Full obit and scientific abstract with links to the originals included appear below.

DR. JERRY JOSEPH BUCCAFUSCO

Dr. Jerry Joseph Buccafusco passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his family on March 6, 2010. He was a beloved husband, father, and friend and an internationally renowned researcher at the Medical College of Georgia and the Veterans Affairs Administration Hospital.

‘Dr. B.,’ as he was known to many, was born on August 20th, 1949 in Jersey City, NJ to Dominick and Rose Buccafusco. He was educated in Jersey City public schools, and his scientific career began with a chemistry set in his father’s basement. He attended St. Peter’s College, graduating with a degree in Chemistry in 1971. He then received a Master’s degree from Canisius College and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in 1978.

During graduate school, he married Regina Neilan, a longtime friend, because, according to her, his car broke down and he needed transportation. In 1979, Jerry and Regina moved to Martinez, GA when he was offered a professorship in the Pharmacology department at MCG.

Over the next thirty years, Dr. B. was appointed director of the Neuropharmacology Laboratory at the VA, and he was the founder and director of both the Alzheimer’s Research Center and the Animal Behavior Center at MCG. His research, which comprises more than 200 peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals and four edited books, has made significant contributions to a variety of fields, including hypertension, drug abuse, Gulf War Syndrome, and Alzheimer’s Disease.

In addition, he served as editor of the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and various other scientific journals, as well as the chair of a National Institutes of Health study section on drug development research. For this work, Dr. B. received numerous national and international awards, most recently the Distinguished Alumnus Award from UMDNJ and the ASPET Award for Experimental Therapeutics.

Last year he was appointed Regents’ Professor of the University of Georgia System, and only days before his passing, he was awarded a multi-year, multimillion dollar research grant from the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. B.’s influence will live on in the work of numerous graduate students and post-doctoral fellows that he mentored who now serve in prestigious positions throughout the world. No doubt his proudest legacy, however, is his relationship with his family. Dr. B’s wife, Regina, has been a member of the Columbia County Board of Education since 1998 and its Chairman since 2008. Their eldest son, Chris, was born in 1979 and is now a law professor in Chicago. Marty, born in 1982, is a filmmaker in New York City. He completed his first feature film last year. Their honorary ‘third son,’ Seth Otey, lives in Las Vegas.

Dr. B. coached many of their youth sports tams, and he and Regina twice coached Marty’s Odyssey of the Mind teams to the World Finals. In 1994, the Buccafuscos were named the Family of the Year by the Augusta Junior Women’s Club. Jerry and Regina always maintained an open door policy for the neighborhood children, with ‘neighborhood’ used very broadly. In addition to filling in for touch football games, Dr. B. was a trusted confidant, mentor, and inspiration to many young people. He was always happy to take time to show off his comic book collection or to introduce friends to the wonders of Dr. Who. In addition to his wife and children, Dr. B. is survived by his mother Rose Buccafusco, two brothers John & Dominick Buccafusco, a sister Roseanne Farrell, and many sister-in-laws, a brother-in-law and nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his father Dominick Buccafusco.

A Catholic Mass will be given on Tuesday, at 11:00 AM at St. Mary’s On the Hill with the Rev. Michael Kavanaugh officiating. He will be laid to rest in his velvet dinner jacket. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations for a scholarship for MCG graduate students to honor Dr. Buccafusco. Those donations may be made to the Georgia Health Sciences Foundation, Alumni Center FI1030, 1120 15th Street, Augusta, Georgia, 30912. Please sign the guestbook and send condolences at www.plattsfuneralhome.com. Platt’s Funeral Home 337 N. Belair Road Evans, Ga. 30809 706-860-6166
Published in The Jersey Journal on March 9, 2010
http://obits.nj.com/obituaries/jerseyjournal/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=140516968

Psychopharmacology (Berl). 1997 Jan;129(2):183-91.

Chronic, low-level exposure to diisopropylfluorophosphate causes protracted impairment of spatial navigation learning.
Prendergast MA, Terry AV Jr, Buccafusco JJ.

Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Alzheimer’s Research Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta 30912-2300, USA.

Chronic, low-level exposure to cholinesterase inhibitor organophosphate (OP) insecticides or chemical warfare agents produces abnormalities in CNS acetylcholine (ACh) function, and in humans, may be associated with impaired cognitive function as well after withdrawal from such exposure.

The purpose of the present study was to identify the severity of impairment in spatial learning of rats following protracted withdrawal from chronic, low-level exposure to the OP agent diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP).

Assessment of spatial learning began either 3 or 17 days after completion of a 14-day DFP treatment regimen (50, 250, or 500 micrograms/kg).

During the 14-day treatment regimen, spontaneous activity and olfactory behaviors were suppressed, effects which subsided with repeated exposure to the 250 micrograms/kg dose regimen.

In contrast, both behaviors were stimulated by exposure to the 50 micrograms/kg dose regimen, as was body weight gain. Performance of the spatial test of working memory was impaired for up to 21 days after withdrawal from treatment with a 250 micrograms/kg dose of DFP.

AChE activity in the frontal cortex and hippocampus was suppressed to 42.58% and 50.35% of control levels, respectively, 3 days after completion of the DFP (250 micrograms/kg) treatment regimen.

By 7 days after withdrawal from treatment, AChE activity in the cortex and hippocampus had recovered to 81.87% and 64.61% of control levels, respectively. These levels represent increases in activity of 39.29% and 14.26% in these regions, as compared to AChE activity in 3 days after DFP withdrawal. By 21 days after withdrawal from treatment, AChE in both brain regions had recovered to levels similar to those of controls.

Chronic, low-level OP exposure, therefore, produces protracted impairment of working memory after drug withdrawal that is not associated with continued suppression of AChE activity. This impairment may, however, be associated with a decreased rate of AChE recovery in the hippocampus, relative to the cortex. This decreased rate of enzyme recovery may contribute to hippocampal toxicity underlying protracted impairment of working memory.

PMID: 9040125
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9040125

First, when living exclusively in the USA one cannot see how one’s culture affects one’s behavior.  But when you step out, in my case, for many years and take a look back, it’s shocking!

In countries with universal healthcare, the general public at large is always much nicer and pleasant.  Yeah, really!  Why you may ask.  Well, its’ because with universal healthcare it changes the mindset and how one views oneself in the greater tribe.  You see in the USA, the culture is very dog eat dog.  Its’ a me me and I don’t really care if the other guy gets the shaft as long as I don’t.  Its’ not civil nor is it pleasant. 

Universal Healtcare 2010

You see this attitude when USA people come to visit other countries. 

The first thing you notice is how aggressive US people are and how pushy they can be.  Demanding, rude, obnoxious, and always thinking who can they sue to get what they want.  Its’ striking and very apparent that the culture in the USA is not meshing with the greater global trend of caring for the tribe.  Some people refer to this as the Ugly American.  In reality, its more a symptom caused by a  throw away culture that says ”If one does not produce, throw it away; whether it’s a product, service or human! 

And so we get the GOP pure capitalism model where government has no role to play in regulation or healthcare .   As far as the GOP is concerned, if you cannot compete and afford healthcare, too friggin bad!  You deserve to die and go away.  Whoa, cold as ice!

The problem with this philosophy is that it creates a nasty culture; a culture where people lie, cheat, steal, and could care less about their fellow tribesmen as long as the hurt is not on them.  Yes, the Ugly American!

With Universal Healthcare, it sends a message to the populace that the health of our tribe is everyone’s concern and thus people naturally become more civil, tolerant, and more kind to one another.

Frankly, Conservatives should support universal healtcare precisely because it creates a caring culture. You see the problem wtih our culture is massive contempt for our fellow man.  Civility seems to be a lost art fossilized next to the graves of kindness, fairness, justice.

I mean, fraud is rampant in every busniess sector.  It’s so bad that it’s not even news anymore.  Gang activities are everywhere with the profane destructive language of the hood accepted like sending old mom out to the home when she’s become a non-producing asset.   Bad form!

The loss of civility and true cooperation has been lost. We can never get it back until our culture makes a u-turn towards caring for all in the tribe, not just the ones that make us money.

And getting Univeral Healthcare is a step in the righteous direction for all of us.

Monsanto is the maker of Round-up.  Monsanto was the maker of Aspartame.  Monsanto is now the world’s largest producers of GM (Genetically Modified) seeds in the world.  Aside from trying to play God and manipulating life at its very core, Monsanto strong-arms farmers to buy their seeds, and if they do not, the farmers are sued, taken to court, caused to file bankruptcy – and in the case of India, hundreds have committed suicide as a result.  The crop yields promised by Monsanto is NOT what is resulting.  The reduction in use of the herbicide Round-up is NOT what is resulting.  We now have several cases pending at the Federal level that could indeed put this company out of business for good, but we need your help.  Remember friends, this is the company that  killed and maimed so many of us and other innocent victims – and now, three generations later, the terrible affects are no where near gone.  How would anyone use their products, eat food from the crops of their seeds, is beyond me.  But even worse, the gene manipulation that is taking place could indeed cause such calamity in the human race as well as our environment – unknown horrors will indeed occur.

