Medical Breakthrough ?

[lizbud]

Tell me again how animal testing is needed to save mankind by providing
needed medical gains.


http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/sto...4062115&page=1

[Lady's Human]

This is a HUGE issue for soldiers. Darpa has been working on this for years, as sleep deprivation is the norm for leaders involved in any kind of sustained operations (operations combat or otherwise going for more than 72 hours). The norm for a leader is to make sure his/her troops are taken care of, establish security, do mission planning, coordinate logistics, then try and grab a nap before the next operation kicks off.

This has the potential to save many, many lives in sustained operations. Sleep deprivation is one of the many issues that were involved in the ambush of the 507th.

[-Pickle-]

why test this on animals? there are thousands of cocaine and drug addicts tht put things up their noses when they know they are dangerous, why not give it to them as a test drug replacement? most of them would be willing for a high, and we all know cocaine kills anyway.
of course, if someone died, it would be murder? or if they volunteered would it still be murder?

[IRescue452]

Kinda creepy. Its great for soldiers and people who need it, but I hope they don't try replacing a normal person's sleep ever.

Drug addicts might be nice for testing topical skin treatments, but their brains are so messed up I wouldn't trust a test done on them. Besides, aren't you being a bit inhumane yourself? You don't know what this person's life was like that drove them to get into drugs. How would you like it if I lumped you into a group and said "these people aren't worth anything"?

[Lady's Human]

For many reasons, drug addicts make a LOUSY test population. A test population needs to be medically and chemically stable, which drug addicts are not. These same reasons also rule out testing on convicts and most of your other "throwaway" ( ) populations.

[lizbud]

This has the potential to save many, many lives in sustained operations. Sleep deprivation is one of the many issues that were involved in the ambush of the 507th.

Before you sign up for a test of this stuff yourself, you should consider
what Jerome Siegel, a professor of psychiatry at UCLA, had to say.

" We have these other precedents, and it's not clear that you can't use orexin A temporarily to reduce sleep," said Siegel. "On the other hand, you'd have to be a fool to advocate taking this and reducing sleep as much as possible."

I fail to see a pressing need for another drug for convenience sake and
not a legitimate medical need.

[Catty1]

A nasal spray containing a naturally occurring brain hormone called orexin A reversed the effects of sleep deprivation in monkeys, allowing them to perform like well-rested monkeys on cognitive tests. The discovery's first application will probably be in treatment of the severe sleep disorder narcolepsy.

I haven't known anyone who has narcolepsy - but it is a serious ailment. They can fall asleep while driving, just zonk out anywhere...and that could easily hurt others around them.

One example of something else: People with ADD or ADHD (and scans have shown these types of brains to definitely be 'wired' differently) often have a history of alcohol or other abuse.

So, research on brain chemistry will hopefully continue to provide long-term solutions for those who 'self-medicate'.

[columbine]

Soldiers are, tragically, the biggest "throwaway" population of all. They're not just the experimental subjects, they're the end targets of these technologies. The research is all about how can we get more out of them now that they've signed their lives over out of loyalty. Then they come home, sick, injured, and dependent on any number of substances, and it's - "Sorry, we can't afford to take care of you. And shame on your family for not being able to bear the brunt without support."

Soldiers aren't just government property. They don't sign up because they don't value their lives, their health, their chance of a peaceful family life. They sign up because they love their country. And they do it, at least some of them, knowing they'll end up being used as expendable equipment.

Perhaps "deserving" and "justice" and "humanity" have no place in a discussion of war. But if this is how we treat our most committed citizens, what must the rest of the world think of us?

Love, Columbine

[Lady's Human]

Columbine,

I just retired from the US Army. There are many, many times where an anti-fatigue med like that would have been a godsend.

There is only one time in recent history I can think of when soldiers have been subject to an experimental treatment en masse, that is the anthrax vaccine. If you compared the reaction stats for the anthrax vaccine to reaction stats to any other vaccine, you'd likely have similar results, and the anthrax vaccine was/is experimental in that it hasn't been tested for the TYPE of anthrax the DoD is using it for. Veterinarians and others who are around animals that carry anthrax use the vaccine with no problem.

Soldiers returning addicted to drugs? I'm not going to say it doesn't happen, BUT.......any soldier testing positive for illegal drug use is given treatment for the addiction.

I know several soldiers who have been wounded in action, and none of them fit your description. Basically you're painting a far, far bleaker picture than what the reality is.

[columbine]

I know several soldiers who have been wounded in action, and none of them fit your description. Basically you're painting a far, far bleaker picture than what the reality is.

Granted, I live in Boston, a large city where homelessness is very visible, and most of the vets I talk to aren't retired officers but what some would call "economic conscripts," folks who signed up for the promise of education or just because they needed a job. The substance problems are usually secondary to PTSD or injury and not being able to afford the copay on their prescription medication. There are efforts under way to provide supportive housing (that's a PDF link) but these folks are coming home now, eager to tell their stories and start to pave a way for their comrades to rebuild their lives.

Love, Columbine

[Lady's Human]

Where did I say anything about officers? I was a non-com, most of the people I know who are in or who have been in are non-coms.

Have you ever tried looking at things with a positive outlook, or do you insist on finding the dark cloud behind the silver lining?

[Catty1]

Originally posted by Columbine:

There are efforts under way to provide supportive housing (that's a PDF link) but these folks are coming home now, eager to tell their stories and start to pave a way for their comrades to rebuild their lives.

That sounds pretty positive. JMO.