Fw: Gulf War Veterans Newsletter DEC08 Pass it on to others p1/3

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On behalf of nichols - anyone interested or have any questions, please

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From: Nichols <dsnurse1@...>

Subject: Gulf War Veterans Newsletter DEC08 Pass it on to others p1/3

" Nichols " <DSNurse1@...>

Date: Saturday, December 13, 2008, 8:56 PM

GULF WAR VETERANS___RESEARCH STUDIES TO PARTICIPATE IN:

ALL GULF WAR VETERANS THIS IS AN EXCELLENT STUDY>  WE NEED YOU TO GET INVOLVED

NOW!

 

 

1.  Jim Bunker and Nichols took the time to do this on our last trip to

DC we need others in this study   High Priority Please!

 

Circulate and Post to all email Groups and Web Pages!

Gulf War Illness

CNDP1 Polymorphisms and Carnosine Therapy in Gulf War Illness

Posted October 8, 2008

Baraniuk, M.D., town University, Washington, DC

Understanding the cause of Gulf War Illness (GWI) has proven elusive since the

condition became recognized shortly after the first Gulf War. Research has been

devoted to addressing the complex of symptoms observed in GWI-afflicted service

members. It is also essential to discover the origins of this disease and

methods to detect it, for the protection of the warfighter. Dr. Baraniuk,

of town University, is researching a potential source for the onset of

GWI, examining proteomic disparities between veterans with GWI and healthy

control groups in hopes of discovering potential biomarkers and learning more

about the mechanism(s) of GWI.

Dr. Baraniuk received a fiscal year 2006 Investigator- Initiated Research Award

through the Gulf War Illness Research Program to study carnosine dipeptidase 1

(CNDP1) polymorphisms and carnosine therapy in GWI. The research aims to

identify biological markers of disease in GWI-afflicted veterans compared to

other veterans from the 1990-91 era. Dr. Baraniuk will compare the treatment

effects of carnosine to placebo in GWI subjects, and effects on exercise

tolerance, activity, and cognition will be examined. The potential for CNDP1

polymorphisms to alter the outcomes of treatment and the risk of developing GWI

will also be investigated. This type of study is required to determine if those

with different forms of the CNDP1 enzyme respond to treatment in the same way.

Dr. Baraniuk recently gained Investigational New Drug status from the FDA for

the use of carnosine and is recruiting patients for current and future clinical

trials. Those interested in more information can contact Dr. Baraniuk at

gwiresearch@ georgetown. edu.

town University Medical Center has requested that we ask our members to

consider joining two ongoing medical studies.  Below are listed the two studies

and a point of contact if you choose to participate.

Find differences between veterans with Gulf War Illnesses and healthy veterans

and discover new ways to treat the illness. Contact Merck at (202)

687-8231.

Determine the cause(s) of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome by comparing the types of

proteins in cerebrospinal fluid present in CFS but absent from healthy men and

women.  Contact Dr. Baraniuk or Dr. Murugan Ravindran at (202) 687-8231.

 

2.  SECOND STUDY TO PARTICIPATE IN!!!!!

and this one in Minneap. VA.......... .........

The expert following up on the first study on Hypercoagulation in Gulf War

Veterans (OCT 2000 article abstract below from Pubmed) is DR Bach ie Lab

person....looking at Tissue Factors!  And he is finding significant values.  It

is looking like a chronic disseminated intravascular coagulation which could be

caused by infection.  We Need more vets ie Combat that were on the ground in

Iraq and those along the border and elsewhere that are ill with gulf war illness

to DO THIS ONE .

 

 

WE have to schedule to be there Email him or call 1-612-725-2000 ext 4418. 

Cannt be this week Dec 11th the main study coordinate had to take emergency

leave family member very ill and may be passing...so we are not sure which day

she will return to work.

 

This is a high priority he is close to getting this study wrapped up so that

means DEC or January to get to Minneapolis VA!  YES YOU HAVE TO PHYSICALLY GO

AND NO TRAVEL FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE.   BUT we need you all if you can at all do

this make it happen!!!

 

He presented at the RAC in April and because of that VA HDQTS research found

more money for him to extend his study.

 

He needs gulf war veterans to travel to Minneapolis VA to get blood drawn he is

taking fresh blood right into the lab. 