Our fellow activist and colleague, Mr. Len Aldis, is a man who has done more for Agent Orange Victims here in Vietnam than anyone else I know.  Please take a few minutes and visit the below link.  Read the article.  Post a comment showing your support.  It is this kind of grass roots movement that we MUST have to end the insanity known as Monsanto.

http://www.salem-news.com/articles/march102010/agent-orange-ls.php

Semper Peace!

Healthy brain (top) shows response to pain from heat on the forearm. Different regions (bottom) respond to that heat in vets with Gulf War syndrome two. Photo: UT Southwestern Med. Ctr.

The veterans of the Gulf War 1990-91 have mighty support from scientific breakthroughs that have occurred with the backing of Ross Perot that started in the early years after they returned from the Gulf War in 1991. Mr Perot met with a group of Navy Seabees in the early 90’s that had returned sick and faced strong opposition from the government that was suppose to support their veterans.

Mr Perot being a Navy man believed his Navy veterans and stood up for them! Mr Perot knowing that scientific proof would be needed, turned to his hometown medical university, to get the help that would be needed in the long battle ahead. Dr Robert Haley, UTSWMED, was the researcher, doctor that was assigned to do the hard work. This week at the Annual Toxicological Association Meeting his work for the veterans finally is being spotlighted.

Janet Raloff’s article in Science News explains the significance of this breaking medical news to the public at large, to physicians and medical professionals, and to the veterans of the Gulf War 1990-91 that have waited almost two decades for vindication. The imaginery of the brain scans is evidence of the Real damage to the brains of our countless Gulf War 1990-91 veterans. This shows some of the REAL PHYSIOLOGIC DAMAGE that the veterans have stated was there all this time. If only, their doctors, researchers, government officials, and agencies had believed in them instead of employing delay and denial techniques of using stress and psychosomatic reasoning as the basis for their complaints.

Denise Nichols, a Gulf War Veteran, retired RN, MSN states this is why she stood up as a Nurse officer to be a fighter for herself and other gulf war veterans, her patients that she was assigned in the Gulf War to protect and care for in theater. She just didn’t know the War after the War would take 19 years and counting. She knew that the Gulf War Veterans, including herself, were not being diagnosed or provided the right medical care that would be needed to maintain their health, recover, and maintain a quality of life.

She states that the “best hope is for the leading scientist, doctors, and researchers in this country to now become fully engaged in this Medical War to find treatment and save the veterans lives and improve their quality of life without further delay.” The VA Research Advisory Committee is asking the Congress to provide 25 million dollars to the DOD Congressional Directed Medical Research Program for Gulf War Illness Research for FY2010 and she hopes the Congress meets that goal.

Anthony Hardie,a Gulf War Veteran, Bronze Star Medal Recipient, and member of the VA Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Illness states “that this graphic imagery is a representation of the unremitting pain and suffering of tens of thousands of our Gulf War Veterans-Pain and suffering for which there is still no treatment.”

David Winnett, a Gulf War Veteran and a Mustang Marine Officer with gulf war illness, states that “We need a few more Marine Officers to step forward to help get medical answers and to help lead the way for getting the medical claims of these troops left ill on the battlefield handled throughly in an expedited manner. These troops and their families have been broken financially and left to battle on their own and that is a tragedy that needs utmost attention. SEMPER FI.

Jim Bunker, a Gulf War Veteran Artillery Officer, who experienced symptoms of a nerve agent on the battlefield, states that “the Gulf War Veterans are calling his office in large numbers for help on their claims everyday.” He states that “urgent retraining and supervision of the rating officers at the VA is imperative.”

These ill Gulf War Veterans and other Gulf War Veteran Advocates need the nation’s attention now.

Science indeed is ruling the day for the battle that the Gulf War Veterans have fought for 19 years since the Gulf War 1990-91. The article in Science News Daily by Janet Raloff clearly is showing the scientific and medical world the proof of the pain that this group of veterans and their families have experienced. This is the same research that the VA recently cut off funds at the beginning of the third of five years. The support in what the VA had touted in front page news as a VA COLLABORATIVE CENTER several years ago with funding of 15 million dollars for a 5 year effort.

The VA had promised the veterans after they stopped this program this past summer at a critical junction for the research timetable that they would take the remaining money(15 million for five years) and place it in comparable research. At the Recent VA Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Illness on March 2, the VA Research headquarters announced that 11 million dollars would be spent on TESLA7 imaginary equipment in California. Where 5 miles down the road that equipment is already available! The VA has broken the promises made on Gulf War Research and made a public relations blunder or even out and out lied, Surprised?

IT is interesting that despite the veterans plea to the Capitol in Washington,DC to have joint Senate and House VA Committee Hearings to hear from all parties on this critical issue for the Gulf War 1990-91 Veterans that they have been met again with the Tin Ear, Stone Heart, and Blindfolded Eyes. The veterans of the gulf war 1990-91 are indeed fighting a war after the war against the old 3 Monkey Routine. The media who covered them in the nineties seem to also have gotten a virus of the Three Monkey Syndrome and have been sluggish in their response.

They, the Gulf War Veterans 1990-91, were promised since the first hearings on this issue of Gulf War Illnesses on the hill in 1993 that “NO STONE WOULD BE LEFT UNTURNED.” It seems we have a pile of stinking stones that have built up over 19 years and the Gulf War Veterans of 1990-91 will not allow this pile of stones to stop them or affect the country’s newest veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom from getting the best diagnostics, medical care, treatment, and/or fair compensation.

Backed up by the Vietnam Veterans who had pledged “Never Again” they are issuing a call to all of us in the US to demand action. The action being is for each citizen of the US to call, email, and fax the Senators, US Representatives and yes, the White House to tell them this is not what we represent as a country that Supports Our Veterans. Make them “WALK the WALK” with real action not words or promises or as the troops call it “Smoke and Mirrors” and hold their feet to the fire.

The Veterans Affairs Department’s inspector general has launched a criminal investigation into a physician assistant’s alleged downloading of veterans’ clinical data at its Atlanta medical center, sources have told Nextgov.

The assistant allegedly recorded two sets of patient data on to a personal laptop for research purposes. One set included three years’ worth of patient data and another held 18 years of medical information, according to a source familiar with the incident and who asked not to identified.

Roger Baker, VA’s chief information officer, commented on an item about the incident that was posted Monday evening on a Nextgov blog that the physician assistant’s laptop was never connected to the VA network and any data she recorded on her laptop was “hand entered.”

But the source told Nextgov the VA inspector general is investigating whether the assistant used two thumb drives to transfer the data to the laptop.

The department has not disclosed the number of patients involved in the incident, what kind of personal data was copied, or whether it plans to notify the veterans whose records were downloaded.

VA spokeswoman Katie Roberts said she cannot comment in detail on the Atlanta breach because it is under investigation. But in an e-mail, she stated, “VA is committed to protecting the privacy of veterans who have used our health care facilities. VA’s Office of Inspector General is currently investigating a report that a former VA physician assistant stored unauthorized clinical data about patients at the Atlanta [VA medical center] on a personal laptop computer.

“VA’s Office of Information and Technology is trying to gather more details about the circumstances, including the number of veterans whose information was involved and the nature of the information affected. The results of the investigation and analysis will help determine whether to send notifications and offers of credit protection services to the affected veterans.”

The inspector general has asked VA’s Office of Information and Technology, which Baker heads, to determine how many veterans were involved in the data breach and what kinds of personally identifiable or private health information might be involved.

The inspector general has determined that multiple documents on the laptop “appear to have come from an unapproved research project,” noted a document about the incident, which Nextgov obtained.

The incident is reminiscent of a 2006 cybersecurity breach at VA. In what was one of the largest security lapses in the department’s history, a Veterans Affairs analyst downloaded information on 26.5 million patients — practically every living veteran — on to the hard drive of his personal laptop so he could work on a research project at home. The laptop was later stolen and recovered. Investigators determined the personal information likely was not accessed.

But the breach resulted in VA instituting policies to bar the connection of personal computers to Veterans Affairs networks and to encrypt all patient data stored on department computers. Violation of the policies could result in could result in administrative, civil or criminal penalties.

In his comment on the Nextgov blog, Baker said those policies worked in the Atlanta case and the physician assistant was denied access to VA systems. In addition, a nurse scientist and visiting scholar at the medical center stopped the assistant from using the data after learning about the unapproved research project, according to the document on the incident. The nurse told the physician assistant to destroy the data, and when it was not destroyed, the nurse informed a research compliance officer in Atlanta on Feb. 8. The physician assistant resigned on Feb. 26, according to the document.

The breach illustrates the need for patients, not clinicians, to control their medical records, said Dr. Deborah Peel, founder of Patient Privacy Rights, a nonprofit based in Austin, Texas, that works to ensure medical information remains restricted. She said control should include a requirement to obtain a patient’s consent to send clinical information to another doctor or to use it for research. Peel added electronic consent software currently exists to automate the process.

Read more at  Nextgov

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today an aggressive new initiative to solicit private-sector input on a proposed “fast track” Veterans’ claims process for service-connected presumptive illnesses due to Agent Orange exposure during the Vietnam War.

“This will be a new way of doing business and a major step forward in how we process the presumptive claims we expect to receive over the next two years,” Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki said. “With the latest, fastest, and most reliable technology, VA hopes to migrate the manual processing of these claims to an automated process that meets the needs of today’s Veterans in a more timely manner.”

