4 ms·
This chemical has stuck in my memory since the 1990s, thanks to Uncle Al on sci.chem: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SF-6847 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SF-6
by philipkglass 6y ago
This chemical has stuck in my memory since the 1990s, thanks to Uncle Al on sci.chem:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SF-6847 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SF-6847
It is an uncoupling agent [1] with approximately 1800 times the potency of 2,4 dinitrophenol (the compound discussed in the substack post). This means that it is probably deadlier than most nerve gases in humans, milligram for milligram.
The "Uncoupler" wikipedia page I linked is a decent starting point for other chemicals in the class. Many would presumably drive weight loss like 2,4 DNP itself; and most of those would also incur similar side effects ranging from inconvenient to lethal.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncoupler https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncoupler
- owenversteeg 6y agoInteresting, that sent me down a bit of a Wikipedia rabbit hole, which took me to this interesting quote: "there is no antidote or remedy for DNP once taken. In consequence, DNP has a high mortality rate — of those who presented at hospital between 2007 and 2019 with a history of having taken DNP, 18% died. This puts DNP close to cyanide in terms of its toxicity." So that means that only a fifth or so of people who went to the hospital after taking cyanide died! Surprisingly low...
- billh 6y agoThere are treatments for cyanide poisoning. Hydroxocobalamin can be used to react cyanide and form cyanocobalamin (vitamin B-12) which is nontoxic and renally excreted. The trick is to identify the cyanide poisoning quickly enough.
- jobigoud 6y agoIsn't there a survivorship bias here? It doesn't count all the people that died before getting to the hospital.