 

 If you fly into Minneapolis airport you can take the light rail right to gat of

VA second stop less than 5 minutes, he will meet the patient take them upstairs

do the informed consent and physical assessment questionnaire and draw

blood...it only takes 20-40 minutes.  You then jump back on light rail to

airport..... NW Airlines .....and return so figure on a two hour layover and

return and you will have plenty of time!  WE need more gulf war veterans doing

this!  He can be contacted at .Bach@ va.gov

 <RONALD.BACH@ VA.GOV>,  

 

http://www1. va.gov/rac- gwvi/docs/ Minutes_April200 8.pdf

 

This is what he is following up on(abstract below)!  Trying to determine pathway

that is causing this so that we can aim treatment more specifically.  IT will

probably also be the first BIOMARKER.

1: Blood Coagul Fibrinolysis. 2000 Oct;11(7):673- 8. Links

Activation of the coagulation system in Gulf War Illness: a potential

pathophysiologic link with chronic fatigue syndrome. A laboratory approach to

diagnosis.

Hannan KL, Berg DE, Baumzweiger W, on HH, Berg LH, R, Nichols D.

Osceola Hospital, Kissimmee, Orlando, Florida, USA.

Most symptoms of Gulf War Illness (GWI) are similar to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

(CFS) and/or Fibromyalgia (FM). We investigated whether these symptoms are

associated with an activated coagulation system as has been reported in some

cases of CFS/FM. The coagulation assays include activation markers of the

cascade, platelet activation and hereditary risk factors. Our findings show

activation of the coagulation system in GWI. This evidence of a hypercoagulable

state suggests that symptoms may be due to poor blood flow and, therefore, a

basis for the potential utility of anticoagulant therapy.

PMID: 11085289 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINe

 

There are people treating this

http://www.fibroand fatigue.com/

Archived) Webinar - Treating Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue: Effective Options

for a Hopeful Future

Hear sought-out experts Dr. Andre Garabedian and Dr. Arlyn LaBair discuss the

emerging treatments of Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Learn about a

unique treatment protocol that addresses the underlying physiological factors of

these disorders. In addition, hear from a Fibromyalgia patient as they share

their struggles and explain how treatment has improved their health and helped

to reclaim their life.

View the Archived Presentation from April 3, 2008.

ISAC Panel for CFS/FM

HEMEX Laboratories, Inc.

ISAC Panel

 

 

Test Panel

Sample Requirements

 Fibrinogen Activity

 Prothrombin Fragment 1+2

 Thrombin/Antithromb in Complex

 Soluble Fibrin Monomer

 Platelet Activation by Flow Cytometry

4 ml FROZEN Platelet Poor Citrated Plasma (Light Blue Top Tube), 2 ml aliquots

submitted in 2 separate plastic vials.

Whole blood in a 10ml  ACD-A (Yellow Top)Tube.

Whole blood in ACD-A must remain at room temperature and be received by HEMEX

within 48 hours of collection. 

Test/Description/ Reference Ranges

Coag Capsule

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--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -----VA's

RESEARCH ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON GULF WAR ILLNESS RESEARCH---

Please all Distribute Widest way possible  Email, post at your VA hospital

clinic, Grocery Stores, etc etc and Post on ALL WEBSITES!!!!

 

VSO place in newsletters and post at Regional Offices!

 

VA s not doing good at outreach so guess we have to do their work!

 

 

 

Upcoming VA Research Advisory committee meetings!

Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses

Meetings

2009 meetings of the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses

are currently planned for the following dates and locations:

February 23-24, 2009

Dallas, TX

June 29-30, 2009

Boston, MA

November 2-3, 2009

Washington, D.C.

Committee Documents

The Committee recently presented a major report on the health of Gulf War

veterans to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.  The full report, Gulf War

Illness and the Health of Gulf War Veterans, is available online by

clicking here . 

The 2008 report and the Comittee's 2004 report, Scientific Progress in

Understanding Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses, can also be accessed by clicking the

images below.    

 

Media

The Committee recently presented a major report on the health of Gulf War

veterans to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Peake.

The full report can be accessed online here.  A press release on the report and

media contact information are available by clicking here .

 

 

___GULF WAR VETERANS ACTION PLAN JUST DO IT________

WE need more editorials and letters to the editors of all newspapers

 

Veterans all especially Gulf War Veterans Please post this on websites and

forward to others that you know.  We need a massive effort.  The Agent Orange

Vets and Atomic vets went thru this and unfortunately we are 17 almost 18 years

in to this battle against our own government.  I believe each veterans, their

family members and spouses can have a huge impact if we all respond now.  I am

asking for three simple actions that each of you have the ability to do.  If you

think you cannt then think of General Mich, Major Donnelly and his family they

were severly ill and in motorized chairs with respiratory support but they did

not give up.