Over the next two years, about 200,000 Veterans are expected to file disability compensation claims under an historic expansion of three new presumptive illnesses announced last year by Secretary Shinseki. They affect Veterans who have Parkinson’s disease, ischemic heart disease and B-cell leukemias.

In practical terms, Veterans who served in Vietnam during the war and who have one of the illnesses covered by the “presumption of service connection” don’t have to prove an association between their medical problems and military service. This “presumption” makes it easier for Vietnam Veterans to access disability compensation benefits. Vietnam Veterans are encouraged to submit their claims as soon as possible to begin the important process of compensation.

Along with the publication of proposed regulations for the three new presumptives this spring, VA intends to publish a formal request in Federal Business Opportunities for private-sector corporations to propose automated solutions for the parts of the claims process that take the longest amount of time. VA believes these can be collected in a more streamlined and accurate way.

Development involves determining what additional information is needed to adjudicate the claim, such as military and private medical records and the scheduling of medical examinations.

With this new approach, VA expects to shorten the time it takes to gather evidence, which now takes on average over 90 days. Once the claim is fully developed and all pertinent information is gathered, VA will be able to more quickly decide the claim and process the award, if granted.

The contract is expected to be awarded in April with proposed solutions offered to VA within 90 days. Implementation of the solution is expected within 150 days.

“Veterans whose health was harmed during their military service are entitled to the best this nation has to offer,” added Secretary Shinseki. “We are undertaking an unprecedented modernization of our claims process to ensure timely and accurate delivery of that commitment.”

Last year, VA received more than one million claims for disability compensation and pension. VA provides compensation and pension benefits to over 3.8 million Veterans and beneficiaries. Presently, the basic monthly rate of compensation ranges from $123 to $2,673 to Veterans without any dependents.

Disability compensation is a non-taxable, monthly monetary benefit paid to Veterans who are disabled as a result of an injury or illness that was incurred or aggravated during active military service.

For more information about disability compensation, go to www.va.gov. Additional information about Agent Orange and VA’s services and programs for Veterans exposed are available at www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange.

via Secretary Seeks Fast Track to Process Claims – Public and Intergovernmental Affairs.

Dr Barinauck and his staff are exceptional!  Dr Barinauck site is full of the information on his current studies.  He has three gulf war illness studies:

1.  Gulf War Illness and Exercise

2.  Gulf War Illness Treatment Study ie Carnosine

3.  Gulf War Illness and CNDP1

Please he needs healthy and ill participants.  Please click on the link provided on top and read on each study.

The writer has been one of his subjects and quite a few of the leading gulf war veterans and advocates have  participated in the number three study listed above.  You are reimbursed in an amount that covers airfare to and from DC.  Georgetown Hospital is a not for profit hospital and the staff at this hospital is world recognized.  You are admitted to the hospital, it is clean and it runs smoothly.  It is not like a VA hospital.  The staff is so attentive and caring and wants to hear more about gulf war veterans.  Dr Barinauck is an expert in Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia and he shares with you and helps you -as you dream of a doctor that you want as your physician!  They are not just researchers!

And yes that study involved a spinal tap and even the old nurse was not too eager. I did have to reschedule but I said got to do this to get more answers, help, and treatment.  Ladies and Gentleman, I have to tell you I did not have pain during this research.  They use a very small small needle for inserting the tube that is visualized downstairs in nuclear radiology yes you can see it on the screen.  They then take maybe 5 small vials of spinal fluid, they show them to you.  They then withdraw the inserting needle-  you are done.  There was a skin patch of local anesthesia and then more local anesthesia inserted prior to the stick and it was no pain!

I think we have encourage other fellow veterans maybe 50 to go and I spoke to many( the majority I think)  and they too would reccommend participating!  You are asked to do pain surveys so frequently you would not believe.  Hey, I just had mild pressure and they were immediately wanting me to take the oral pain med afterwards because these guys want no pain for you!!!!  You also have blood and urine testing and lots of lab tests that you get all those results mailed to you as soon as they are back from lab.  You are admitted and stay in hospital until 24 hrs after the spinal tap.

The actual research lab work will be sealed until study is completed and published (this study is similar to one done for civilian Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME patients which was published)  That study and his results led to the gulf war veteran community asking him to present to the RAC GWI.

So as the old DS Nurse I would encourage you to help in this effort!  It passes my review with flying colors.  So click on the link and read.  Call them(202-687-8231), email them (gwiresearch@georgetown.edu) and talk to them.  And seriously consider doing this in an effort to help us all get some answers!

Investigator Inititated Research:

Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute- Researcher Mohan Sopori

Mass General- Anne Louise Oaklander

Wayne State University- Henry Heng

For Innovative Treatment:

NYSU Albany- David Carpenter
Western Institute for Biomedical Research-Ashok Tuteja

These researchers submitted proposals and went thru two panels and DOD final decision.  The awards are subject now to more process and contracting before they get off the ground.  No more details of what each study proposes was included this AM.  The announcement just provided institution and researcher.

VA/DOD Expand Electronic Health Information Pilot to Eastern Virginia

The Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense today announced the next phase of the Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER) Health Communities Program. This initiative improves care and services to our nation’s heroes by sharing health information using the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) developed under the leadership of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

DoD and VA selected the Virginia/Tidewater area of Southeastern Virginia as the next area to partner with due to its high concentration of veterans, military retirees, members of the guard and reserve, and active duty service members and their dependents.

In the Virginia/Tidewater area, VA and DoD will partner with private sector hospitals who have joined a regional health information exchange in this area. The Virginia/Tidewater pilot builds on the continuing success of the first pilot in San Diego with Kaiser Permanente.

Service members and veterans in the Virginia/Tidewater area will be invited to participate in this health data exchange program scheduled to launch this year. Individuals who choose to participate will authorize their public and private sector health care providers and doctors to share specific health information electronically, safely, securely and privately.

The program, through policy and technology, places the highest priority on patient privacy and data security. No exchange of information will occur without the appropriate permissions of the individual patients. Access to care will not be affected by a decision not to participate.

This research articles helps to highlight the need for coordination that could occur at the New Jersey WRIIS center.  It also would be helpful if studies done through NIH funding on Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia would include ill gulf war veterans in their recruitment for subjects.

Clin Vaccine Immunol. 2010 Feb 24. [Epub ahead of print]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20181767

Cytokines across the night in chronic fatigue syndrome with and without Fibromyalgia.
Nakamura T, Schwander SK, Donnelly R, Ortega F, Togo F, Broderick G, Yamamoto Y, Cherniack NS, Rapoport D, Natelson BH.

Pain & Fatigue Study Center, and Departments of Neurosciences and Medicine, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, Newark NJ 07103; Department of Work Stress Control, Japan National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Kawasaki, 214-8585, Japan; Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, Educational Physiology Laboratory, Graduate School of Education, The University of Tokyo; and Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, NYU School of Medicine, New York NY 10016.

The symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome are consistent with cytokine dysregulation. This has led to the hypothesis of immune dysregulation as the cause of this illness. To further test this hypothesis, we did repeated blood sampling for cytokines while patients and matched healthy controls slept in the sleep lab. Because no one method for assaying cytokines is acknowledged to be better than another, we assayed for protein in serum, message in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) and function in resting and stimulated PBLs.

We found no evidence of pro-inflammatory cytokine upregulation. Instead, in line with some of our earlier studies, we did find some evidence to support a role for an increase in IL-10, an anti-inflammatory cytokine. Although the changes were small, they may contribute to the common complaint of CFS patients of disrupted sleep.

PMID: 20181767 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Again the VA needs to look to the past records of WWI veterans with Mustard gas exposures and to the two landmark Gulf War illness Reports ie Senator Reigle and Senator Rockfeller in 1994. We are encouraged by the new spirit that appears to be at VA Headquarters in DC. The 2 reports mentioned approve may still have classified versions of the reports. In addition the Senate Select Committee had a report that was done on Gulf War Exposures that needs to be dusted off and reviewed.

Gulf War Veterans 90-91 that have had significant respiratory problems need to have a look at the following two Research articles that relate Respiratory problems with Mustard Gas.
—————————
Hum Exp Toxicol. 2009 Dec;28(12):739-45. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19919970

Highly sensitive C-reactive protein levels in Iranian patients with pulmonary complication of sulfur mustard poisoning and its correlation with severity of airway diseases.
Attaran D, Lari SM, Khajehdaluee M, Ayatollahi H, Towhidi M, Asnaashari A, Marallu HG, Mazloomi M, Mood MB.

Lung disease and tuberculosis research center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Iran.

