Post deployment illness Gulf War

Brains of vets with PTSD can change as they age

2011-06-26T22:21:00.002-04:00

What is your Desert Storm Era vet and you have some of the undiagnosed illness. What if you have the brain fog along with symthoms of PTSD and years later the veteran has sympthoms of early dementia. They only place get an evalution inot this situation currently is VAMC San Francisco said Jagmedic

SAN FRANCISCO — Combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder are more likely to have dementia, cardiac problems and structural changes in the brain as they get older than veterans without PTSD, according to new research.

The findings, which for the most part resulted from research at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, raise concerns about the overall health of aging veterans, but hold promise for the potential of helping to treat these diseases.

"Our concern is that veterans who honorably serve our country ... are at greater risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and over the next 10 to 20 years we will see a lot of Alzheimer's in the veteran population," said Dr. Michael Weiner, director of the institution's Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases.

The impact of combat on the aging brain was the focus of Thursday's fourth annual "Brain at War" conference in San Francisco.

Much of the research presented during the daylong conference was conducted at the city's VA hospital and funded through San Francisco's Northern California Institute for Research and Education, the nation's leading neuroscience research institute.

Of the 2 million Americans who've served in the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, at least 400,000 -- or as much as 20 percent -- have developed or are at risk of developing PTSD, a psychological condition caused by exposure to severe trauma.

Some 23 million veterans will face more common illnesses, such as cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer's, as a function of aging. A growing body of work shows traumatic stress may exacerbate these diseases, the researchers found.

For example, veterans with PTSD are two to three times more likely to develop heart disease than those who do not have the disorder.

"No effective ways to prevent or treat Alzheimer's disease yet exist, but researchers are studying soldiers' brains to learn more about how combat-related stress affects the brain's biology and increases the chance of developing Alzheimer's.

They have found that a section of the hippocampus -- the part of the brain devoted to short-term memory and learning new things -- is significantly smaller in veterans with PTSD. Researchers are trying to determine if this smaller section can grow with treatment.

"It's possible new stem cells, new brain cells are made, or it's possible the existing neurons or cells get plumper or have more synapses and connection," said

Weiner, also a professor of medicine, radiology, psychiatry and neurology." ... Our ability to probe the brain and understand these mechanisms is really limited."

"Humans are amazing in the sense they adapt to anything," he said.

Research at San Francisco's VA center has led to new information about:

- PTSD and heart disease. Veterans of the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who have been diagnosed with PTSD and other mental health issues have two to three times the rate of heart disease risk factors compared with veterans without those diagnoses.

- PTSD and the hippocampus. Research using magnetic resonate imaging, or MRI, at the VA hospital have shown the hippocampus, the part of the brain that stores memory, is significantly smaller in the brains of veterans with PTSD.

- PTSD and dementia. Older veterans with PTSD are almost twice as likely as veterans without such trauma to develop dementia.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/jun/24/brains-vets-ptsd-can-change-they-age/

Remember this Memorial Day

2011-05-30T23:20:00.002-04:00

The U.S 9th Circuit Court of Appeals stated in a 2-1 ruling that the delays are so “egregious” that they “violate a veterans constitutional rights.”

...There is little doubt that the approximately 6500 suicides a year must be addressed with urgency and budget allocations. Yet I do not see that it is the sole job of the VA to ameliorate a seeming intractable problem that is owned by the entire war making machine.

The data is showing that an average of 18 returning Armed Service members commit suicide each day. Most folks cannot even allow this to seep into their own activities of daily living, let alone a national psyche.

Environmental and battlfield exposures are what some of us suffer now 20 some odd years out. It is physical ailments,(undiagnosed chronic sympthoms) which have been denied by VA doctors and adjuticators which have broke the sprit of
some Desert Storm Era veterans. We are warriors and will continue to fight for diagnosis other than PTSD that we deserve said Jagmedic.

http://tucsoncitizen.com/veteranveritas/2011/05/22/are-expectations-for-va-mental-health-care-achievable/

Should VA remember Stats of Desert Storm Vets

2011-05-23T16:59:00.003-04:00

Comrades yes,
it has been over 20 years since the first Desert Storm Vet applied to the
department of Veterans affairs for health care, benefits and research.
It hurts that it appears VA will allow the Stats our GWVIS to
be removed from Internet Access and buried out of public sight.
Speak up do not allow this to happen said Jagmedic
# # # # #
Rather than host the former GWVIS reports or own up to any
flaws in its reporting VA has apparently decided to remove the
whole thing from the VA website.
http://www.vba.va.gov/REPORTS/gwvis/index.asp
( This is now a dead link )

