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Havana syndrome: Exposure to neurotoxin may have been cause, study suggests

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Re: Havana syndrome: Exposure to neurotoxin may have been cause, study suggests

#31

Post by refurb »

Donald wrote: post #16
aug_aug wrote: post #9

Possibly related tidbit - I used to roll my own cigarettes when working in the field as a geologist, left a pack of papers under the seat of my truck which had no carpeting, spilled 100% DEET on the floor, DEET absorbed into pack of papers. Months later found those same papers (what luck!) and rolled a cigarette without thinking about it, minutes later I was asking my now wife if she "could hear the helicopter sounds…

DEET is a good acetylcholinesterase inhibitor - certainly possible it has mild hallucinogenic effects.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEET

DEET isn’t a cholinesterase inhibitor.

Re: Havana syndrome: Exposure to neurotoxin may have been cause, study suggests

#32

Post by zkms »

wyldfire wrote: post #8
alexandercrohde wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article answers this

Specifically this section I suppose: > The symptoms experienced by the victims — headaches, hearing loss, cognitive problems, loss of balance, etc. — are frequently found in the general population, these scientists argued, and can be attributed to many causes.

also page 35 mentions that there's genetic factors (PON1 gene) that affect organophosphate susceptibilities

Re: Havana syndrome: Exposure to neurotoxin may have been cause, study suggests

#33

Post by sp332 »

tyingq wrote: post #19
altec3 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This article does say it has insecticidal properties - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4125160/

It's the insect repellent in, for example, "Off" spray.

A repellent is not necessarily the same as an insecticide.

Re: Havana syndrome: Exposure to neurotoxin may have been cause, study suggests

#35

Post by goodcanadian »

PentiumBug wrote: post #4

(Cuban here.) I find this result very interesting, really, as we're exposed to these chemicals in varying degrees and frequency. I personally live in a epidemiological controlled/safe (-ish) area of Havana, so my exposure is very limited. However, I do know that some other areas are way more affected by vectors since they are less urbanized and with more population density. In those cases the authorities are more agg…

They were apparently spraying INSIDE the offices. I'm not particularly concerned about pesticides in general, but I would NEVER use them indoors.

Also, the diplomatic buildings are likely well sealed and air conditioned while I suspect local buildings use more natural cooling (open windows and the breeze) and are thus better ventilated.

Re: Havana syndrome: Exposure to neurotoxin may have been cause, study suggests

#36

Post by t1lthesky »

skim_milk wrote: post #17
aug_aug wrote: post #9

Possibly related tidbit - I used to roll my own cigarettes when working in the field as a geologist, left a pack of papers under the seat of my truck which had no carpeting, spilled 100% DEET on the floor, DEET absorbed into pack of papers. Months later found those same papers (what luck!) and rolled a cigarette without thinking about it, minutes later I was asking my now wife if she "could hear the helicopter sounds…

When my father was a child, he would bike behind the trucks that sprayed DDT all over the neighborhood because the DDT mist kept him cool. I hope you'll be fine, because people have done much worse!

Ha I remember doing the same thing when I was ~6 years old in South Korea. There would be these trucks that went around spraying mosquito killing fog in the apartment complexes and all the little kids from the neighborhood would run behind them.

Well now I'm 30 and so far things seem to be ok! Fingers crossed

Re: Havana syndrome: Exposure to neurotoxin may have been cause, study suggests

#37

Post by dmix »

cat199 wrote: post #14

Interesting findings, but how do we blame the Russians for this? https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latin-america/u-s-officials-sus... " The suspicion that Russia is likely behind the alleged attacks is backed up by evidence from communications intercepts, known in the spy world as signals intelligence, amassed during a lengthy and ongoing investigation involving the FBI, the CIA and other U.S. agencies. The officials decl…

The spies always blame Russia and more recently China for everything wrong.

They just happened to find a very receptive audience both politically and media-wise for their paranoia recently.

Russia et al blame everything on the west too and we don't demand apologies from their propaganda departments.

Re: Havana syndrome: Exposure to neurotoxin may have been cause, study suggests

#39

Post by christophilus »

skim_milk wrote: post #17
aug_aug wrote: post #9

Possibly related tidbit - I used to roll my own cigarettes when working in the field as a geologist, left a pack of papers under the seat of my truck which had no carpeting, spilled 100% DEET on the floor, DEET absorbed into pack of papers. Months later found those same papers (what luck!) and rolled a cigarette without thinking about it, minutes later I was asking my now wife if she "could hear the helicopter sounds…

When my father was a child, he would bike behind the trucks that sprayed DDT all over the neighborhood because the DDT mist kept him cool. I hope you'll be fine, because people have done much worse!

Yep. We did this in the deep south when I was growing up. Good times.

Re: Havana syndrome: Exposure to neurotoxin may have been cause, study suggests

#40

Post by tudorw »

zkms wrote: post #32
wyldfire wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Specifically this section I suppose: > The symptoms experienced by the victims — headaches, hearing loss, cognitive problems, loss of balance, etc. — are frequently found in the general population, these scientists argued, and can be attributed to many causes.

also page 35 mentions that there's genetic factors (PON1 gene) that affect organophosphate susceptibilities

Possibly CYP2D6 polymorphism has a role too https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26723569
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