BACKGROUND: Sulfur mustard (SM) is a chemical warfare agent that can cause serious pulmonary complications. This study was designed to determine serum highly sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and evaluate its correlation with lung function parameters in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) due to SM poisoning. METHODS: Fifty consecutive SM patients with stable COPD and a mean age 46.3 +/- 9.18 years were enrolled in this cross sectional study. Thirty healthy men were selected as controls. Lung function parameters were evaluated. Serum hs-CRP by immunoturbidometry assay was measured in both the patients and controls. RESULTS: In the case group, the mean forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) was 2.14 +/- 0.76 L (58.98% +/- 17.51% predicted). The mean serum hs-CRP was 9.4 +/- 6.78 SD and 3.9 +/- 1.92 SD mg/L in the cases and controls, respectively, with significant statistical differences (p < .001). There was negative correlation between the serum hs-CRP and FEV1 levels (p = .01). The serum hs-CRP levels were also correlated with Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung disease (GOLD) stages (r = .45, p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the serum hs-CRP level is increased in SM patients with COPD and may have a direct correlation with disease severity. It may then be used as a marker for the severity of COPD in patients with SM poisoning. PMID: 19919970 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19876850

 J Med Toxicol. 2009 Dec;5(4):191-5. Long-term complications of sulphur mustard poisoning in intoxicated Iranian veterans. Namazi S, Niknahad H, Razmkhah H. Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Science, Shiraz, Iran.

INTRODUCTION: Sulphur mustard (SM) is an alkylating chemical warfare agent that was widely used during the Iran-Iraq conflict(1980-1988). Delayed complications of SM in different organs were evaluated in this study. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed from March 2005 to June 2006. The Veterans Foundation provided us with the files of all chemical warfare-poisoned patients in the province of Fars, Iran. Clinical manifestations, laboratory data, and demographic characteristics of the patients were recorded from their files and a face-to-face interviews. Data analysis was performed by student t test statistical method. RESULTS: A total of 134 patients were enrolled in the study. The age range of the patients was 32-45 (37.2+/-9) years. SM poisoning was confirmed 19.5+/-1.6 (17-22) years after initial exposure. The duration of exposure in patients was 13.35+/-8.7 (1.5-48) hours. The most common complication was found in the lungs (100%), skin (82.84%), and eyes (77.61%). The most frequent medications used for the treatment of these complications were: bronchodilators, drugs used for dermatological problems, and drugs used for ocular complications. Analytical study showed no association between the age of exposed patients and the severity of toxic complications (p>.05), but there was a significant association between the duration of exposure and the number of complications (p<.05).

CONCLUSION: Results of this study indicate that respiratory complications generally increase over time. Therefore, follow-up of veterans exposed to SM is recommended. This may lead to early diagnosis of SM complications and help prevent the late manifestations of this toxicity.

PMID: 19876850 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

For 19 years the Gulf War Veterans have suffered.  Back in the 1990s during the time of the Comprehensive Clinical Examination Evaluation Program(CCEEP) Eye Examinations were being done!  But since then despite pleas to consider the visual problems of veterans of Operation Desert Storm, little has been done.  In the late 90s an article did appear in one Opthalmology Journal concerning Gulf War Veterans/Illness after this writer contacted them.  The system has some initial data from the CCEEP program that could be pulled up by the VA and DOD. 

The veterans that get 100% can get into the VA Eye Clinic and may have so that is another source of data.  There needs to be a way for veterans of the gulf war 90-91 to at least be seen in the VA eye clinics for at least an assessment!  A large number of veterans have spoken on this problem.  They get prescription glasses and still have problems.  Many Gulf War Veterans due to financial situation have taken to using the drug story to buy multiple, different strength magnification cheater glasses! 

Many of the Gulf War Veterans, particularly those that exited the military and went to commercial truck driving, have experienced particular problems in relationship to night driving and vision problems.  THIS IS A DEFINITE SAFETY AND QUALITY OF LIFE ITEM THAT NEEDS URGENT VA ATTENTION.

We recommend at least one VA research study be initiated on vision problems in relationship to Gulf War Illness.

The Mustard Gas Veterans of World War I and the Iran-Iraq War of the 80s should provide a great deal of research reference articles to initate at least a Research Review Article on Opthalmology in Mustard Gas Exposures and past war veterans.

Below are the 6 research articles I found with very little searching to get you started!  The writer encourages gulf war veterans to make comments to this article on their vision problems.
Clin Experiment Ophthalmol. 2006 May-Jun;34(4):342-6.

Delayed ocular complications of mustard gas poisoning and the relationship with respiratory and cutaneous complications.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16961503

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez
Etezad-Razavi M, Mahmoudi M, Hefazi M, Balali-Mood M.

Ophthalmology Department, Khatamolanbia Hospital, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

BACKGROUND: This study was aimed to determine the correlation between ocular complications and respiratory or cutaneous complications in a group of 40 Iranian veterans with late complications of sulphur mustard (SM) poisoning.

METHODS: Thorough ophthalmologic examination was performed on all severely SM-poisoned veterans in the province of Khorasan, Iran. Spirometric evaluation of pulmonary function, as well as estimation of the burned skin area, was performed for all the patients. The severities of ocular, respiratory and cutaneous complications were classified into four grades in each patient and were compared with each other, using Spearman’s rank correlation test.

RESULTS: Forty male patients (aged 43.8 +/- 9.8 years) with confirmed SM poisoning were studied 16-20 years after their initial exposure. Common symptoms were recorded as itching (42.5%), burning sensation (37.5%), photophobia (30%) and tearing (27.5%). Abnormal conjunctival and limbal findings were chronic conjunctivitis (17.5%), perilimbal hyperpigmentation (17.5%), vascular tortuosity (15%) and limbal ischaemia (12.5%). Abnormal corneal findings were subepithelial opacity (15%), corneal thinning (15%), diffuse corneal opacity (10%), neovascularization (7.5%) and epithelial defects (5%). A significant positive correlation was found between the severity of ocular and respiratory complications (r = 0.322, P = 0.043). Cutaneous complications revealed no significant correlation with either ocular or respiratory complications.

CONCLUSIONS: SM causes delayed destructive lesions in the ocular surface and cornea, leading to progressive visual deterioration and ocular irritation. Late complications of SM poisoning in the eyes, respiratory system and skin are mainly due to SM’s local irritant effects.

PMID: 16764654 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Ophthalmology. 2010 Feb;117(2):246-52. Epub 2009 Dec 16.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20018379

Limbal stem cell deficiency in chronic and delayed-onset mustard gas keratopathy.
Baradaran-Rafii A, Javadi MA, Rezaei Kanavi M, Eslani M, Jamali H, Karimian F.

Labbafinejad Medical Center, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.

PURPOSE: To evaluate limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) using impression cytology in patients with chronic and delayed-onset mustard gas keratopathy (MGK). DESIGN: Prospective observational case series.

PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-five eyes of 18 patients (all male) with MGK were included.

METHODS: A consecutive series of patients with MGK underwent impression cytology. Finding of goblet cells on the corneal side of specimens was considered as LSCD. Severity of corneal clinical manifestation was graded as mild, moderate, and severe in each quadrant. Relation between impression cytology findings and clinical grading was evaluated. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Impression cytology findings and clinical grading.

RESULTS: There was LSCD in at least 1 quadrant of cornea in all 35 eyes (100% of cases). No differences were found between impression cytology findings (positive vs. negative for corneal goblet cells) among different quadrants (P = 0.378). Clinical grading was the same between nasal and temporal quadrants (P = 0.266) and between superior and inferior quadrants (P = 0.263). By combining superior and inferior quadrants (vertical zone) and nasal and temporal quadrants (horizontal zone), corneal clinical grading was more severe in horizontal versus vertical zones (P<0.001). There was no relation between LSCD and corneal clinical severity (P = 0.893).

CONCLUSIONS: A varying degree of LSCD was demonstrated in all patients with chronic or delayed-onset MGK using impression cytology. Corneal clinical manifestations are more severe in nasal and temporal quadrants. There was no relation between impression cytology findings (positive vs. negative for goblet cells) and corneal clinical grading. Other factors, such as perilimbal conjunctival ischemia, may play a role. Copyright (c) 2010 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

PMID: 20018379 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Toxicology. 2009 Sep 1;263(1):59-69. Epub 2008 Nov 17.

Ocular injuries following sulfur mustard exposure–pathological mechanism and potential therapy.
Kadar T, Dachir S, Cohen L, Sahar R, Fishbine E, Cohen M, Turetz J, Gutman H, Buch H, Brandeis R, Horwitz V, Solomon A, Amir A.