I am flabbergasted that VA would simply dump historical records
and I guess pretend they don't exist. There was no reason to
remove the old GWVIS webpage. Not that VA was honest about
the full content from beginning to end, and only hosted 2005 to
2008 where the reports suddenly skewed downwards. All we have
left is the pdf link to the new report:http://www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/SpecialReports/GW_Pre911_report.pdf

This is disturbing in that this sort of just makes this look like from
2010 on all of this rather than talk about what happened from
2002 to 2009. Again, like what happened in February 2008 to
August 2008. Like that never happened.

VA should put ALL of the former GWVIS reports up on the VA
or VBA website for historical purposes. I get the distinct feeling
this was the brainchild of the Gulf War Illness Task Force who
doesnt feel the need to talk to the veteran community in public.

Thank you for your time and attention.

Sincerely
Kirt P. Love
Director, DSBR

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.vba.va.gov/reports/

Reports are in Word, Excel, or PDF format. You may download free viewer and reader software to view the reports.

Monday Morning Workload Reports (MMWR) are a compilation of workload indicators reported by Veterans Benefits Administration field facilities.

Gulf War Veterans Information System Reports (GWVIS) identify the Gulf War Veterans service member population and how they use compensation and pension benefits.

Note: The GWVIS Report link has been deactivated due to the completion of the "Gulf War Era Veterans Report: Pre 9/11."

That report can be accessed here.

Annual Benefits Reports (ABR) are a summary of the benefits used by veterans and their dependents by fiscal year.

Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) contains performance targets and results achieved during each fiscal year.

Does VA support brain injury ?

2011-02-14T19:53:00.001-05:00

Military Training and deployment can be physical than sports. What happens when vet is discharged after this injury?

A lot of folks are talking about it being an epidemic, that concussions are no joking matter, and lots of people are getting on the helmet bandwagon (especially since Natasha Richardson died from a brain injury while skiing). Prevention is great. But concussion is all but unavoidable in sports — especially student athletics. It happens. All the time. Yet nobody seems to have come up with a reliable way of addressing it when it does happen. Aside from bed rest and taking it easy, suggests for howto deal with concussions/brain injury are few and far between.

We know concussions happen. We know head injuries are common. We know they can have serious long-term consequences. You can try to prevent them, but you can’t be successful 100% of the time. And if you do have a head injury, you have to be sidelined from your life/sport, with no guarantee that the “treatment” will actually work.

I was starting to get seriously depressed.

Then, suddenly, I was looking around the other day and I found that the University at Buffalo has been working with regulated exercise to treat — even heal — the after-effects of concussion. Post-concussive syndrome is, according to the definitions of Willer and Leddy (at UB), “persistent symptoms of concussion past the period when the individual should have recovered (3 weeks)”. According to them, post-concussive syndrome “qualifies as mTBI.”

This is interesting. I have heard a lot of people say that concussion is an mTBI, and the two are interchangeable. I am not a doctor, and I don’t have medical training, so I can’t throw my hat in the ring on that debate. But it is interesting to me, that people distinguish between the two.

At the UB web page on concussion research, there are some interesting papers, and they do talk about the difference between concussion and mild TBI.

Here’s what they have to say in the paper Retest Reliability in Adolescents of a Computerized Neuropsychological Battery used to Assess Recovery from Concussion (bold is mine)

A recent review … of concussion and post concussion syndrome provided a model for distinguishing concussion from mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and post concussion syndrome (PCS). The model uses the most commonly accepted definition of mTBI and the one proposed by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control: loss of consciousness for no more than 30 minutes or amnesia as a result of a mechanical force to the head, and a Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) of 13 to 15 …. The model also uses the most commonly accepted definition of concussion as established by the American Academy of Neurology (AAN): a trauma induced alteration of mental status that may or may not involve loss of consciousness …. Although not explicitly stated in the AAN definition, concussion is generally viewed as a transient state from which the individual will recover fully in a relatively short period of time …. In contrast, mTBI is viewed as a permanent alteration of brain function even though the individual with mTBI may appear asymptomatic. Post concussion syndrome was defined in the Willer and Leddy … model as persistent symptoms of concussion past the period when the individual should have recovered (3 weeks) and therefore qualifies as mTBI. Neuropsychological testing is often used to describe the impairment associated with mTBI and PCS and have done so with relative success ….

