoms that are not typical for either agent alone. (cdc.gov)
Instead, it is generally assumed that individuals who meet criteria for GWI were likely exposed to multiple agents and/or combinations of agents and chemicals. (drexel.edu)
Researchers in the US, China and Saudi Arabia developed a vehicle that stabilises as otherwise short-lived nerve agent antidote so it can neutralise the effects of the chemicals. (cosmosmagazine.com)
Suitable approaches therefore need to be developed to integrate sources, detectors, and waveguides on a single photonic platform and enable monolithic mid-infrared chip-scale trace gas sensors operable in the entire 3-15 microns spectral range for the detection of chemical warfare agents, explosives, narcotics and other chemicals of interest to Army. (sbir.gov)
Nerve agents are a class of phosphorous-containing organic chemicals and are considered the most toxic agents of chemical warfare. (emdocs.net)
Most of the other lethal chemicals now banned by the chemical weapons treaty-sarin, soman, VX-were German inventions. (city-journal.org)
Sarin (military designation GB) is a nerve agent (chemicals that affect the nervous system) that is one of the most toxic of the known chemical warfare agents. (insightsonindia.com)
Rapid and accurate detection of chemical threats, such as chemical warfare agents (CWAs) and toxic industrial chemicals (TICs), is imperative for safety mitigation and human protection in warfare and security domains. (spectroscopyonline.com)
This means two safer chemicals are mixed to make the final active agent. (crisis-medicine.com)
In a bomb, mixes as two chemicals to weaponize the nerve agent. (insider.com)
The specific chemicals that tests reveal are often the only solid proof that a nerve agent has been used, and what kind of chemical was unleashed. (warincontext.org)

The effects of nerve agents are truly gruesome and can be lethal within minutes unless an antidote can be given quickly. (cosmosmagazine.com)
There are a few types of antidote, such as another enzyme called organophosphorus acid anhydrolase that chops up nerve agents. (cosmosmagazine.com)

It is the least volatile nerve agent. (cdc.gov)
It is a volatile chemical, although less so than either sarin or soman. (wikipedia.org)
G agents are highly volatile and easily aerosolized and thus do not persist in the environment for long. (emdocs.net)
Rapidly evaporates into a dense gas that sinks to low-lying areas, and is the most volatile of all nerve agents. (insider.com)

The resulting toxic oxon forms can be hydrolysed by PON1, which also hydrolyses the nerve agents soman and sarin (Fig. 1). (cdc.gov)

Standard treatment for nerve agent poisoning with atropine and an oxime has a limited efficacy. (inra.fr)

Nerve agents are organophosphates, and patients exposed to these agents are treated with large doses of atropine (repeated frequently), pralidoxime, and benzodiazepines. (canadiem.org)
Clinically, these agents present similarly to more traditional nerve agents and organophosphates. (crisis-medicine.com)

Pyridostigmine Bromide (PB) pills as prophylactic against the nerve agent soman, 3. (drexel.edu)

Another, agent A-230, was found to be 5 to 8 times more toxic than VX, which was previously deemed to be the most toxic nerve agent. (crisis-medicine.com)

Exposure to low concentrations of nerve agent vapor produces immediate ocular symptoms, rhinorrhea, and in some patients, dyspnea. (medscape.com)
The exact symptoms of overexposure are similar to those created by all nerve agents. (wikipedia.org)
The number and severity of symptoms which appear vary according to the amount of the agent absorbed and rate of entry of it into the body. (wikipedia.org)
VX and its analogs are referred to as "V-agents," where V stands for venomous as the symptoms are similar to those found in snake bite patients. (medpagetoday.com)
at least 30 other people exposed to the agent were treated for symptoms. (city-journal.org)
Patients exposed to biologic agents usually present with vague symptoms associated with an influenza-like illnesses. (canadiem.org)
However, the US State Department on Monday said the symptoms of victims "reported by credible medical professionals" and those captured in traumatic videos and photos on social media "are consistent with an asphyxiation agent and of a nerve agent of some type," Reuters reported . (insider.com)
Symptoms of exposure to some chemical agents such as ricin might be similar to those of common diseases such as gastroenteritis. (atrainceu.com)

Nerve agents also antagonize gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurotransmission, which in part may mediate seizures and CNS neuropathology. (medscape.com)
Examples of mechanisms underlying specific chemically-induced seizures are discussed including those caused by cyanide, carbon monoxide, and chemical nerve agents. (benthamscience.com)
It causes seizures and has been used as a chemical warfare agent. (lookformedical.com)

A wholly-owned subsidiary of PlantForm Corporation , AntoXa holds an exclusive licence to the vivo XPRESS® biopharmaceutical manufacturing platform to produce countermeasures for ricin, sarin, soman and Ebola Sudan, as well as other defence-related therapeutics. (antoxacorp.com)

None of these agents has a pronounced odor or causes local skin irritation. (msdmanuals.com)

The designation "nerve gas" or "nerve agent" is used for organophosphorus compounds that inhibit tissue cholinesterase. (who.int)
Chemical weapons based on organophosphate nerve agents such as soman, also known as GD, rank among the most toxic compounds known. (acs.org)