Department of Pharmacology, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona 74100, Israel.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19061933

Sulfur mustard (SM) is a potent vesicant, known for its ability to cause incapacitation and prolonged injuries to the eyes, skin and respiratory system. The toxic ocular events following sulfur mustard exposure are characterized by several stages: photophobia starting a few hours after exposure, an acute injury phase characterized by inflammation of the anterior segment and corneal erosions and a delayed phase appearing following a clinically silent period (years in human). The late injury appeared in part of the exposed eyes, expressed by epithelial defects and corneal neovascularization (NV), that lead to vision deficits and even blindness. During the last years we have characterized the temporal development of ocular lesions following SM vapor exposure in rabbits and have shown the existence of two sub-populations of corneas, those exhibiting delayed ocular lesions (clinically impaired) and those exhibiting only minor injuries if at all (clinically non-impaired). The aim of the present study was to investigate the pathological mechanism underlying the delayed injury by focusing on the unique characteristics of each sub-population and to test the efficacy of potential treatments. Clinically impaired corneas were characterized by chronic inflammation, increased matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity, poor innervation and limbal damage. Moreover, using impression cytology and histology, we identified the delayed lesions as typical for an ocular surface disorder under the category of limbal epithelial stem cell deficiency (LSCD). These results point to therapeutic directions, using anti-inflammatory drugs, MMPs inhibitors, neurotrophic factors and amniotic membrane transplantation. Topical anti-inflammatory drugs, either steroid (Dexamycin, DEX) or non-steroidal anti-infllammatory drug (NSAID, Voltaren Ophtha) were found to be beneficial in ameliorating the initial inflammatory response and in postponing the development of corneal NV, when given during the first week after exposure. When DEX was administered as a symptomatic treatment against NV, a significant regression in the angiogenic process was observed, however, the effect was temporal and blood vessels reappeared after therapy ceased. Chronic administration (8 weeks) of the MMP inhibitor Doxycycline was also effective in attenuation of the acute and delayed injury. Preliminary results, using amniotic membrane transplantation revealed some decrease of corneal edema with no effect on corneal NV. It is suggested that the chronic inflammation and prolonged impairment of corneal innervation are playing a role in the pathogenesis of the delayed LSCD following SM exposure by creating a pathological microenvironment to limbal epithelial stem cells, thus, leading to their slow death and to a second cascade of pathological events eventually resulting in severe long-term injuries. As of today, only topical anti-inflammatory drugs reached the criteria of an applicable efficient post-exposure ocular treatment for SM injuries. Further studies are required to investigate the effects of SM on epithelial stem cells and their involvement in the pathogenesis of the long-term injuries.

PMID: 19061933 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

———————————————————————————–

Cornea. 2009 Jan;28(1):51-7.

Living-related conjunctival-limbal allograft for chronic or delayed-onset mustard gas keratopathy.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19092406
Javadi MA, Baradaran-Rafii A.

Department of Ophthalmology and Ophthalmic Research Center, Labbafinejad Medical Center, Shaheed Beheshti Medical University, Tehran, Iran.

PURPOSE: To determine the long-term outcomes of living-related stem cell transplantation in patients with delayed or chronic mustard gas keratopathy (MGK).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this noncomparative interventional case series, 21 consecutive patients with advanced delayed or chronic MGK received living-related conjunctival-limbal allograft and were followed up for at least 1 year. All subjects received immunosuppression with systemic cyclosporine. Main outcome measures were reduction of subjective complaints, corneal epithelial healing, and regression of corneal neovascularization adjacent to the transplant area.

RESULTS: Twenty-five eyes of 21 patients (all male), including 4 patients who received bilateral grafts, were operated. Mean age at the time of surgery was 35.8 +/- 3.8 years, mean interval between mustard gas exposure and surgery was 12.2 +/- 3.5 years, and mean follow-up was 37.2 +/- 18.5 months. Average size of the donor lenticule was 71.16 +/- 17.34 degrees. Simultaneous penetrating and lamellar keratoplasty were performed in 5 and 2 eyes, respectively. All patients consistently reported marked subjective improvement. Mean time for epithelial healing was 7.76 +/- 3.2 days. Visual acuity was 1.35 +/- 0.81 LogMAR before surgery, which improved to 0.59 +/- 0.34 LogMAR 3 months after the procedure (P < 0.001). Mean visual acuity at final examination was 0.82 +/- 0.49 LogMAR (P = 0.001). Acute stem cell rejection was observed in 10 (40%) eyes, which improved by increasing the dose of topical and systemic steroids. Chronic stem cell rejection was diagnosed in 8 (32%) eyes, which led to failure in 5 (20%) eyes.

CONCLUSIONS: Living-related conjunctival-limbal allograft is effective in stabilizing the ocular surface in patients with delayed or chronic MGK.

PMID: 19092406 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

——————————————————————————–

Ophthalmology. 2005 Apr;112(4):617-25.

Chronic and delayed-onset mustard gas keratitis: report of 48 patients and review of literature.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15808253
Javadi MA, Yazdani S, Sajjadi H, Jadidi K, Karimian F, Einollahi B, Ja’farinasab MR, Zare M.

Ophthalmic Research Center and Ophthalmology Department, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

PURPOSE: To report the clinical features of 93 eyes of 48 patients with chronic and delayed-onset mustard gas keratitis. Clinicopathologic correlation in 5 eyes and a review of related literature are presented. DESIGN: Retrospective, noncomparative case series.

PARTICIPANTS: Forty-eight Iranian survivors of Iraqi chemical warfare with chronic or delayed-onset mustard gas keratitis.

METHODS: We reviewed the symptoms, clinical findings, course, and treatment of our patients and reviewed the literature. In 5 patients, histopathologic features of corneal and conjunctival specimens were evaluated. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Ocular findings, clinical course, treatment measures, and histopathologic studies.

RESULTS: Of 48 patients, 31 (64.6%) had chronic symptomatology, whereas 17 (35.4%) experienced delayed-onset lesions. Visual acuity at referral ranged from hand motions to 20/20. Ocular surface changes included chronic blepharitis and decreased tear meniscus in all patients, limbal ischemia (81.3%), and conjunctival vascular abnormalities (50%). Corneal signs in order of frequency were: scar or opacity (87.5%), neovascularization (70.8%), thinning (58.3%), lipoid deposits (52.1%), amyloid deposits (43.8%), and epithelial defects and irregularity (31.3%). Many patients received conservative treatment; others underwent allograft stem cell transplantation (20 eyes of 17 patients), penetrating keratoplasty (12 eyes of 12 patients), and lamellar keratoplasty (4 eyes of 3 patients). Conjunctival specimens were evaluated by light microscopy. Decreased goblet cell density, attenuated or thickened epithelium, scarring in the substantia propria associated with plasmacytic and lymphocytic infiltration, and dilated lymphatic vessels were noted. Excised corneal buttons disclosed absence of epithelium and Bowman’s layer, fibrovascular pannus, stromal scarring, and vascularization.

CONCLUSIONS: Mustard gas causes chronic and delayed destructive lesions in the ocular surface and cornea, leading to progressive visual deterioration and ocular irritation. The pathophysiologic features of these changes are not clearly identified. Excised conjunctival and corneal specimens revealed a mixed inflammatory response without any specific features. Based on the clinical appearance of the lesions and the histopathologic findings, an immune-mediated component seems possible. This article contains additional online-only material available at.

PMID: 15808253 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

————————————————————————–

Ophthalmology. 2010 Feb;117(2):246-52. Epub 2009 Dec 16.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20018379

Limbal stem cell deficiency in chronic and delayed-onset mustard gas keratopathy.
Baradaran-Rafii A, Javadi MA, Rezaei Kanavi M, Eslani M, Jamali H, Karimian F.

Labbafinejad Medical Center, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.

PURPOSE: To evaluate limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) using impression cytology in patients with chronic and delayed-onset mustard gas keratopathy (MGK). DESIGN: Prospective observational case series.

 PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-five eyes of 18 patients (all male) with MGK were included.

METHODS: A consecutive series of patients with MGK underwent impression cytology. Finding of goblet cells on the corneal side of specimens was considered as LSCD. Severity of corneal clinical manifestation was graded as mild, moderate, and severe in each quadrant. Relation between impression cytology findings and clinical grading was evaluated. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Impression cytology findings and clinical grading.

RESULTS: There was LSCD in at least 1 quadrant of cornea in all 35 eyes (100% of cases). No differences were found between impression cytology findings (positive vs. negative for corneal goblet cells) among different quadrants (P = 0.378). Clinical grading was the same between nasal and temporal quadrants (P = 0.266) and between superior and inferior quadrants (P = 0.263). By combining superior and inferior quadrants (vertical zone) and nasal and temporal quadrants (horizontal zone), corneal clinical grading was more severe in horizontal versus vertical zones (P<0.001). There was no relation between LSCD and corneal clinical severity (P = 0.893).

CONCLUSIONS: A varying degree of LSCD was demonstrated in all patients with chronic or delayed-onset MGK using impression cytology. Corneal clinical manifestations are more severe in nasal and temporal quadrants. There was no relation between impression cytology findings (positive vs. negative for goblet cells) and corneal clinical grading. Other factors, such as perilimbal conjunctival ischemia, may play a role. Copyright (c) 2010 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

PMID: 20018379 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia patients might appreciate this new research article that highlight supplements that might be beneficial.  Magnesium, l-carnitine, and S-adenosylmethionine are nonpharmacological supplements with the most potential for further research.  This is a constantly changing situation and might encourage the VA to also consult with alternative medicine and environmental medicine experts in the civilian world and open a dialogue with this group of physicians to explore together the treatments for gulf war illness.  Possibly the physicians at the VA could be encourage to use CME from the Environmental Medicine Association for the next couple of years.

The New VA administration also needs to be aware that Dr William Rea, who had previous VA employment service in his past, had reached out numerous times to the VA offerring his expertise in the area of treating gulf war veterans in the area of environmental medicine.  There has been many efforts in the past of doctors that had prior VA and military time attempting to interact with VA headquarters in DC in order to help the gulf war veterans.  This research article below, might guide physicians to do vitamin and mineral analysis on gulf war veterans as a minimal starting point for proposed changes in medical guidelines and suggestions.