So, basically,

mTBI = a loss of consciousness for no more than 30 minutes or amnesia as a result of a mechanical force to the head, and a Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) of 13 to 15
Concussion = a trauma induced alteration of mental status that may or may not involve loss of consciousness; it’s a transient state from which the individual will recover fully in a relatively short period of time
Post concussion syndrome (PCS) = persistent symptoms of concussion past the period when the individual should have recovered (3 weeks) PCS, due to its enduring nature, qualifies as mTBI
(Note: I think someone needs to fill in the gap about how PCS satisfies the criteria for mTBI, if they require that there be some loss of consciousness or amnesia involved. How lasting effects qualifies based on these criteria puzzles me. But for the purposes of this discussion, I’ll let this slide.)

I find this really compelling information, and it helps me make more sense of the whole “concussion thing”. I know I’ve sustained a bunch of concussions in the course of my life, and I also know that I have been diagnosed with “Late effect of intracranial injury.” But I could never really distinguish between the mTBI vs. concussion. I actually thought — and had been told — that they’re the same thing.

But that never made much sense to me, because when I look around at me, and I read that “An estimated ten percent of all athletes participating in contact sports suffer a concussion each season” And that’s just athletes. Plenty of people fall down, too, or are in car accidents. I’m not entirely sure what to make of it. Apparently, hundreds of thousands of people sustain concussions each year, yet the general population doesn’t appear to be completely crippled by TBI (though some people I know would debate that ) How is it possible, that so many people are sustaining concussions, especially in their youth and/or in sports, yet we’re not all running around impaired?

Making the distinction between a concussion that is transient, and a concussion that turns into an mTBI makes all the sense in the world to me. It makes it possible distinguish between someone who’s experiencing short-term issues, and someone who needs to deal with a broader-spectrum and deeper set of challenges. And in doing so, it de-stigmatizes concussion (at least in my mind), by steering clear of the “concussion = brain injury = brain damage” concept, which could be quite debilitating to a youth who has hit their head while playing a sport they love.

There are tons of potential ramifications and implications from being able to state that concussion is not necessarily an enduring brain injury. I may write more about this later, but it requires more thought.

The other very hopeful piece of this is that, by saying concussion is not always followed by brain injury, you’re opening a window to addressing concussions promptly so they do not turn into mild traumatic brain injuries. This, to me, is key. It not only makes sense of the two different kinds of injuries, but it also establishes that it may in fact be possible to treat the concussion to prevent it from becoming a more serious, long-term injury — the “gift” that keeps on giving. And by understanding concussion and brain injury this way, you also up the ante and really infuse the topic of prompt treatment with urgency. If acting promptly to address concussion makes it possible to avoid a lasting brain injury, then it’s in everyone’s best interest to become familiar with and properly trained in the recognition and treatment of concussion.

In this case, if mTBI is only present if concussion symptoms persist, and there’s no guarantee that concussion will result in a lasting brain injury, then prompt recognition and action may save the day.

Now, I’m still noodling over the idea that subconcussive impacts can seriously affect the brain over the long term, which Malcom Gladwell talked about in his article “Offensive Play“. But I am still hopeful. Because while subconcussive impacts may affect the brain, it could be that the damage takes place when no action is taken to address the injuries when they happen. Again, I’m not a doctor or a qualified medical professional, but it seems to me that if actively treating concussion helps with the really obvious issues — as the University at Buffalo has shown it does (albeit on a fairly limited scale) — then it might just help repair lesser damage done.

It might. I only wish I had the medical and scientific background and credentials to be able to speak as an expert on this. But apparently expertise is no guarantee of being able to help out, when it comes to TBI. The vast majority of experts haven’t had the wherewithall to state definitively what can actually be done about brain injuries, let alone recommend specific action that works, and there are thousands upon thousands, if not millions, of people suffering, day in and day out (along with their loved ones and co-workers) with the after-effects of concussion and mild traumatic brain injury.

