The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has issued their 13th report on veterans and Agent Orange.While there have been many headlines over the past two days claiming a "link" between Agent Orange and Parkinson's Disease, plus ischemic heart disease (IHD), we need to step back and put some perspective on the report.
The entire report is here.
The part of the report that is causing all the excitement is this section:
Limited or Suggestive Evidence of an Association
Epidemiologic evidence suggests an association between exposure to herbicides and the outcome, but a firm conclusion is limited because chance, bias, and confounding could not be ruled out with confidence. For example, a well-conducted study with strong findings in accord with less compelling results from studies of populations with similar exposures could constitute such evidence. There is limited or suggestive evidence of an association between exposure to the chemicals of interest and the following health outcomes:
(Note from John Sykes: I have all of the diseases marked in red!)
Laryngeal cancer
Cancer of the lung, bronchus, or trachea
Prostate cancer
Multiple myeloma
AL amyloidosis
Early-onset transient peripheral neuropathy
Parkinson’s disease (category change from Update 2006)
Porphyria cutanea tarda
Hypertension
Ischemic heart disease (category change from Update 2006)
Type 2 diabetes (mellitus)
Spina bifida in offspring of exposed people
This means very little. Many veterans will remember when hypertension was added to this list. The Texas Veterans' Commission mistakenly assumed that hypertension would be made a presumptive condition for Agent Orange exposure and started taking claims from veterans. Big error! Then VA Secretary James Peake said NO to a presumptive for hypertension.
My best-guess on this is:
1. Parkinson's Disease will be approved as a presumptive because so few are affected and it won't cost the VA a lot of money. Then the Obama / Shinseki machine can make a big deal about how they are taking care of veterans, even if it is only a few of them.
2. IHD will not be approved as a presumptive because every Vietnam veteran who has ever had a chest pain will file a claim. This could cost the VA billions. And, quite frankly, like hypertension, the medical evidence just isn't there to support a presumptive condition. Here is a quick look at IHD information from Wikipedia ...
Ischaemic or ischemic heart disease (IHD), or myocardial ischaemia, is a disease characterized by reduced blood supply to the heart muscle, usually due to coronary artery disease (atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries). Its risk increases with age, smoking, hypercholesterolaemia (high cholesterol levels), diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure) and is more common in men and those who have close relatives with ischaemic heart disease.
Symptoms of stable ischaemic heart disease include angina (characteristic chest pain on exertion) and decreased exercise tolerance. Unstable IHD presents itself as chest pain or other symptoms at rest, or rapidly worsening angina. Diagnosis of IHD is with an electrocardiogram, blood tests (cardiac markers), cardiac stress testing or a coronary angiogram. Depending on the symptoms and risk, treatment may be with medication, percutaneous coronary intervention (angioplasty) or coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG).
It is the most common cause of death in most Western countries, and a major cause of hospital admissions. There is limited evidence for population screening, but prevention (with a healthy diet and sometimes medication for diabetes, cholesterol and high blood pressure) is used both to prevent IHD and to decrease the risk of complications.
by Larry Scott
Founder and Editor
www.vawatchdog.com
I am disabled, and was never able to serve, but my father was an E5 special Buck Sargent. Forgive me if I typed that incorrectly. My point is, he was in the National Guard and was never deployed overseas, but has a wide variety of health problems. I wonder if he was exposed to something while he trained others to fire howitzers, rifles, drove tanks, etc.
ReplyDeleteMy room mate's father was a WWII Veteran who was in the invastion of Normandy. His wife passed away two years ago after living in assisted living for a year. We tried for a year to get the $900 a month from the VA we found out she was entitled to. We had to keep filling out the same forms and red tape. In the meantime we took out a morgage to pay for her care. She died and then the VA said the family was not eligable to receive any funds.
My point is, all of the veterans I have known, from WWII up to the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who have disabilities or health problems do not get the care they deserve. They are treated like "dumb stupid animals" as Henry Kissinger once called them. Men and women who have served their country, especially in active duty should receive the very best medical care that medical science has to offer. It's the least we could do.
It makes me furious to read this sort of thing about agent orange. I have a cousin who was the epitome of perfect health. He looked like a linebacker before he went to Desert Storm. He came home with Gulf War Syndrome and has had problems ever since. They do nothing for him.
Forgive me if I am talking too much, but this is something that bothers me.
I had a good friend who was a Vietnam vet. He lived with his elderly parents while he slowly drank himself to death. He was mentally disabled, and his brother who served in
Vietnam shot himself in the head when he came home. My friend wouldn't talk about what happened over there, but was one of the finest, kindest guys I've ever had the privelege of knowing.
It is a shame and a disgrace how little respect we have for our Veterans.
God bless all fo you. You are in my prayers.
Parkinson's Disease may turn out to be far more common than you might think. There is some evidence that pesticides (some--not all) cause Parkinson's disease (people exposed in farming communities are an example). Some believe that people with a genetic predisposition to Parkinson's may develop the disease if exposed to certain pesticides. The NIEHS literature is extensive--and persuasive. About 2% of people over 60 have the disease and 4-5% of people in their 80s, but who knows what additional risk agent orange may pose? Carol W, investigative journalist
ReplyDeleteDoes agent orange cause cardiomyopathy and nonsichemic heart failure?
I have been through the mill with the VA and am not done yet. I will be posting a lot more about this as time goes on.
ReplyDelete