 

We may have gotten a bum deal so far but this is not about one of us

individually but all of us and for the survivors that have already lost a loved

one.  This is about making a change now that will not be forgotten!  You can do

these three things from where you live for very little cost!  But if we all do

it in each state it must result in an impact!

 

For some reason each of us has some mission in our larger lives and maybe this

is it.

For the current and future!

 

1.   Tommorrow or tonight I am requesting each of the gulf war veterans and

their families to write a letter to the editor of your local paper...you can

find them all on line and can submit them on line.   The American people need to

hear from you the injuried what it has been like!!!!  Tell them what your

veterans day or Thanksgiving was really like dont hold back let the emotions and

truth flow!

 

2.  Then I also am requesting that if you live in your capitol of your state to

hand deliver a copy of the downloaded RAC report to your governor. 

 

Write a short letter and ask them to address the issue in an editorial, ask them

to direct their legislatures to have one hearing with their Senate and House VA

committee at State level.....ask for a resolution from your state house and

signed by governor that 17 years is long enough that the gulf war veterans

should get compensated and rapidly.  Ask them to support the call for medical

research funding thru the DOD CDMRP program as is explained in the report.

 

3.  Then ask them the Governor to have a meeting with the gulf war veterans and

the chancellor of your medical school in your state....Share the RAC report with

them....Ask for a meeting with the heads of their departments. ...neurology,

hematology, cardiology, immunology, bio chemistry, pharmacology. ....Present the

findings to them and describe to them the symptoms and problems you have had. WE

need to actively find the best of the best to submit research grants in the next

cycle....we just had one....but that is okay  you want them discussing between

departments and getting informed and forming a interdisciplinary team to work

together on their submissions.  Remember biomarkers, diagnosis, treatment

trials(small at first to prove the point and effectiveness) ....

4.  Please continue making postings or comments at the sites re the articles

that were published about the release of the report and the one IE AP release

about Gulf War Veterans get vindication that I send many of them are still

letting people post comments.  This is a way for Americans can understand what

we are going through.  Also a way to find other gulf war veterans that are ill

and needing information!  So please do it!

YOU CAN MAKE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT AS ILL GULF WAR VETERANS THAT Dont just want

compensation but CARE and treatment and a way to get better and have a quality

of life!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!   This is how you can really have a

mission!

 

This battle is not done and each of you can play a significant important role to

help not only yourselves but other gulf war veterans.

 

Enjoy the article below and please get energized because to carry this thru and

get the job done is going to take all of us working and doing a little each

day....

 

YOU CAN AND MUST DO THIS...a

handful and a committeee RAC/Adv comm on GWV can not accomplish this without you

 

Sincerely,

DSNurse1 (DOT) com

 

 

 

 

ROBERT C. KOEHLER

For release 11/27/08

THE GHOSTS OF DESERT STORM

By C. Koehler

Tribune Media Services

Seventeen years and three wars later, the ghosts of Operation Desert Storm — the

cancers, the chronic headaches and dizziness, the fibromyalgia, the ALS and so

much more that have stalked returning vets, whose medical claims have been

denied, ignored, relegated to the paper shredder — have just gotten a reality

upgrade.

“The extensive body of scientific research now available consistently indicates

that Gulf War illness is real, that it is the result of neurotoxic exposures

during Gulf War deployment, and that few veterans have recovered or

substantially improved with time.”

Thus concludes the 452-page report of the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf

War Veterans’ Illnesses, presented last week to Veterans Affairs Secretary

Peake. Suddenly the government has several hundred thousand medical claims

emanating from a few months in 1991 it has to start taking seriously — and

that’s the easy part.

The implications of the congressionally mandated advisory panel’s report,

chaired by Binns, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense and a

Vietnam vet, may not be easy to contain. In the name of sanity and the planet’s

future, I hope this report blows the hellish toxicity of modern warfare wide

open and creates a legal wedge by which the forces of moral outrage can hold

governments accountable for what they do . . . for what our own government is

doing right now.

For 17 years, the VA maintained that the strange, debilitating, sometimes fatal

symptoms the vets of Gulf War I — that quick little romp that routed Saddam’s

army and left America feeling so good about itself — began experiencing was, to

the extent that it was anything at all (or anything that had to do with the

war), a mental thing, PTSD-induced. Vets learned that fighting the war may have

been nothing compared to fighting the VA for treatment and compensation. It was

a struggle that thousands didn’t survive.