So, somebody’s got to take the lead in finding a solution… Or at the very least think about finding one. The folks in Buffalo are up to wonderful work, and I can only hope that more folks have the gumption to take their lead and do something about this wretched hidden epidemic of ours.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/group.php?gid=113072042059485

Presumptive Service Connection for Diseases Associated With Persian Gulf War Service

2010-11-20T20:30:00.004-05:00

[Federal Register: November 17, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 221)]
[Proposed Rules] [Page 70162-70165]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17no10-28] ======================================================================= DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
38 CFR Part 3
RIN 2900-AN83
Presumptive Service Connection for Diseases Associated With Persian Gulf War Service: Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders
AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DATES: Comments must be received by VA on or before December 17, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted through http://
www.Regulations.gov; by mail or hand-delivery to Director, Regulations Management (02REG), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Ave., NW., Room 1068, Washington, DC 20420; or by fax to (202) 273-9026. (This is not a toll free number.) Comments should indicate that they are submitted in response to ``RIN 2900-AN83--Presumptive Service Connection for Diseases Associated With Persian Gulf War Service: Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders (FGIDs).''
Copies of comments received will be available for public inspection in the Office of Regulation Policy and Management, Room 1063B, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday (except holidays). Please call (202) 461-4902 for an appointment. (This is not a toll free number.) In addition, during the comment period, comments may be viewed online through the Federal Docket Management System at http://www.Regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gerald Johnson, Regulations Staff (211D), Compensation and Pension Service, Veterans Benefits Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20420, (202) 461- 9727 (This is not a toll-free number.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Secretary of Veterans Affairs has determined that the available scientific and medical evidence presented in the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) April 2010 report, titled Gulf War and Health, Volume 8: Update on the Health Effects of Serving in the Gulf War is sufficient to warrant a presumption of service connection for FGIDs in individuals deployed to the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War. Pursuant to that determination, this document proposes to clarify that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) adjudication regulations (38 CFR Part 3), specifically 38 CFR 3.317, would include FGIDs as medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illnesses subject to presumptive service connection. FGIDs include, but are not limited to, such conditions as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and functional dyspepsia.
National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Reports FGIDs, Including, But Not Limited to, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Functional Dyspepsia

The NAS issued its report titled Gulf War and Health, Volume 8: Update on Health Effects of Serving in the Gulf War, on April 9, 2010. The NAS was asked to review, evaluate, and summarize the literature to determine if any of the health outcomes noted in its 2006 report, titled Gulf War and Health, Volume 4: Health Effects of Serving in the Gulf War, appear at higher incidence or prevalence levels in Gulf War-
deployed veterans. The NAS sought to characterize and weigh the strengths and limitations of the available evidence. The NAS Update committee reviewed over 1000 relevant studies and focused on over 400 relevant references, including the studies reviewed in the Volume 4 report.

The NAS determined that there is sufficient evidence of an association between deployment to the Gulf War and FGIDs, including, but not limited to, IBS and functional dyspepsia. The committee also noted that there is inadequate evidence of an association between deployment to the Gulf War and structural gastrointestinal (GI) disease.

FGIDs, such as IBS or functional dyspepsia, are syndromes characterized by recurrent or prolonged GI symptoms that occur together. They are distinguished from structural or ``organic'' GI disorders in that they generally are not associated with detectable anatomical abnormalities. The severity of FGIDs ranges from occasional mild episodes to more persistent and disabling symptoms. According to the NAS report, there have been numerous reports of GI disturbances in Gulf War veterans and the symptoms have continued to be persistent in the years since that war. All studies examined by NAS favored a greater prevalence of various GI symptoms and primary functional GI disorders, including IBS and dyspepsia. In NAS's opinion, there also was compelling emerging evidence of exposure during deployment to enteric pathogens leading to the development of post-infectious IBS.

The overall pattern of symptoms found in the primary and secondary studies NAS reviewed confirms an association between deployment to the Gulf War and functional GI symptoms, including abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. The NAS recommended that further studies be conducted to determine the role of prior acute gastroenteritis among deployed servicemembers in the development of FGIDs.
Detailed information on the committee's findings may be found at: http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2010/Gulf-War-and-Health-Volume-8-Health-
Effects-of-Serving-in-the-Gulf-War.aspx. The report findings are organized by category and can be found under the heading, ``Table of Contents.''

Statutory Provisions
Pursuant to 38 U.S.C. 1118, VA must establish a presumption of service connection for each illness shown by sound scientific and medical evidence to have a positive association with exposure to a biological, chemical, or other toxic agent, environmental or wartime hazard, or preventive medicine or vaccine known or presumed to be associated with service in the Armed Forces in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War. Because the recent NAS report was primarily a review of the prevalence of illnesses among Gulf War veterans, it generally did not state conclusions as to whether the illnesses are associated with the types of exposures referenced in Sec. 1118.

