Self-poisoning is responsible
for hundreds of thousands of premature deaths worldwide each year.
Working in Sri Lanka, Professor Eddleston has spent the last 20 years
finding ways to prevent these deaths, by improving medical treatment
with clinical trials, performing community-based public health trials to
reduce access to pesticides, and reporting the effect of pesticide
regulation on suicide incidence.
At the same time, working in Edinburgh, Professor Eddleston has set
up a national facility for large animal translational research in which
he has tested novel antidotes for poisoning by the medicine colchicine,
the chemical weapon cyanide, common highly toxic organophosphorus
pesticides, and most recently alcohol.
The work has resulted in thousands of fewer deaths in Sri Lanka and
the potential for newer antidotes for poisoning for NHS hospitals.