The Binns report estimates that more than a quarter of the GIs deployed during

Desert Storm, around 200,000 of them, are suffering in some way from Gulf War

Syndrome, and identifies two primary causes: pyridostigmine bromide, an

anti-nerve gas medication all troops in the Gulf were required to take, and

highly concentrated, DEET-like insect-repellents that were extensively used.

But the neurotoxic hell that is modern war cannot be reduced to two problematic

substances. Many of the troops — and, of course, millions of Iraqi and Kuwaiti

civilians — were exposed to a wide array of toxic chemicals, which the report

did not rule out as contributing factors. These include: the smoke from burning

oil-well fires; fumes from poison gas dumps blown up by the Army; anthrax

vaccines; and the extremely fine radioactive dust of exploded depleted uranium

munitions, which may prove to be the deadliest of all the poisons modern war

leaves in its wake.

What the report also exposes is the cynicism and denial of the U.S. war

establishment, which, as we all know, disputed the toxicity of Agent Orange for

20 years before giving in, and which, it now turns out, suppressed evidence that

substantiated Gulf War syndrome. Quoted in the report, according to News

Service, is Lt. Gen. Dale Vesser, acting special assistant to the secretary of

defense for Gulf War illnesses, who said in 2001 that, while Saddam Hussein

didn’t poison U.S. troops, “It never dawned on us . . . that we may have done it

to ourselves.”

And M.J. Stephey of Time magazine wrote that the report “serves as a grim

reminder that sometimes a soldier’s greatest enemy is the government he or she

is fighting for.”

All of this is true, but the irresponsibility of the war establishment and the

enabling media goes, I believe, deeper than the betrayal of our own troops. What

are we doing to the world, not merely with our satanic weapons systems but with

the unregulated toxic waste of war?

Consider, for instance, a recent story in Military Times about the open-air burn

pits throughout Iraq and Afghanistan, where the military disposes of hundreds of

tons of war-zone waste every day, including “unexploded ordnance; paints and

solvents; and even . . . bloody bandages and amputated limbs.” U.S. troops (and,

of course, the locals) have almost no protection against the toxic fumes the

pits produce. GIs report such symptoms as “stinging eyes, monster headaches,

severe respiratory infections and ‘plume crud’ — prolonged hacking that produces

blackened phlegm and sometimes blood.”

No matter that the smoke contains “arsenic, benzene, carbon monoxide, sulfuric

acid and dioxin, the cancer-causing main ingredient in the defoliant Agent

Orange,” the Pentagon insists that there’s no long-term environmental impact.

Yeah, right. Who here believes the soldiers in the war on terror aren’t facing

serious health problems because of such exposures? How long will we continue to

tolerate our government’s pattern of pathological denial?

Perhaps the Defense Department understands that if it ever begins taking

responsibility — and conceding liability — for what it does, a moral and

financial hemorrhaging will ensue that makes war itself impossible.

- - -

Koehler, an award-winning, Chicago-based journalist, is an editor at

Tribune Media Services and nationally syndicated writer. You can respond to this

column at bkoehlertribune (DOT) com or visit his Web site at commonwonders. com.

© 2008 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

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SECOND ADVISORY COMMITTEE AT VA   ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON GULF WAR VETERANS

http://www1. va.gov/advisory/ page.cfm? pg=49

The VA's Advisory Committee  on Gulf War Veterans (this is the newest advisory

committee at VA and will be their #4, 5,and 6 meetings) is tenatively planning

the following schedule of meetings

Until they place on the VA Gulf War Veteran's Advisory Committee website this is

their plan.

 

January 14-15, 2009  Puget Sound, WA

 

February 18-19, 2009  Atlanta,GA

 

March 18-19,2009  Waco Texas

 

The chairman did say that the committee would travel as a whole body not sub

groups of the committee.

 

This is your chances veterans of the Gulf War that are ill and have trouble with

claims and getting health care to speak up and be heard!

 

It is highly encouraged that you write up a 2 pager to submit.  It should

include your personal details, name, rank, unit, where you served, when you got

ill, where you have gone to get care and your experience with getting diagnosed

and appropriate care, and also when you submitted your claim and problems with

your claim approval.  You should include suggestions of what you think would

help gulf war veterans.

 

These are open meetings and family members and survivors of gulf war veterans

are also encouraged to come, submitted info, offer public testimony, or be a

part of a patient panel at each location.

 

So you have advanced info on what their plans are that were discussed at end of

their third meeting in DC on Nov 20th!  So make plans and help yourself and

others by getting ready and commit to make our situation better.