The NAS noted that there was significant emerging evidence that FGIDs may be associated with exposure to enteric pathogens during Gulf War deployments and recommended further study of that issue. However, NAS did not state a conclusion concerning the strength of the evidence of an association between FGIDs and exposure to enteric pathogens. VA has determined that resolution of that question is not necessary for purposes of this rule, because FGIDs are within the scope of the existing presumption of service connection for medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illnesses.

Section 1117 of title 38, United States Code, provides a presumption of service connection for ``qualifying chronic disability'' in veterans who served in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War. The statute defines the term ``qualifying chronic disability'' to include ``[a] medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness (such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and irritable bowel syndrome) that is defined by a cluster of signs or symptoms.'' 38 U.S.C. 1117(a)(2)(B).

The plain language of the statute makes clear that it applies to all medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illnesses including, but not limited to, the three conditions parenthetically listed as examples. VA recently amended its regulation at 38 CFR 3.317 to clarify that the presumption is not limited to the three listed examples. See 75 FR 61995.

FGIDs are medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illnesses within the meaning of the statute and regulation. These disorders are defined by clusters of signs and symptoms affecting GI functions. Further, FGIDs are ``medically unexplained'' because they are, by definition, disorders that cannot be attributed to observable structural or organic changes and the causes of the disorders are generally not known. Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which is a form of FGID, is expressly identified in the current statute and regulation as a medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness. Because other FGIDs, such as functional dyspepsia and functional vomiting, also are medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illnesses, the current statute and regulation, as recently amended, provide a presumption of service connection for FGIDs in veterans who served in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War. In view of the findings in the recent NAS report identifying FGIDs as prevalent and persistent illnesses among Gulf War Veterans, VA has determined that its regulations should be revised to expressly identify FGIDs as a type of medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness within the scope of the existing presumption.

Regulatory Amendments
We propose to amend 38 CFR 3.317 to incorporate the more specific language regarding FGIDs. We propose to: Revise Sec. 3.317(a)(2)(i)(B)(3) by removing ``Irritable Bowel Syndrome'' and replacing it with ``Functional gastrointestinal disorders, including, but not limited to, irritable bowel syndrome and functional dyspepsia (excluding structural gastrointestinal diseases)''; and add a Note with the definition of functional gastrointestinal disorders. The intended effect of this change is to clarify that FGIDs are medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illnesses and are thus within the scope of the presumption of service connection for such illnesses.
Other Illnesses

Mild Brain Damage 2010 VA Study Gulf War

2010-11-20T20:07:00.002-05:00

RESULTS: GW veterans with suspected GB/GF exposure had reduced total GM and hippocampal volumes compared to their unexposed peers (p< or =0.01). Although there were no group differences in measures of cognitive function or total WM volume, there were significant, positive correlations between total WM volume and measures of executive function and visuospatial abilities in veterans with suspected GB/GF exposure.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that low-level exposure to GB/GF can have deleterious effects on brain structure and brain function more than decade later.

Neurotoxicology. 2010 Sep;31(5):493-501. Epub 2010 May 24.

Effects of low-level exposure to sarin and cyclosarin during the 1991 Gulf War on brain function and brain structure in US veterans.
Chao LL, Rothlind JC, Cardenas VA, Meyerhoff DJ, Weiner MW.

Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 4150 Clement Street, 114 M, San Francisco, CA 94121, USA. linda.chao@ucsf.edu

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Potentially more than 100,000 US troops may have been exposed to the organophosphate chemical warfare agents sarin (GB) and cyclosarin (GF) when a munitions dump at Khamisiyah, Iraq was destroyed during the Gulf War (GW) in 1991. Although little is known about the long-term neurobehavioral or neurophysiological effects of low-dose exposure to GB/GF in humans, recent studies of GW veterans from the Devens Cohort suggest decrements in certain cognitive domains and atrophy in brain white matter occur individuals with higher estimated levels of presumed GB/GF exposure. The goal of the current study is to determine the generalizability of these findings in another cohort of GW veterans with suspected GB/GF exposure.

METHODS: Neurobehavioral and imaging data collected in a study on Gulf War Illness between 2002 and 2007 were used in this study. We focused on the data of 40 GW-deployed veterans categorized as having been exposed to GB/GF at Khamisiyah, Iraq and 40 matched controls. Magnetic resonance images (MRI) of the brain were analyzed using automated and semi-automated image processing techniques that produced volumetric measurements of gray matter (GM), white matter (WM), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and hippocampus.

