Pill 'could prevent the bends'

[greebo]

greetings nutters of all types,

i have read in yesterdays newspaper about a magic little pill that scientists are trying to come up with so that we wont have to do deco stops, basically from the article reads that the pill will break up and disperse the nitrogen from the blood so that the diver will never get the bends or narcs.

being still new but is this not a wee bit strange as i think that joe bloggs off the street will go buy some diving gear take the pill and hey ho instant diver just add water....am i being over cautious as we all know people who have bought kit and decided that they are divers because of this kit that they have ,if that is the case i can see standards dropping and more accidents goin up,

rant over but does anybody else think this is a bad idea

[Crisspy Fiver]

Hi,

have you got a link to the article?

I guess you would have to have qualifications to buy the pill if it can actually be done.

Iv just check the date to make sure is not April 1st  

Jamie

[greebo]

<font color='#0000FF'>hallo crispy ,im glad to say this is not a wind up i got it from the metro newspaper and the daily record had it in on wednesday,s edition admitadely it wasnt a big story because noone died &nbsp;and due to it being the record &nbsp;newspaper it didnt contain sectarian violence...but honestly i am not pullin yer puddin it was true,i read it with my own eyes hope this may help

[Reeve]

<font color='#000F22'>

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Crisspy Fiver @ Mar. 26 2004,08:58)]Hi,

have you got a link to the article?

I guess you would have to have qualifications to buy the pill if it can actually be done.

Iv just check the date to make sure is not April 1st  

Jamie

Daily Record It doesn't give much information.

Personally I'd be very sceptical!!

[sweep]

There is meant to be an article about this pill in the new scientist, but haven't seen it yet
I also had to check it wasn't April 1st

[Kate R]

<font color='#000080'>i've just been reading about this in new scientist....

it's a pill that releases nitric oxide - this makes the surfaces of the blood vessels more slippery, and removes microbubble nuclei.  after chamber dives (using animals) bubbles fell from 0.98 per cc of blood to 0.22 per cc.

it's apparently been published in the journal of physiology (v555 - p555, p637 &amp; p825 if anyone fancies looking it up!)

it mentions that it wouldn't have any effect on bubbles forming in cartilage or tissues other than blood.

so there you go!

[Woz]

<font color='#000080'>Here's the story on the BBC:

Bendy Pill

[Crisspy Fiver]

Cheers for the links,

Will have to see how this unfolds.

I think I will stick to the old fashoined method of a long cold hang needing a wee

Take care

Jamie

[Dr Stevil]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (sweep @ Mar. 26 2004,19:37)]There is meant to be an article about this pill in the new scientist, but haven't seen it yet
I also had to check it wasn't April 1st

There you go
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994809

People are being seriously misled by second hand versions of this story.

Firstly there isn't a &quot;magic pill&quot;,  these researchers have been using various chemicals to alter the levels of  nitric oxide (NO), a potent neurotransmitter,  in rats!

Secondly, NO has a wide range of biological effects; it was only discovered to be a neurotransmitter in 1990 so is still very much the subject of ongoing research.

Thirdly, before any such drug was licenced for use there would have to be years of trials and tests. More importantly, if such a drug was found to be safe and effective and received the appropriate licence (we're looking at at least ten years of work there) it still would only be there to reduce the risk of bubble formation and wouldn't alter the deco schedules you would need.

Finally, even if this came about in the future, a good basic level of fitness is still a stated pre-requsite (by all agencies) for avoiding DCI , so a decent workout will still be more advisable than pill-popping. It's worth mentioning that taking other drugs which alter levels of neurotransmitters (eg anti-depressants) is a contra-indication for diving.

Here's links to the actual research articles in case anyone is sufficiently interested to try to plough through them

Excercise &amp; DCI

Short Version

Novel Approach

[Mr T.]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3563679.stm

Any more on this topic or did it just go away?