Did the nerve agent VX kill Kim Jong Nam?
Last night Malaysian authorities announced that they identified the nerve agent VX taken off the face of Kim Jong Nam, who was murdered on February 13 at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
As the History Channel video above indicates, nerve agents are potent acetylcholinesterase inhibitors that utilize the same mechanism as organophosphate insecticides such as parathion. Conceptually, the effect of VX exposure is simple: wherever in the body acetylcholine acts as a neurotransmitter, nerve agents cause unregulated, chaotic activity. There are generally 3 such sites:
muscarinic sites: connections between nerves and secretory glands and smooth muscle
nicotinic sites: neuromuscular junctions
central sites: in the cerebrum and brainstem
The effects of nerve agents on these sites are predictable:
muscarinic: massive respiratory secretions, bronchospasm, severe diaphoresis, vomiting, diarrhea, meiosis, and lacrimation
nicotinic: voluntary muscle fasciculation and spasm, followed by fatigue and flaccidity
central: seizures, central apnea
Victims exposed to nerve agents die of respiratory failure, due to a triple-whammy: airway obstruction and bronchospasm, dysfunction of voluntary muscles of respiration, and loss of central drive to breathe. With 3 separate types of effects, there are fittingly 3 antidotes:
muscarinic effects: atropine
nicotinic effects: pralidoxime (2-PAM)
central effects: benzodiazepines such as diazepam
Despite the announcement that VX was identified...
Source: The Poison Review - Category: Toxicology Authors: Leon Gussow Tags: Medical assassination Kim Jong Nam Kuala Lumpur International Airport malaysia murder nerve agent North Korea VX Source Type: news
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