The long-term effects of nerve agents remain uncertain, but with the right antidotes, these poisons need not be an immediate death sentence. U.S. soldiers in 19919s Gulf War carried autoinjectors filled with drugs that—in principle—would keep them breathing and protect them from seizures if Iraqi forces again unleashed nerve agents. They never did, most historians agree, but the threat remains real today, as chemical attacks in Syria9s ongoing civil war make clear. The likeliest nerve agent to be used in future attacks, defense experts say, is sarin: It9s as volatile as water and disperses widely in the air. The threat of future nerve agent attacks is spurring urgent efforts to find better countermeasures, with several promising compounds in the pipeline.

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如何打败神经毒剂

神经毒剂的长期影响仍然不确定，但有了正确的解毒剂，这些毒药不必立即判处死刑。19919 年海湾战争中的美国士兵携带装满药物的自动注射器——原则上——如果伊拉克军队再次释放神经毒剂，这些药物可以让他们保持呼吸并防止癫痫发作。大多数历史学家都同意，他们从未这样做过，但今天的威胁仍然存在，因为叙利亚正在进行的内战中的化学袭击表明了这一点。防御专家说，未来攻击中最有可能使用的神经毒剂是沙林：它的挥发性像水一样，在空气中广泛散布。未来神经毒剂攻击的威胁正在促使人们迫切努力寻找更好的对策，一些有希望的化合物正在研发中。