Sivile flygere sovnet - Militære flygere har en løsning - Drugs - BBC

 

Artikkelen er åpenbart fundamentert på hendelsen nylig hvor begge flygerne sovnet ved rattet. I sin tid fikk flygerne i SAS tilbud om å forsøke Melatonin for å kompensere for store tidsforskjeller. Det ble sådidt jeg husker avvist av flygerne. Krigsforhold og militære flygeres behov må klart adskilles fra sivil virksomhet. Vel, artikkelen er uansett interessant; (Red.)

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The drug pilots take to stay awake

12 hours ago

By Zaria Gorvett,Features correspondent,@ZariaGorvett

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Pilot fatigue is in the spotlight this week, after the news that one Indonesian flight had two sleeping pilots at its helm. But military organisations have been grappling with this problem for decades – and they have a surprising solution.

The intriguing tablets were discovered in a Nazi's pocket. The pilot had been shot down over Britain in a bombing raid during World War Two – along with the remains of his methamphetamine supply. At the time, this was the Luftwaffe's favourite pick-me-up for fatigued airmen, known as "pilot's salt" for its liberal application. But though the allied forces suspected this, they didn't know for sure.

The pharmacological souvenirs were promptly shipped off for testing, and soon the British were working on their own version. The resulting stimulant was widely distributed, and fuelled hundreds of late-night missions across Europe. But this was just the beginning. A related drug, dextroamphetamine, again became popular during the Gulf War in 1990-91, when it was taken by the majority of fighter pilots involved in the initial bombardments on Iraqi forces in Kuwait. Today this pill is still in use by US military aircrews. They use it to solve the same problem, pilot fatigue, which can creep up on aviators during long missions and compromise their safety.

But there's a catch. Amphetamines can be highly addictive – and even in the 1940s they were widely abused. So, in recent years, military organisations have been on the hunt for another option.

Enter modafinil, a stimulant originally developed for the treatment of narcolepsy and excessive daytime drowsiness in the 1970s. It didn't take long for people to discover that, while the drug can help to prevent people from falling asleep, it can also have powerful effects. The medication has been shown to improve spatial planning, pattern recognition, and working memory, as well as boosting overall cognitive performance, alertness, and vigilance in situations of extreme fatigue.

Modafinil has its own flaws. Side effects can include sweating, pounding headaches, and even hallucinations. Depite these risks, in certain circumstances it can be a formidable aid for those who need to stay awake. In one early study the drug kept people alert for up to 64 hours of activity, and its effects have been compared to drinking 20 cups of coffee. How does it work? And why is it used?