Academic researchers originally used the synthesized chemical to study nerve cell conduction.

FORBES: Two Steps Forward

In 2005 and 2006, patients in McAllen received twenty per cent more abdominal ultrasounds, thirty per cent more bone-density studies, sixty per cent more stress tests with echocardiography, two hundred per cent more nerve-conduction studies to diagnose carpal-tunnel syndrome, and five hundred and fifty per cent more urine-flow studies to diagnose prostate troubles.

NEWYORKER: The Cost Conundrum