The coroner's report is not yet in, but investigators are paying special attention to Propofol, one of the drugs found at Jackson's house, and the one that an expert says has a 100% death rate for most abusers.
"All the reports I've read of those patients have died," said Dr. Paul Wischmeyer of the University of Colorado. "A cc too much of this drug can change you from being high to being dead.
"It's not like heroin or cocaine or other drugs where there is a margin for error. There is no margin for error for this drug. It kills people."
The only abusers who stand a chance are the few doctors who become addicted. Wischmeyer led a 2006-07 study of Propofol after a colleague died from the drug. The study surveyed 126 teaching hospitals, which reported 25 abusers. Seven, or 28%, had died using the drug. Six were medical residents. One was a medical assistant.
Wischmeyer then did a less formal investigation into nonphysician abusers and found that taking the drug amounted to a death sentence.
"That somebody would be receiving this at home, that's just unfathomable," he said.
Despite such dangers, the study found more than 70% of the facilities surveyed did not regulate the drug. These accounted for all seven of the medical-staff fatalities. "It sits out on carts," Wischmeyer said.
His study cites the case of one 31-year-old doctor who began taking the drug "to reduce his feelings of boredom, inner tensions and depression." He was soon injecting himself dozens of times a day.
A case study presented back in 1992 by the journal Anesthesiology described another doctor in his early 30s who started taking Propofol for "a variety of stressors." He was soon injecting himself 10 to 15 times a day.
"He stated that by this stage he was no longer taking the Propofol because of stress but because he had an overwhelming compulsion and craving to use the drug again," the study noted.
The abusers tended to have a prior history of drug abuse, not unlike Jackson's struggle with painkillers.
"Propofol was often the final drug used in a pattern of controlled substance abuse," the study noted. "This pattern may be because of the ease of obtaining Propofol."
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Did Jackson Commit Suicide?
The coroner's report is not yet in, but investigators are paying special attention to Propofol, one of the drugs found at Jackson's house, and the one that an expert says has a 100% death rate for most abusers.
"All the reports I've read of those patients have died," said Dr. Paul Wischmeyer of the University of Colorado. "A cc too much of this drug can change you from being high to being dead.
"It's not like heroin or cocaine or other drugs where there is a margin for error. There is no margin for error for this drug. It kills people."
The only abusers who stand a chance are the few doctors who become addicted. Wischmeyer led a 2006-07 study of Propofol after a colleague died from the drug. The study surveyed 126 teaching hospitals, which reported 25 abusers. Seven, or 28%, had died using the drug. Six were medical residents. One was a medical assistant.
Wischmeyer then did a less formal investigation into nonphysician abusers and found that taking the drug amounted to a death sentence.
"That somebody would be receiving this at home, that's just unfathomable," he said.
Despite such dangers, the study found more than 70% of the facilities surveyed did not regulate the drug. These accounted for all seven of the medical-staff fatalities. "It sits out on carts," Wischmeyer said.
His study cites the case of one 31-year-old doctor who began taking the drug "to reduce his feelings of boredom, inner tensions and depression." He was soon injecting himself dozens of times a day.
A case study presented back in 1992 by the journal Anesthesiology described another doctor in his early 30s who started taking Propofol for "a variety of stressors." He was soon injecting himself 10 to 15 times a day.
"He stated that by this stage he was no longer taking the Propofol because of stress but because he had an overwhelming compulsion and craving to use the drug again," the study noted.
The abusers tended to have a prior history of drug abuse, not unlike Jackson's struggle with painkillers.
"Propofol was often the final drug used in a pattern of controlled substance abuse," the study noted. "This pattern may be because of the ease of obtaining Propofol."
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