The gulf war veterans have already used their own abilities to try and find relief.  In the background a lot of sharing has been going on between veterans of what they have tried and what helped.  We suggest a bulletin board be set up by the VA  on the VA website to hear from these veterans for input on what they have found that has helped in the past 20 years.  The writer strongly encourages that exploration outside the conventional medical approach be considered.  Ask these physicians that have been  helping gulf war veterans to participate with the VA now.  Set up  a bulletin board for these physicians to offer their suggestions to both the VA and the Veterans.  There are many civilian doctors out there that would like to share their insights and suggestions.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20192908

J Altern Complement Med. 2010 Mar;16(3):235-49.
Alternative medical interventions used in the treatment and management of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia.
Porter NS, Jason LA, Boulton A, Bothne N, Coleman B.

Center for Community Research, DePaul University , Chicago, IL.

PMID: 20192908 [PubMed - in process]

RANCHO BERNARDO, Calif. — A Rancho Bernardo couple has begun a campaign for federal legislation regarding health care for military veterans. While they have no complaints about the care and treatment afforded by the Veterans’ Administration, Aaron Dial and his fiancée Heidi Christ think there should be more screenings and warnings.

Dial had been overseas for more than a year, serving in Jordan and Baghdad with the military police. Two years after his return to the U.S., he was having trouble breathing.

“They found a tumor; a mass the size of an eggplant,” said Christ.

Dial told of the test results, “I was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia, as well as T-cell Hodgkins disease.”

The Department of Veterans Affairs gave him 100 percent disability and found his illness directly related to his military service.

Dial said when guns were fired he was exposed to depleted uranium that coated the ammo. “The depleted uranium goes into a powder form and it’s in the soil. Anything from dust storms to Humvees and tanks going over the soil can kick that up and it can be inhaled.”

He said he suffers from memory loss and had issues with his balance and sight. Now after more than two years of chemotherapy and a month of cranial radiation treatment, he is in remission.

Dial and Christ are working to get “Aaron’s Law” passed by Congress, extending the health care window for returning veterans from two to five years and more proactively alerting them to the risk of carcinogens.

“Make them aware this could possibly become an epidemic, similar to the Gulf War, Agent Orange,” said Christ.

Only a handful of servicemen and women have been afflicted as has Dial so far, but Rep. Duncan Hunter said such a law could prove very valuable.

“We need good screening coming out. We need to make sure our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines go through that, but they also need to know what’s available to them,” said Hunter.

Dial and Christ plan to be married in October, and both eventually want to work in the medical field

and this one from the UK

Staffordshire News Brownhills army widow denied benefits after government rejects inquest ruling
Feb 17 2010
Comments (3)Recommend THE devastated widow of a Midland soldier is being denied benefits because the Ministry of Defence refuses to accept an inquest ruling that he died due to depleted uranium exposure.

Mother-of-two Elaine Dyson, 41, of Brownhills is battling for a war widow’s pension following the death of husband, former Lance Corporal Stuart Dyson in June 2008 aged 39.

An inquest jury stated in September that Mr Dyson’s death from colon cancer was caused by exposure to uranium particles during the first Gulf War in 1991.

The decision sparked a war of words between Black Country coroner Robin Balmain and the Ministry, after the coroner used his powers to recommend to government officials that the lethal substance should not be used.

Depleted uranium is used in the manufacture of armour piercing ammunition.

Mr Dyson, from Brownhills and a Lance Corporal with the Royal Pioneer Corps, cleaned tanks after the first Gulf War during a five-month deployment to the war zone.

His widow Elaine told the inquest that her husband’s health had deteriorated after he left the Army in 1992 and that he was diagnosed with colon cancer, which spread to his liver and spleen, in 2007.

The 41-year-old mother-of-two said her husband had been “convinced” before his death that his cancer was linked to his service in the Gulf.

But Armed Forces Minister Bill Rammell claimed the jury’s verdict had been “very surprising”, based on “speculative views”, and that Mr Dyson’s death was not linked to his war service.

The pension of £115.55 a week is payable to widows of servicemen whose deaths were caused by their time in the armed forces.

Mrs Dyson, a teaching assistant bringing up the couple’s children Thomas, 13, and Amy, 11, said: “The Ministry is still arguing that Stuart’s death was not linked to his service in the Gulf.

“I am just following what Stuart was wanting to do in the first place – to get the authorities to say he was right.

“He had to fight for his disability benefit, and right up to his death he was fighting to get his war pension to take his cancer into account.”

That issue also remains unresolved – with Mrs Dyson preparing an appeal against the refusal of the MoD to count the cancer in its calculations.

If that appeal succeeds, Mrs Dyson, who receives a basic widowed parent’s allowance and working tax credit, would then try to get a war widow’s pension.

She added: “The money is not important to me – it’s the principle. I really need to know a reason why he died. I suppose I have a bit of anger as well.”

A non-pathogenic bacterium is capable of triggering an autoimmune disease similar to multiple sclerosis in the mouse, the model animal which helps to explain how human diseases work. This is what a group of researchers from the Catholic University of Rome, led by Francesco Ria (Institute of General Pathology) and Giovanni Delogu (Institute of Microbiology), have explained for the first time in a recently published article on the Journal of Immunology.

Multiple sclerosis is caused by an inflammatory reaction provoked by the immune system, leading to disruption of the coating of the nerve fibres in the Central Nervous System.

“We do not know what causes multiple sclerosis”, explains Francesco Ria, immunologist of the Catholic University. “We know that there exists a genetic factor and an environmental factor, but we do not yet possess a satisfactory theory which can explain how exactly this environmental factor works”.

Currently, there are two competing theories in the field: according to a first hypothesis, a virus hides within the brain and what causes the disease is the immunologic antiviral reaction. On the other hand, the second hypothesis states that a viral or bacterial pathogen similar to specific molecules of the Central Nervous System causes an inflammation which provokes a reaction of the immune system. This reaction ends up destroying the brain cells. The latter is called the autoimmune hypothesis.

This is the hypothesis that the researchers coming from the Institutes of General Pathology, Microbiology and Anatomy of the Catholic University of Rome have been testing with their two-year long work. To demonstrate the viability of this idea, scientists have fooled the mouse immune system, modifying subtly a bacterium of the common family of mycobacteria (the same family to which also the bacterium causing tuberculosis belongs) to make it look like to myelin, the protein coating nerve cells. This modified mycobacterium is completely innocuous. As all external agents, though, it is capable to trigger the reaction of the T-cells of the immune systems. They intervene to destroy it. Since they are innocuous bacteria, although very common in the environment, and since they induce an immune reaction, they are the ideal bacteria scientists can use to study the environmental factor contributing, together with the genetic factor, to cause multiple sclerosis.

“Normally, T-cells cannot penetrate into the Central Nervous System”, adds Rea, “because the hematoencephalic barrier prevents them from doing so. But the bacterium modifies the characteristics of the T-cells and allows them to overcome the barrier. In 15 days the bacterium disappears completely from the body”.

Yet these T-cells can now enter into the brain. This way, they begin to attack the myelin of the nerve cells, and here is how the immune disease breaks out.

“We basically demonstrate – explains Rea – that in an animal model it is possible to be infected with something not carrying any disease, and later on develop a purely autoimmune disease”.

Yet there is another element in this complex research, sponsored by the Italian Association of Multiple Sclerosis (AISM). “Normally – clarifies Rea – to understand which diseases we have encountered, we measure the antibodies produced by that specific pathogen. But there is a whole world of infectious agents which do not induce the production of antibodies, as is the case in our research: mycobacteria and many other bacteria produce a very low and variable number of antibodies. It is thus very hard to establish whether a population has encountered that specific infectious agent. So, we demonstrate that those infectious agents which are more likely to produce an autoimmune reaction are just those which do not induce antibody production”.

Obviously, this is only the first step to better understand the way this very complex and devastating disease works. Ria and Delogu are not stopping here: “We want to try to understand the exact characteristics which this infectious agent should have”, they explain. “Might it truly be a good experimental model for multiple sclerosis? If we had prolonged the action of the bacteria, would we have favoured or hampered the development of the disease? And what about the myelin-like bacterium protein: where should it lie? On the surface, or inside? These are all questions – conclude the two researchers – which we will be trying to answer in the next years, in the hope to defeat this terrible illness. We could even imagine to develop a vaccine by which we could prevent the immune response associated to multiple sclerosis”.

Source:
Contact: Francesco Ria
fria@rm.unicatt.it
39-338-466-2776
Catholic University of Rome

Soldiers trained at Gagetown may have been exposed to Agent Orange
By Ashley Studley/Daily News staff
The MetroWest Daily News
Posted Feb 14, 2010 @ 12:01 AM
FRAMINGHAM [MASS] —A Framingham veteran says many Massachusetts National Guard soldiers – and others from New England – may have been exposed to dangerous levels of Agent Orange defoliant if they trained at a military base in New Brunswick.

Richard Pelletier, a service officer for the American Legion, says the Canadian and American governments are responsible for spraying toxic defoliants Agents Orange, White and Purple over Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, New Brunswick, and possibly exposing guardsmen and Reservists from Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Vermont to the toxins.

-Richard Pelletier Jr. of Framingham is campaigning on behalf of Army National Guard veterans who may haven been exposed to a defoliant while training at a base in Canada. According to Pelletier, Agent Orange/Purple/White was used at the base until the early 1980’s.