Vapor agents penetrate the eyes first, producing localized effects, then pass into the respiratory tract, with more generalized effects when the exposure is greater. (medscape.com)
The effect of inhalational exposure to nerve agent vapor in turn depends on the vapor concentration and the time of exposure. (medscape.com)
Persons whose skin or clothing is contaminated with nerve agent can contaminate rescuers by direct contact or through off-gassing vapor. (cdc.gov)

that act directly at nerve synapses, typically increasing the activity of acetylcholine. (msdmanuals.com)

At the present time, two families of nerve gases are important for military purposes, namely the G agents, which are alkyl esters of methylphosphonofluoridic acid or of dialkylphosphoramidocyanidic acid, and the V agents, which are mainly alkyl esters of S‐dialkylaminoethyl methylphosphonothiolic acid. (who.int)

Because nerve agents are soluble in fat and water, they are absorbed readily through the eyes, respiratory tract, and skin. (medscape.com)
Soluble extracts of chicken peripheral nerve contain detectable amounts of phenyl valerate esterase (PVase) activity (about 2000 nmol/min per g of fresh tissue). (inrae.fr)

So Li and his crew made zirconium metal-organic framework crystals of different sizes, then soaked them in organophosphorus acid anhydrolase before dropping them in a solution (with a pH of 7.2, similar to blood) and added the nerve agent simulant diisopropyl fluorophosphate. (cosmosmagazine.com)

Nerve agent vapors are heavier than air. (cdc.gov)
Nerve agents are heavier than air and will tend to accumulate in low-lying areas. (who.int)

Nerve agent vapors are denser than air, making them particularly hazardous for persons in low areas or underground shelters. (medscape.com)

The bacterial phosphotriesterase has been utilized as a template for the evolution of improved enzymes for the catalytic decomposition of organophosphate nerve agents. (rcsb.org)
This quantitative analysis validated the model for predicting in vivo protection by catalytic bioscavengers based on their catalytic efficiency, the level of circulating enzyme, and the dose of the intoxicating nerve agent. (inra.fr)

This enzyme is critical for controlling nerve signals in the body. (shabupc.com)

[ 5 ] Excessive ACh at these cholinergic receptors may account for the spectrum of clinical effects observed in nerve agent exposure. (medscape.com)
At nicotinic receptors in skin, nerve agents cause sweating, and on skeletal muscle, they cause initial defasciculation followed by weakness and flaccid paralysis. (medscape.com)
Nerve agents inhibit both muscarinic and nicotinic ACh receptors. (msdmanuals.com)

In its final report of September 24, 1993, VEREX described and analyzed 21 such measures, including but not limited to declarations of biological agents, on-site inspections, and multilateral information sharing. (nti.org)
Because aerosols are a means for delivering chemical and biological agents, they can play an important role in weaponizing these substances. (nti.org)
AntoXa Corporation is a Canadian biopharmaceutical company developing medical countermeasures to protect military and civilian personnel from biological and chemical agents, as well as outbreaks of naturally occurring infectious diseases. (antoxacorp.com)
This post will primarily focus on chemical and biological agents. (stemlynsblog.org)
In a covert release of a biological or chemical agent, the presence of sick people could be the first sign of an exposure. (atrainceu.com)

But scientists are looking to develop materials with greater capacity for trapping and chemically neutralizing nerve agents. (acs.org)

Nerve agents are among the most toxic chemical weapons , according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. (cosmosmagazine.com)

Clinical effects of nerve agents depend on the route and amount of exposure. (medscape.com)

According to information obtained by Human Rights Watch, the JNA conducted extensive research on a wide variety of military chemical agents, and produced the nerve agent sarin, the blister agent sulfur mustard, and the incapacitating agent BZ before the Bosnian war, and turned these chemical agents into weapons. (unexplainable.net)

In the chemical agent factory in Dyhernfurth an der Oder, codenamed "Hochwerk", at least 12,000 metric tons of this agent were manufactured between 1942 and 1945. (wikipedia.org)

Due to the efforts of numerous clinicians and basic scientists over many years, we now have a firm understanding of how the motor signal generated in the brain travels down the spinal cord, into a peripheral nerve, and interfaces with the target muscle. (medscape.com)

In 1952 British chemist Dr. Ranajit Ghosh discovered V series class of nerve agents (V= venomous). (emdocs.net)
In fact, the world might not know about this class of nerve agent were it not for his growing disgust for the program that employed him and his determination to expose Russian cheating on the then newly-signed Chemical Weapons Convention (1997) banning signatories from developing, producing, stockpiling, or using such agents as weapons. (city-journal.org)

2014). Respiratory exposure to nerve agents often leads to asphyxia and subsequently, death. (ivoryresearch.com)

The United States has pledged to destroy approximately 25,000 tons of chemical agents by the end of the decade. (cdc.gov)
Part of the program was a convention on the disposal of chemical weapons, Russian stockpiles of which - towards the end of the last century - amounted to around 40,000 tons of chemical warfare agents. (rbth.com)

