Grim Crew Presents: Dead Future

In the latest Zombie Current Events, I explained that some people think that the recent incidents where people act like zombies while attacking other humans may be caused by a condition called Excited Delirium. I promised that I would look further into what this phenomena and I got to tell you, it’s controversial.

There are two trains of thought when it comes to Excited Delirium. On one side, police officers, and emergency response personnel use the term to describe the state that they find some suspects in where the suspect is acting irrationally, usually screaming and muttering incoherently, growling, showing displays of “superhuman” strength, and are impervious to pain. This condition is recognized by the American College of Emergency Physicians and by the National Association of Medical Examiners, but it is not recognized by the American Psychiatric Association, the American Medical Association, the World Health Organization, or the International Classification of Diseases.

The other train of thought is that this Excited Delirium is used as an excuse by law enforcement for the death of someone who is the victim of extreme force. Accusations have been made by certain organizations that it is used to absolve law enforcement of the death of such victim. Some claim that it may be nothing more that propaganda by taser manufactures trying to convince law enforcement that tasers are safe to use, and that the deaths caused by this “so called condition” are caused by side effects of abusive use of tasers.

My personal opinion, I don’t buy stock into the accusations that this is not a real condition. There are too many factors in the condition to not classify it. Let’s look it over shall we?

The website www.exciteddelirium.org (which was created by the Department of Neurology in the University of Miami) lists these factors to look for when trying to recognize a case of excited delirium.

-Aggressiveness
-Combativeness
-Hyperactivity
-Extreme paranoia
-Unexpected Strength
-Incoherent shouting

Other medical symptoms of excited delirium include

Disorientation
Tachycardia (excessive heart rate beyond normal ranges)
Hallucination
Hyperthermia (overheating and sweating even in cold temperatures)

It has been found in studies that this medical condition is both psychological, and/or drug related. It was first recognized by the name of Bell’s Mania by Dr. Luther Bell in 1849. His research showed that the symptoms of Bell’s Mania were found in both patients with a history of drug use, and those without a history of drug use. It is more common however to find the condition in those with a history of drug use.

So the fact that this condition has been around for over 160 years isn’t enough? How about the documentation of the condition before police involvement? Police officers don’t strip people naked and shoot tasers at them for fun. The police officers don’t make people growl and shout incoherently. And the police officers certainly don’t make people eat the flesh off of other people. The police officers may use tasers in response to those situations if the suspect is being violent and resisting arrest.

As far as the death of the suspects (which is really in question here when you look at the debate) it is found that the sudden death occurs in both suspects who have been tasered, and those who have not. For a view of such a case you can watch the first video here. The death is claimed by medical examiners to be caused by the condition itself, and not of the methods of restraint from police officers. Anyone with knowledge of biology can see that this is a life threatening condition. Your body temperature goes above 105 degrees Fahrenheit. That alone is enough to kill a person. But you also have to take into consideration the condition of the brain of someone in this state. According to exciteddelirium.org,  all of the symptoms are caused by excessive levels of Dopamine in the brain. As the brain controls all the functions of the body required to survive, like breathing and your heart beating, if your brain is in this altered state for too long it is reasonable that you would die.

Tasers don’t cause these conditions. Elevated heart rate due to the pain? Ok I’ll give you that one, but explain then the elevated body temperature. Explain the fact that these suspects are impervious to the pain inflicted upon them from the taser. Explain the elevated dopamine levels in the brain. Certain people may create dopamine as a response to the pain from a taser (dopamine blocks pain), however the non reaction at all to the pain suggest that these higher dopamine levels were in the brain before the police decided to use force.

I guess the summary of what I’m babbling on about is that like it or not, Excited Delirium is real. The world has seen the proof from the videos recorded recently of the events. There are hundreds of documented cases of the condition. And the most compelling evidence, Rudy Eugene who took 6 shots from a firearm to die, who growled at police officers like a wild animal, who was found naked eating the face of his victim, had no drugs in his system save marijuana. Marijuana does not cause people to act like this so what is the reason? Maybe, just maybe, the world now has its proof needed to study Excited Delirium seriously and give those that are effected a chance.

Till Fate brings our future…

Penguin Prince