Agent Orange gained prominence after American and Vietnamese soldiers and civilians developed illnesses attributed to large quantities of the defoliant sprayed from the air over jungles in Vietnam.

Pelletier is trying to sound an alarm about what he sees as a similar problem, even closer to home.

‘People are dying and getting cancers, and some still don’t know about (the chemicals) until this day,’ Pelletier said.

Originally of Madawaska, Maine, a town that borders Canada, Pelletier is a former Marine and member of the National Guard. He said he caught a Canadian newscast one night in 2005 revealing Canada’s use of Agents Orange, White and Purple from 1956 to 1984 over the camp in Gagetown.
He said the newscast said information revealed the U.S. had also sprayed 439 liters of Agent Orange from airplanes over about 80 acres over a period of seven days sometime in 1966 and 1967.

The morning after the newscast, Pelletier notified the American Legion and other veteran service agencies. Then he reached out to U.S. senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, both Maine Republicans, and U.S. Reps. Michael Michaud and Tom Allen, two Maine Democrats.

‘I was enraged they would send us over there and not tell us (about the spray), and keep it a secret,’ Pelletier said. ‘I felt like we were betrayed, and we were.’

On March 2, 2006, Maine National Guard Adjutant Maj. Gen. John W. Libby and Director of Maine’s Veteran’s Services Peter W. Ogden issued an update on the use of Agent Orange and Purple in Gagetown.

‘In June of 2005, the Canadian Department of National Defense (DND) announced that for three days in June 1966 (14-16) and four days in June 1967 (21-24), testing of various defoliants, including Agent Orange and Agent Purple, took place over a limited portion of the Canadian Force Base (CFB) Gagetown, New Brunswick,’ the report said.

The report said the Maine National Guard began training there in 1971 and invited veterans who were on the base between 1966 and 1967 to register for an Agent Orange examination.

A couple weeks later, Pelletier was issued an award from Maine state officials recognizing him for bringing the Gagetown issue to their attention.
He said claims from Maine veterans began pouring into the Legion office, which were sent down to the Board of Veterans Appeals in Washington, D.C.
Pelletier got married and moved to Framingham the following year, and had faith the Maine government would follow up and compensate its sick guardsmen.

Five years later and still without any new developments, Pelletier has only grown agitated.
‘I’ve been waiting on the congressional delegation to do their job, but they didn’t,’ he said.’They failed. It’s time to get the word out there.’
Since 2006, he and his supervisor Robert Owen, Department Service Officer for the Legion in Maine, have been working to raise awareness on the issue.

‘What we’re trying to do is get those people who did go to Gagetown to file a claim if they have one of the presumptive disabilities, ‘ Owen said. ‘The sad part is, a great many of them have passed on. They may have widows out there, and if we can swing it, they can get compensation. ‘
Although Maine officials only invited veterans who served or trained in Gagetown in 1966-67 to register, Pelletier wants anyone who served and might be suffering from the effects of Agent Orange to file a claim with the American Legion.

Conditions related to Agent Orange include prostate cancer, Hodgkin’s disease, respiratory cancers and Parkinson’s disease, among others.
A Canadian veteran of the Black Watch 2nd Battalion – a Royal Highland regiment that originated in Scotland – is suing the government for lung cancer he says he got from serving in Gagetown.

The veteran, Gary Goode, said he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2005, and had his lung removed a month later.
He said he is one of approximately 3,000 members of a class action suit seeking compensation from the Canadian government for exposure to the defoliant.

Although he was given $20,000 through an ex gratia – a non-obligatory – payment from his government, he said Veterans Affairs Canada has not given him a pension.

‘By giving me that ($20,000, the government is) saying that `yes, there is a problem, and yes, these chemicals caused the disease and sickness’,’ he said.

He said a Department of Defence document titled ‘Overview of Herbicide Spray Programme 1956-1984’ acquired in 2005 through the Freedom to Information Act shows over one billion grams of the three chemical agents were sprayed over the Gagetown base.
‘I know and knew many vets who are sick, dying or dead because of Gagetown,’ Goode said.

As a member of the Maine National Guard, Pelletier trained in Gagetown for two weeks in 1981, but says he has not developed any chemical-related illnesses.

He asks any widow or veteran who served in Gagetown and has symptoms of conditions related to Agent Orange to contact the American Legion Boston Headquarters at 617-727-2966 and file a claim.

Contacted at the Massachusetts National Guard in Milford, Lt. Col. John McKenna said he didn’t know when the state started sending troops to Gagetown, but said the last troops to go went in 1988.

‘Elements of the 26th Yankee Division used to train in Gagetown, but the last time we have a record of anyone from Massachusetts training there is in 1988,’ McKenna said.

While Pelletier tries to find out which units trained in Gagetown and when, he is calling on elected officials throughout New England to investigate.

Newly elected U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass, said he’s willing to review the matter.
Brown, a longtime member of the Mass. National Guard, said he, personally had not trained at the New Brunswick site.

‘I know that we trained in Gagetown, but I don’t have any knowledge of this particular claim,’ Brown said. ‘I look forward to getting (the information) and seeing what I can do to answer his questions.’

Pelletier said if any sick veteran or widow needs help filing the claim, he can be contacted at mrpelletier@ rcn.com.

‘I expect to win, for the truth to come out, and that people will get what they deserve,’ he said. ‘And we will punish whoever has been keeping this silent all these years.’

- Ashley Studley can be reached at 508-634-7556 or astudley@cnc. com.

Jim Bunker, president for the National Gulf War Resource Center (NGWRC), is worried that having the same raters looking over claims they previously denied will be a waste of time and money. The VA’s first priority should be fixing the system.

In a letter he sent, on behalf of the NGWRC, to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki and Chief of Staff John R. Gingrich, Bunker has asked that there be better training on the entire rating system.

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs needs to set strong and clear policy and directives, that reflect the findings of the Research Advisory Committee (RAC), that will govern how the VA will update its clinician guides and training manuals on Gulf War Illness; and require all persons who treat, or do benefit rating of Gulf War Veterans to take the updated course (mandatory).

This training module dedicated to Gulf War Illness should be updated on an ongoing basis and should be made a requirement for all attending VA staff that treat Gulf War Veterans. All references to Gulf War Illness as “psychological” in nature should be eliminated from VA materials and replaced with real data and facts from the latest research and approved by the committee as true research into gulf war illness.

The next step is to add Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) and sinus problems to the list of illnesses. The illnesses of Fibromyalgia (FM) and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) should all be treated and rated as CFS. They both have the same symptoms and it is only a doctor’s opinion that will assign them CFS or FM. The rating for FM is 40% and the rating for CFS is 100%. The tendency is to assign FM to the veteran; however, by law the VA is supposed to give the veterans the higher of the two, but is not.

The Computer system, at check in, also needs to change. Right now a veteran is only allowed to have one medical complaint entered even if he has many. This impacts the rating by showing on the records he did not have any other complaints, thus causing the claim to be denied.

The VA also needs to do a survey of all raters, caregivers, and directors about Gulf War illness to better understand where the problems are. The NGWRC knows from its many years of working this issue that some VA’s are better than others.

Veterans far and wide are offering their feedback to VA Directive Letter on Gulf War Veterans Claims below is a sampling of those offerring feedback comments:

1. This “training letter” for C and P examiners is not needed. Software is provided for the C and P examiner which inserts the following paragraph in the C and P exam report of every Veteran tested:
   “There is no record of any evidence that the Veterans illness was caused by military service. VA mailroom employees are hereby directed to shred any evidence to the contrary, including this exam, after the denial is made.”
2. Looks like another long winded way of delaying a claim again. This is just another spin on spin letter more of a cover your own ass, than a help to vets.
3. I have kept up with everything I could find in the past the VA put out about Gulf war problems and also carefully read the instructions to the ROs about guidelines and I see nothing basically new but I would hope they check all records that Gulf veterans have with the VA and check everyone that has been turned down for medical problems related in the above info the veteran has. I hope this is a turn around but I have my reservations about how they, at the ROs are going to handle it. I still recall the MD at the Milwaukee VAMC, after a long Gulfwar veteran exam, telling me at the conclusion of the exam that she didn ‘t believe any of the stuff about problems with Gulfwar veterans. I brought this up to the Chief of Staff and he told me several days later she denied saying that.
4. Yeah. My first doctor in Altus, OK..said I needed Spinal surgery but just in case, I needed a second opinion too. So i took my military health records and the MRIs to the RO in OKC. I still remember his quote, “I can’t find the problem. You’re going to have to live with the pain”. Then I went to another surgeon and got Spinal surgery six weeks later.  Can’t remember how many times I have put that incident aside and went there trying to get treated. Maybe it’ll change but in the meantime I get my care somewhere else.

Dear Mr Gingrich,

I am writing this letter to address two areas veterans are calling me about since the RAC meeting.

The first is the VA spending $11 million on a piece of equipment that will go to a researcher trying to duplicate Dr Haley’s study and failing. The reason he could not duplicate this study is because he did not use the same criteria for his control and study groups as did Dr. Haley. Therefore, he examined vets who were not truly sick.

