Anti-Suicide Nasal Spray
Back in 2012, the Army awarded a grant to Dr. Michael Kubek of the Indiana University School of Medicine to develop an "anti-suicide nasal spray". TheMarySue.com gives some details:
The Military Suicide Research Consortium offers some more info, similarly emphasizing that a primary benefit of the nasal spray was that it would be quick-acting. So I'm assuming the idea was that if someone was thinking about suicide, they could squirt the spray up their nose and the thoughts would go away. Although this suggests a problem. If someone was serious about suicide, wouldn't they purposefully not use the nasal spray?
The Army grant was for three years. But I can't find any follow-up indicating whether the spray was successfully developed. Although I did find that Dr. Kubek died in 2019.
the spray would deliver an extra dose of thyrotropin-releasing hormone, (TRH for short) which causes a “euphoric, calming, antidepressant effect.” TRH has been used in the past to treat severe depression and bi-polar disorders. Between the quick-acting effect of the chemical and fairly direct delivery system, the drug might be able to literally stop people from killing themselves on the spot.
The Military Suicide Research Consortium offers some more info, similarly emphasizing that a primary benefit of the nasal spray was that it would be quick-acting. So I'm assuming the idea was that if someone was thinking about suicide, they could squirt the spray up their nose and the thoughts would go away. Although this suggests a problem. If someone was serious about suicide, wouldn't they purposefully not use the nasal spray?
The Army grant was for three years. But I can't find any follow-up indicating whether the spray was successfully developed. Although I did find that Dr. Kubek died in 2019.
Comments
One pshht in the nose and you feel euphoric and calm? That would be a hell of an addictive drug.
Posted by Yudith on 01/06/21 at 06:05 AM
Maybe there was no follow-up because all the Army sponsors, as well as Dr. Kubek's team, had to be whisked away to addiction treatment.
Posted by Virtual in Carnate on 01/07/21 at 10:20 AM
Or possibly because it didn't work? Clinical application is intravenous. Using it as a spray is a good try, but certainly not guaranteed to do any good. (And Alex makes a good point about serious suicides, too. Even if this worked, it would only do so for some people.)
Posted by Richard Bos on 01/09/21 at 06:57 AM
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Category: Medicine | Suicide