Don't t-a-a-a-a-a-a-aze me bro!

sourceA report in Popular Science (authored by Jeremy Hsu) points to a recent paper published in Academic Emergency Medicine. In this, Dawes and colleagues report on an investigation on the effects of TASER on sheep intoxicated with methamphetamine (MA). I was alerted to this by Damn Good Technician who wanted a little bit of context for what would seem to be a WTF? kind of study.
The study was conducted in Dorset sheep who were anesthetized, and administered 0, 0.5, 1.0 or 1.5 mg/kg of methamphetamine HCl (curiously from dissolved Desoxyn, the approved pharmaceutical product) in an IV infusion. The drug treatment was a between subjects factor (N=4 per group) and animals were monitored for “continuous blood pressure, heart rhythm (one-lead), pulse oximetry, and capnography… Arterial blood sampling was performed at baseline, 30 minutes after the administration of the methamphetamine, and after each exposure from a TASER X26”.
To answer the question of why?, and for appropriate background on the science try a PubMed search for “cardiac TASER“. I note a study in which 5 sec of TASER didn’t cause cardiac damage or symptoms in law enforcement trainees and another showing minimal cardiac effects on law enforcement volunteers after vigorous exercise. Also of interest are the case studies of atrial fibrillation in a previously healthy adolescent and recovery of a teen in TASER induced asystole. These, a mini-review by the Dawes group and other searched papers should give you some context and support from the feeling you might have from half-remembered MSM reports over the years that TASER is suspected of being somewhat less than “safe”.
What I’m not finding right away is very much about the drug intoxicated suspect who might be TASER’d by law enforcement. Remember this guy? My best estimate was that he was acutely intoxicated with 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, “Ecstasy”) although that might be one of my blog interests talking. You might also wish to consider some papers found by searching PubMed for “methamphetamine cardiac toxicity“, “methamphetamine vetricular fibrillation” and “methamphetamine heart attack“.
Together this background would seem to identify a situation crying out for additional study.

Don’t t-a-a-a-a-a-a-aze me bro!

sourceA report in Popular Science (authored by Jeremy Hsu) points to a recent paper published in Academic Emergency Medicine. In this, Dawes and colleagues report on an investigation on the effects of TASER on sheep intoxicated with methamphetamine (MA). I was alerted to this by Damn Good Technician who wanted a little bit of context for what would seem to be a WTF? kind of study.
The study was conducted in Dorset sheep who were anesthetized, and administered 0, 0.5, 1.0 or 1.5 mg/kg of methamphetamine HCl (curiously from dissolved Desoxyn, the approved pharmaceutical product) in an IV infusion. The drug treatment was a between subjects factor (N=4 per group) and animals were monitored for “continuous blood pressure, heart rhythm (one-lead), pulse oximetry, and capnography… Arterial blood sampling was performed at baseline, 30 minutes after the administration of the methamphetamine, and after each exposure from a TASER X26”.
To answer the question of why?, and for appropriate background on the science try a PubMed search for “cardiac TASER“. I note a study in which 5 sec of TASER didn’t cause cardiac damage or symptoms in law enforcement trainees and another showing minimal cardiac effects on law enforcement volunteers after vigorous exercise. Also of interest are the case studies of atrial fibrillation in a previously healthy adolescent and recovery of a teen in TASER induced asystole. These, a mini-review by the Dawes group and other searched papers should give you some context and support from the feeling you might have from half-remembered MSM reports over the years that TASER is suspected of being somewhat less than “safe”.
What I’m not finding right away is very much about the drug intoxicated suspect who might be TASER’d by law enforcement. Remember this guy? My best estimate was that he was acutely intoxicated with 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, “Ecstasy”) although that might be one of my blog interests talking. You might also wish to consider some papers found by searching PubMed for “methamphetamine cardiac toxicity“, “methamphetamine vetricular fibrillation” and “methamphetamine heart attack“.
Together this background would seem to identify a situation crying out for additional study.