When the VA took the money away from Dr. Haley’s research, the Gulf War veterans were told it would be used specifically for research. Now we see that 73% of the $15 million is going for a piece of equipment only. This is strikingly familiar to the 2005 purchase of a similar MRI. The previous Secretary of the VA became upset over using research money like this.

Please do not get us wrong we know that the VA does need this equipment, but the money should not be marked as having gone for Gulf War Illness studies. This purchase will give a false sense of the true amount of money spent on real Gulf War Illness research.

When the VA buys this equipment, we feel that it needs to be in one of the War Related Illness and Injury Study Clinics (WRIISC). We feel that the east coast would be the best. There are three WRIISC and each doing 1/3 of the veterans. The VA has two WRIISC on the east coast that are not far from each other. These two clinics could share it as they do research on Gulf War Illness and traumatic brain injury (TBI). As for where it is planned to go now, there is no WRIISC in that VA.

Also, we would like to see some of the money used to make pamphlets to inform veterans in the VA about the Gulf War exams. There has never been any and I get many calls and emails on this subject.

The next thing is the training letter 10-01 that the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) sent out. As I read the letter I could not find any place about the low level nerve gas many of us was exposed to. This is doing a disservice to the Operation Desert Storm veterans. With well over 120,000 being exposed to nerve gas, the doctors, examiners and claims rating specialist should be told that too. The letter also has it wrong about pyridostigmine bromide pills. They are not nerve gas antidote; they are a pretreatment against nerve agent.
James A. Bunker

President, National Gulf War Resource Center (NGWRC)

By Courtney Spradlin

University of Central Arkansas professor Patrick Carmack is working on what could be a monumental step in the detection and treatment of neurological disorders.

Carmack is an assistant professor of mathematics, who attended the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. At the school, he paired with a fellow student, Jeff Spence, to tackle a project bankrolled by Ross Perot.

According to Carmack, Perot became involved in research pertaining to Gulf War veterans suffering from symptoms that seemed to stem from neurological deterioration, or as it’s commonly known, Gulf War Syndrome.

Carmack said several reports came to Perot of veterans who, before the war had promising military careers ahead of them and could now no longer perform basic functions such as walking, problem solving and short term memorization.

Initially, Perot approached Robert Haley, epidemiologist at UT Southwestern, who began research with a basic questionnaire.

The questionnaire assessed veterans’ locations in the war, medications used, and according to Carmack, data revealed an emerging pattern of damage to the brains of veterans pertaining to location and the issuance of medications by the U.S. government.

A medicine called Pyridostigmine Bromide, developed in the 1950s, was administered to soldiers because of evidence suggesting it may protect them from toxins in Sarin nerve gas, which Carmack said Iraq had stores of at the time.

Carmack also attributes some of the veterans’ chemical exposure to a pesticide used by the military to kill fleas in desert areas.

Carmack said Haley contacted students at the school asking for their assistance.

In 2002, Carmack and Spence joined the UT Southwestern research team. “My strong math background and Spence’s strong medical background put together made it the right place and the right time,” Carmack said. “We tore the whole thing down, along with the analysis process for brain scans and started over from scratch.”

Carmack found that areas of damaged brain tissue were consistent with symptoms exhibited by veterans. The analysis system Carmack and Spence had access to pointed directly to the parts of the brain which were damaged, Carmack said.

With what Carmack called “solid evidence” Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson arranged a $75 million grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs budget to develop a conclusion and application to the findings. Carmack said legal issues between UT Southwestern and the VA brought the project to a gridlock.

According to Carmack, the VA agreed to release paperwork it had for contracts and reimbursement if the research team agreed to terminate the contract this May. Carmack said the VA has been fighting against the initial amount of $75 million and is trying to retain the $30 million left in the contract.

With about 24 terabytes of data to analyze, Carmack and other associate researchers and analysts from several other universities such as the University of Florida, Emory College and John Hopkins University Medical School are scrambling to get funding.

“To keep the research database online costs alone $100,000 a year,” Carmack said.

He is now asking senators and Congress for additional funding to continue his research. Carmack said with these findings, a diagnostic tool could change the way brain disorders are treated. “The research we are learning here can be applied to other cases involving Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis and other disorders, Carmack said.

“We will see changes now like we did with heart disease in the 1970s. We know very little about the brain in general. We are hoping in the next 20 to 30 years to do for the brain what they did with heart disease back then.”

Carmack said the findings and application could have a significant impact on the detection of Alzheimer’s.

“It is difficult to detect it right now, and the diagnosis is often indirect,” Carmack said. “If we get the image technology down, we’ll do a better job detecting it earlier.”

Carmack said there will be ramifications in cancer as well.

“We can keep people from going through pain and even death from these things. This is all going to explode within the next few years, and certainly within my lifetime,” Carmack said. “Everyone in the project has their own interests. Some have specialties in schizophrenia, some in substance abuse, cancer, Alzheimer’s. This is a monumental project.”

SOURCE: www.thecabin.net

New Suspect In Gulf War Syndrome

Washington, D.C.– On February 26, 2010, the Veterans Affairs Department announced that it will re-examine the disability claims of thousands of Persian Gulf War veterans still suffering from the mysterious Gulf War illnesses two decades after the war ended. At a meeting of the Federal Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veteran’s Illnesses held yesterday in Washington, D.C., scientists from around the country presented their latest research to committee members searching for clues to this mysterious illness. Early in the meeting a new culprit emerged — “the other brain” — the non-electric portion of the brain composed of brain cells called glia.

“This is one of the best explanations I’ve heard,” commented distinguished neuroscientist Floyd Bloom, after a presentation by Dr. Linda Watkins of the University of Colorado speaking about her latest research showing that glial cells, called microglia, are the unsuspected agents in chronic pain and drug addiction. Previously neurons were thought to be the sole cause of chronic pain and morphine tolerance. However, the new insight into how these “immune cells” of the brain aggravate neurons after an injury by releasing substances that produce excruciating pain, a parallel with Gulf War Syndrome became apparent.

Gulf War syndrome is characterized by a collection of unexplained symptoms, many of them neurological, including chronic pain, chronic fatigue, depression, sleep disturbances, memory loss, as well as gastrointestinal and lung problems. A number of causes have been suspected, including exposure to low-level neurotoxins, including sarin gas, drugs taken to protect soldiers from biological and chemical warfare agents, pesticides used to treat tents and soldier’s uniforms stationed in the desert, depleted uranium from munitions, and the toxic mixture of fumes released for a year after the war ended from oil fields set ablaze by the retreating Iraq soldiers. The toxic fumes blotted out the sun at midday for miles.

Many people suffer chronic pain after an injury. Unlike normal pain, chronic pain does not end after the injury heals; in fact it often gets worse. The latest research shows that chronic pain results from an interaction between the immune system and the brain. When we are sick, substances are released by the body that tell the brain to initiate the familiar “sickness response,” which we have all experienced, for example when we catch the flu. Profound fatigue, headache, sensitivity to light and sound, and painful joints and muscles, drive us to bed. This sickness response forces us to rest and give the body the opportunity to fight the invading germ. This sounds a lot like the symptoms of many Gulf War veterans.

What Dr. Watkins suspects, based on her research on microglia in chronic pain, is that an initial exposure to some toxin “primes” the microglia in the brain to make them hyper alert. Then when a second infection, injury, or toxin is experienced, the brain’s immune cells over-react, releasing too much of the chemical signals that cause the “sickness response”, and they do not stop releasing the substances after the body heals. In the case of Gulf War veterans, the “initial trigger” could have been a reaction to an immunization, stress, or exposure to low-level toxins. Later a second insult to the body unleashes a run-away illness. Research from several labs on microglia in chronic pain has identified many steps in this neuro-immune signaling process that become disrupted and researchers have found specific drugs to restore the normal function of these pain circuits, thus ending the chronic pain. Most of this work is in laboratory animals but clinical studies are now under way.

In my overview to the committee on the four major kinds of glial cells in “the other brain”, several other ways in which glia could be involved in Gulf War illnesses were recognized. This includes the involvement of glial cells, called astrocytes, in processing toxins in the brain. Parkinson’s disease, for example can be caused by astrocytes acting on a foreign substance (a recreational drug), and converting it into a toxin that kills the neurons that die in Parkinson’s Disease. Astrocytes also release factors that protect neurons from damage caused by inflammation or oxidation, and they release growth factor proteins that stimulate the growth and repair of neurons.

The latest research on the myelin insulation on nerve fibers in the brain, which is essential for sending electrical signals, is revealing a previously unsuspected role of myelin in cognition and psychiatric illness. Myelin insulation is especially vulnerable to blast injuries and to autoimmune diseases in which the body’s immune system attacks the myelin sheath. The myelin sheath is made by a type of glial cell, called an oligodendrocyte. Prevously this insulation was of interest in diseases such as multiple sclerosis, but because the insulation speeds the rate of electrical transmission through nerve fibers (axons), myelin is now understood to have an important role in cognitive function, psychological illness, and learning.

One of the reasons the Gulf War Syndrome may have been so difficult to understand is that glia–the other brain–has itself been such a mystery until recently.

Related Articles

• The Other Brain
• New Culprits in Chronic Pain, Scientific American, November, 2009
• White Matter Matters, Scientific American, March, 2008