Lancaster Medical School, Furness College, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK.
Nuffield College, University of Oxford, OX1 1NF.
Ann Work Expo Health. 2017 Dec 15;62(1):17-27. doi: 10.1093/annweh/wxx084.
The effects of exposure to chemical warfare agents in humans are topical. Porton Down is the UK's centre for research on chemical warfare where, since WWI, a programme of experiments involving ~30000 participants drawn from the UK armed services has been undertaken.
Our aim is to report on exposures to nerve agents, particularly sarin, using detailed exposure data not explored in a previous analysis.
In this paper, we have used existing data on exposures to servicemen who attended the human volunteer programme at Porton Down to examine exposures to nerve agents in general and to sarin in particular.
Six principal nerve agents were tested on humans between 1945 and 1987. Of all 4299 nerve agent tests recorded, 3511 (82%) were with sarin, most commonly in an exposure chamber, with inhalation being the commonest exposure route (85%). Biological response to sarin exposure was expressed as percentage change in cholinesterase activity and, less commonly, change in pupil size. For red blood cell cholinesterase, median inhibition for inhalation tests was 41% (interquartile range 28-51%), with a maximum of 87%. For dermal exposures the maximum inhibition recorded was 99%. There was a clear association between increasing exposure to sarin and depression of cholinesterase activity but the strength and direction of the association varied by exposure route and the presence of chemical or physical protection. Pupil size decreased with increased exposure but this relationship was less clear when modifiers, such as atropine drops, were present.
These results, drawn from high quality experimental data, offer a unique insight into the effects of these chemical agents on humans.
人类接触化学战剂的影响是一个热门话题。波顿唐是英国化学战研究中心，自一战以来，这里开展了一个涉及约 30000 名英国武装部队参与者的实验计划。
我们旨在报告神经剂，特别是沙林的暴露情况，使用以前分析中未探讨的详细暴露数据。
在本文中，我们使用了参加波顿唐人体志愿者计划的军人的现有暴露数据，以检查一般神经剂和沙林的暴露情况。
六种主要的神经剂在 1945 年至 1987 年期间在人类身上进行了测试。在记录的所有 4299 次神经剂测试中，有 3511 次（82%）是沙林，最常见的是在暴露室中，最常见的暴露途径是吸入（85%）。沙林暴露的生物反应表现为胆碱酯酶活性的百分比变化，较少见的是瞳孔大小的变化。对于红细胞胆碱酯酶，吸入测试的中位数抑制率为 41%（四分位距 28-51%），最大抑制率为 87%。对于皮肤暴露，记录的最大抑制率为 99%。沙林暴露量的增加与胆碱酯酶活性的抑制之间存在明显的关联，但关联的强度和方向因暴露途径和化学或物理保护的存在而有所不同。瞳孔大小随暴露量的增加而减小，但当存在修饰剂，如阿托品滴注时，这种关系就不太清楚了。
这些结果来自高质量的实验数据，为这些化学剂对人类的影响提供了独特的见解。