 

This committee will also make a formal report to the Secretary of the VA after

18 months!

 

Please help get this word out far and wide.  Distribute and share by email,

postings on websites, post flyers at VA and regional offices, get it into your

veteran organization newsletter and notify the press to help.

 

Seems like VA doesnt really do outreach and we have to help ourselves and make

this happen.

 

When was the last time you got a VA Gulf War Veterans Newsletter?  Tight now you

know why I try to keep all of you informed.

 

Ps notify your US and State Reps and State Level Government.

 

Heck put flyers up at grocery stores I dont care how you do it just get the

information out there for each of us Gulf War Veterans.

 

Nichols

DSNurse1 (DOT) com

____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________

_________ _________ _________ ______

REVIEW OF STORIES NOV 13-21

 

News Stories for gulf war illness(Results 1 - 10 of about 189)

Sort Results by: Relevance | Date

1.

Gulf War illness is real, new federal report says  CNN - Nov 17 2:12 PM

An extensive federal report released Monday concludes that roughly one in four

of the 697,000 U.S. veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf War suffer from Gulf War

illness.

2.

Gulf War illness is real, report finds  Reuters via News - Nov 17 2:35 PM

A report released on Monday concluded that Gulf War syndrome is a legitimate

illness suffered by more than 175,000 U.S. war veterans who were exposed to

chemical toxins in the 1991 Gulf War.

3.

Toxic Chemicals Blamed for Gulf War Illness  HealthDay via News - Nov 17

11:02 AM

MONDAY, Nov. 17 (HealthDay News) -- Gulf War illness, dismissed by some as a

psychosomatic disorder, is a very real illness that affects at least 25 percent

of the 700,000 U.S. veterans who took part in the 1991 Gulf War.

4.

Gulf War illness a real medical condition, panel finds  Miami Herald - 1 hour,

13 minutes ago

Gulf War illness is a real medical condition that has affected at least 175,000

combat veterans of the 1991 Persian Gulf war, according to a report released

Monday.

5.

Gulf War Syndrome is a real illness, U.S. study finds  USA Today - Nov 17 1:57

PM

Gulf War Syndrome is a real and debilitating condition suffered by more than

175,000 U.S. veterans of the 1991 Gulf War, a major government report concludes.

The illness resulted from exposure to chemicals and anti-nerve-gas vaccinations

troops received, and no effective treatment or cure has been found. It affects

25% of the 695,000 U.S. Gulf War vets and perhaps 55,000 British veterans. Gulf

....

6.

Gulf War Research Panel Finds 1 In 4 Veterans Suffers From Illness Caused By

Toxic Exposure  KTHV Little Rock - 15 minutes ago

Washington, DC - (Nov. 17, 2008) - At least one in four of the 697,000 U.S.

veterans of the 1991 Gulf War suffer from Gulf War illness, a condition caused

by exposure to toxic chemicals, including pesticides and a drug administered to

protect troops against nerve gas, and no effective treatments have yet been

found, a federal panel of scientific experts and veterans concludes in a

landmark ...

7.

Gulf War illness is real, report finds  Australian Broadcasting Corporation - 2

hours, 15 minutes ago

A new report has concluded that Gulf War syndrome is a legitimate illness

suffered by more than 175,000 US war veterans who were exposed to chemical

toxins in the 1991 Gulf War.

8.

Gulf War illness a real medical condition, panel finds  Lexington

Herald-Leader - 1 hour, 14 minutes ago

Gulf War illness is a real medical condition that has affected at least 175,000

combat veterans of the 1991 Persian Gulf war, according to a report released

Monday. However, federal research into the causes behind the mysterious malady

has " not been effective, " and the report by the congressionally mandated panel

suggested that politics or financial concerns might have played a role. ...

9.

Gulf War illness is real, report finds  AlertNet - Nov 17 2:51 PM

Source: Reuters (Updates with veterans' advocacy group, Gulf War veteran) By

Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - A report released on Monday

concluded that Gulf War syndrome is a legitimate illness ...

10.

Gulf War research panel finds 1 in 4 veterans suffers from illness caused by

toxic exposure  EurekAlert! - Nov 17 8:44 AM

At least one in four of the 697,000 US veterans of the 1991 Gulf War suffer from

Gulf War illness, a condition caused by exposure to toxic chemicals, including

pesticides and a drug administered to protect troops against nerve gas, and no

effective treatments have yet been found, a federal panel of scientific experts

and veterans concludes in a landmark report released Monday.