Admittedly, this sounds dumb to us in the force. Honestly though, the research being done at Indiana University School of Medicine is pennies-on-the-dollar compared to the ghastly Spiritual Fitness nonsense – the current anti-suicide strategy.
INDIANAPOLIS — Could a nasal spray provide a quick antidote to suicidal thoughts among soldiers? An Indiana University School of Medicine scientist has been awarded a $3 million research grant from the U.S. Army to develop such a system.
For Michael J. Kubek, Ph.D., associate professor of anatomy and cell biology and of neurobiology, the Army-funded international research collaboration on suicidal ideation is the latest development from more than three decades of work with thyrotropin-releasing hormone, or TRH, a neuro-chemical Dr. Kubek helped discover in the human brain.
TRH is known to have anti-depressant and anti-suicidal effects, as well as anti-convulsant effects in humans, but it cannot easily cross the “blood-brain barrier” the body uses to protect the brain. That means delivering TRH via injection or orally would have little sustained effect.
So Kubek and his colleagues are developing an intranasal nanoparticle drug delivery system in which TRH or other neuropeptides could be introduced into the nasal cavity, where olfactory neurons can collect particles directly. The neuropeptides would be incorporated into biodegradable nanoparticles that dissolve at a controlled rate designed to deliver appropriate doses of the drug to the brain over time.
Spiritual Fitness, on the other hand, cost US taxpayers $125 million. Since its implementation in 2009, the suicide rate has skyrocketed. People are literally dying because of this religious crap. One service member takes their life every day, now.
Choose life, soldier. Snort this.
I’m frankly all for some real science being done. My peers are less receptive, likely because it’s such a foreign concept. The two discussions I heard on this subject did yield some funny and / or interesting observations.
“Can we spray the suicide bombers with crop dusters?”
“As recruiters, can we now let in all the people with clinical depression and histories of self-harm?”
“Can a soldier overdose on anti-suicide spray?”
“Are we supposed to carry it around in our IFAK (first aid kit)?”
“How would a supervisor know ahead of time (sometimes it’s just not possible to ‘know your soldier that well 24/7′)?”
“How would it be distributed? Pharmacy? Would they still have to wait 4 hours in line for their name to pop up?”
“Would you be able to keep a Secret / Top Secret clearance if you are feeling suicidal?”
“Would you simply carry it with you like a person with an asthma inhaler?”
“What if you are suicidal, but you also have a sinus infection or bad seasonal allergies… and can’t breathe through your nose?” (immediately somebody said, “In the butt.”)
Yuck it up. It sure as hell beats the Virtual Spiritual Fitness Center. Yes, that thing actually exists. And no, it has not been updated since I started ‘covering’ its existence.