Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Can nasal spray help prevent military suicides?

So get our stroke researchers looking into this also since a good chunk of survivors are depressed. Our stroke associations should have statistics on survivor suicides.
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/20/can-nasal-spray-help-prevent-military-suicides/?on.cnn=1
The Army counted 38 confirmed or suspected suicides in July, a tally that took into account both active- and non-active-duty members of the Army National Guard or Reserve. Three of those active-duty soldiers were deployed at the time of their deaths. Before July, the highest monthly level suicide rate for soldiers was 33 in June 2010 and July 2011, according to statistics released by the Army.
Kubek helped discover thyrotropin-releasing hormone, or TRH, which is known to have antisuicidal and antidepression effects. The problem is that the naturally occurring chemical cannot easily cross the “blood-brain barrier.” The barrier is meant to protect the nervous system by keeping out any substances in the blood that could injure the brain, including hormones and neurotransmitters. But it also makes it extremely difficult to get TRH to the brain, rendering normal methods of delivering the chemical, through pills or injection, largely unhelpful.

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