Electroshock weapons are increasingly used to control agitated suspects found in police custody.

But there is a vivid debate on whether the employment of these weapons is lethal or not.

A research made by emergency medicine physicians at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Medical Center discovered no lasting effects of the Taser (TASER International is a developer, manufacturer, and distributor of electroshock guns in the US) on healthy volunteers. "Evaluating in-custody deaths following use of a Taser is a process that requires looking at the totality of the event. The data from this study helped shape another piece of the puzzle by looking at the physiological effects of a single Taser activation in human subjects," said lead researcher Dr. Gary Vilke, professor of clinical medicine and director of Clinical Research for Emergency Medicine at UC San Diego.

The electroshock weapons discharge an electrical current that impairs the body's neuromuscular impulse, leaving the receiver temporarily paralyzed. "I have been Tazed. The experience is painful while it's happening but afterward, you only feel sore, like you might after a tough workout. Our goal was to find out how, in the absence of alcohol, drugs or other stimulants, humans are affected physiologically", said Vilke.

The researchers recruited 32 healthy volunteers from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department who received just one five-second long shock from a Taser X26, employed by over 30 % of police agencies in the US.

Taser is set to discharge an electric shock at five-second intervals. The volunteers' cardiovascular (heart rate) and blood parameters (calcium, sodium, potassium, bicarbonate, lactate levels, and pH) were assessed before and one hour after the exposure.

After applying the shock, the systolic blood pressure decreased, probably due to a higher anxiety before the test. Otherwise, the researchers detected no significant or lasting changes in the volunteers.

Now, the researchers are investigating the affects of Taser employment on volunteers under additional stress. "In this phase, the sheriff department volunteers will be exercising to raise their heart rates prior to being exposed to the Taser. Most suspects are being pursued: running, driving fast, excited in some way. This study will monitor participant vital signs while looking at that piece of the puzzle," said Vilke.