Until more recently, the effects of exposure to chemical warfare agents were a remote area of clinical practice, which concerned military specialists, microbiologists, and toxicologists. (benthamscience.com)
The clinical manifestations depend on the state of the agent, route of exposure, and dose. (msdmanuals.com)

Her work, particularly when combined with the basic pharmacologic studies of contemporaries such as Dale and Feldberg on cholinergic neuromuscular transmission, suggested impairment of cholinergic transmission at the nerve-muscle synapse. (medscape.com)

Nerve agents are readily absorbed by inhalation, ingestion, and dermal contact. (cdc.gov)
Classified as a vomiting agent, adamsite is odorless and usually enters the body by inhalation. (nti.org)

Beyond finding intact sarin, the most convincing smoking gun for the nerve agent is a compound called isopropyl methylphosphonic acid (IMPA). (warincontext.org)
One is a related compound, called methylphosphonic acid (MPA), but this is not solid proof for sarin: other agents also degrade into MPA, such as VX, soman and cylcosarin. (warincontext.org)

The more highly toxic V-series agents ("V" stands for venomous)-principally, O-ethyl S-(2-diisopropylaminoethyl) methylphosphonothioate (VX)-are discussed in a separate Medscape article (see CBRNE - Nerve Agents, V-series - Ve, Vg, Vm, Vx ). (medscape.com)
Examples of V series agents include VE, VG, VM, VR, and VX (venomous agent X).[2] In 2017, the alleged murder of the half-brother of the North Korean leader is thought to have been due to having VX wiped onto his face. (emdocs.net)

Part of the "fourth generation" nerve agents that Moscow developed in the 1970s and 1980s, manufactured cheaply and designed to evade detection, Novichoks are eight to ten times more powerful than their chemical cousin, VX. (city-journal.org)

It was developed as a more persistent agent than sarin. (wren-clothing.com)
These agents do seem to be persistent, and the one used in Salisbury has been found in a total of nine sites, including three in the city center. (crisis-medicine.com)
Chemical weapons agents are classified as either nonpersistent or persistent. (atrainceu.com)
Persistent agents may take up to one month to dissipate if they have been deposited on soil, vegetation, or objects. (atrainceu.com)

Nerve agents are readily absorbed from the respiratory tract. (cdc.gov)
Adamsite: A chemical agent that causes eye, nose, and respiratory tract irritation in addition to vomiting and diarrhea. (nti.org)

After the war, the search for novel, more effective chemical agents began and gradually escalated. (medpagetoday.com)
These reports, if true, are deeply concerning and reflective of concerns that we have had about Russia's potential to use a variety of riot control agents, including tear gas mixed with chemical agents, in Ukraine. (finchannel.com)
In a battlefield context, munitions, such as artillery shells or bombs can be used to weaponise chemical agents. (finchannel.com)
Chemical agents are notoriously indiscriminate and can be horribly effective weapons of terror. (unexplainable.net)
This essay will provide a robust assessment of the mechanism of working of the chemical agents and the available treatment options in case of exposure to the agents. (ivoryresearch.com)
Decontamination is a key activity in the management of patients exposed to chemical agents, and hospitals should provide this intervention. (canadiem.org)
Since September 11, 2001, concern has increased about potential terrorist attacks involving the use of chemical agents. (atrainceu.com)
Intentional release of chemical agents may be an overt event, one whose nature reveals itself, such as release of a nerve agent in a subway or a large explosion of a chemical container. (atrainceu.com)
To increase the likelihood that healthcare providers recognize a chemical release-related illness, and that public health authorities will implement the appropriate emergency response and public health actions, the CDC has identified examples of chemical-induced illness (see table below under "Identifying Chemical Agents") and created appropriate guidance for healthcare providers and public health personnel (CDC, 2018b). (atrainceu.com)
Other chemical agents were used in combat before World War II and are sometimes called first-generation chemical agents. (msdmanuals.com)

Diseases1

Chemicals and Drugs17

Anthropology, Education, Sociology and Social Phenomena1

Technology, Industry, Agriculture3

Humanities1

Named Groups1

Geographicals1

Tabun11

Sarin and soman1

Cyclosarin4

Mustard gas1

Pesticides6

Dermal contact with liquid nerve1

Hydrolyzes1

Novichok13

Hydrolysis2

Liquids5

Toxicity5

Examples of nerve agents1

Invented in Germany in 19381

20181

Insecticides2

Acetylcholinesterase4

Chemicals14

Antidote2

Volatile4

PON11

Efficacy1

Organophosphates2

Pyridostigmine Bromide1

Toxic nerve agent1

Symptoms8

Seizures3

Ricin1

Odor1

Compounds2

Vapor3

Acetylcholine1

Gases1

Soluble2

Organophosphorus acid1

Heavier than air2

Vapors1

Catalytic2

Enzyme1

Receptors3

Biological5

Chemically1

Among the most toxic1

Effects of nerve agents1

Blister1

Metric tons1

Peripheral nerve1

Class of nerve2

Exposure to nerve1

Tons2

Clinical2

Cholinergic1

Inhalation2

Acid2

Venomous2

Developed in the 1970s1

Persistent4

Respiratory tract2

Chemical agents10