Progress in medical defense against nerve agents.

For nearly 50 years, nerve agents have constituted a serious threat that has stimulated extensive efforts to develop effective medical countermeasures. Recent progress in producing pharmacologic defenses suggests that humans can be largely protected from the lethal and prolonged incapacitating effects of these compounds on a chemical battlefield. Current research on new approaches to binding and inactivating nerve agents may further decrease their potential as a threat against protected persons.