Gulf War Illness Research Needs

2010-11-16T10:46:00.003-05:00

Recruit the Scientist Researchers and Doctors to help Gulf War Veterans who are ill!
by Denise Nichols Your note has been created.
Gulf war veterans ill with GWI need attention! We will go out and recruit scientist and researchers and notify them of VARAC GWI and the DOD CDMRP GWI research funds available! We will ask them, beg them, to become part of the team to help our gulf war veterans with gulf war illness।

We have gone too long-20 years and need the best of the best recruited to help the veterans Now. I want all gulf war veterans that are ill to help with this effort! Enough with playing computer games etc etc lets drive this force to find us real answers and help! We will recruit the researchers! We will recruit the doctors that know and are helping from the civilian side of the house.

We are tired of VA doctors looking at us like we are aliens and sending us to psych. consults, psych drugs are not the answer. This is not stress! We want our lives back! It is time for VA to listen to us we want answers and medical care, we want our lives back! WE are tired and sick and need help now! Let us go get the best of the best recruited to help us! Are you in?

Below is another candidate for us to recruit!
The neurocognitive brain damage we have is like an early althemizer's disease! We have neuro immune degenerative type diseases....Gulf War Veterans deserve no less!
You may not be able to travel veterans but you can find email or snail mail or phone numbers on these researchers. We can develop a template letter and then add our own short plead for help! Lets all make this happen!

WHO - UCSF Nobel laureate Stanley B. Prusiner, MD,
WHY -UCSF professor of neurology and director of the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, has been named to receive the National Medal of Science, the nation's highest honor for science and technology.

ACTION Demand that VA-ORD and VA-GWI- Research Advisory Committee communication and listen comments of this scientist on the be half of disable gulf war veterans.
ACTION CAMPAIGN REACH OUT AND CONTACT A RESEARCHER AND
GET THEM TO LOOK GW Illness
Venus Hammack

War Veterans’ Concussions Are Often Overlooked

2010-11-02T16:06:00.002-04:00

War Veterans’ Concussions Are Often Overlooked

“They said it was because I didn’t report it in the field and seek medical attention at the time, and there was no proof” of any obvious injury, Mr. Owsley said. “I had guys write statements for me to prove it had happened. As a soldier with 23 years in the Army, them badges mean more than anything. When you get injured, you should be recognized, even if you don’t see it over there.”

These symptoms, which may be subtle and may not surface for weeks or months after their return, are often debilitating enough to hobble lives and livelihoods.

To this day, some veterans — it is impossible to know how many — remain unscreened, their symptoms undiagnosed. Mild brain injury was widely overlooked by the military and the veterans health system until recently

Given that he never lost consciousness, he figured the discomfort would work itself out and kept it to himself.

“You keep doing your job with your injuries veterans say.
These mild concussions, which do not necessarily lead to loss of consciousness, are easy to dismiss, simple to misdiagnose and difficult to detect. The injured soldiers can walk and talk. Their heads usually show no obvious signs of trauma. CT scans cannot see the injuries. And the symptoms often mirror those found in post-traumatic stress disorder, making it hard to distinguish between them. In fact, the two ailments often go hand in hand.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/us/26tbi.html?pagewanted=all

Mild Brain injury In Veterans

2010-11-02T15:59:00.001-04:00

WASHINGTON — The government plans to substantially increase disability benefits for veterans with mild traumatic brain injuries, acknowledging for the first time that veterans suffering from this less severe version of the Iraq war's signature wound will struggle to make a living.
"We're saying it's real," said Tom Pamperin, a deputy director for the Department of Veteran Affairs, about the significance of the change to benefits in the regulation the VA plans to publish today.

Up to 320,000 troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan suffered traumatic brain injury, a RAND Corp. study estimated this year. The vast majority of the cases are mild and came from exposure to an explosion, often from a roadside bomb. Most veterans with mild cases recover, Pamperin said, but some are left with permanent problems.

The regulation modifies a 1961 rating schedule for mild brain trauma and brings compensation for this ailment into the 21st Century, said Lonnie Bristow, chairman of an Institute of Medicine committee that studied veterans' benefits.

The old regulation failed to recognize that wounds such as brain injuries from blasts — which do not show up on scans — are only understood by what patients say they are suffering, Bristow said.

"VA has been assessing their injuries based on outdated science," said Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee.

The regulation modifies a 1961 rating schedule for mild brain trauma and brings compensation for this ailment into the 21st Century, said Lonnie Bristow, chairman of an Institute of Medicine committee that studied veterans' benefits.

The old regulation failed to recognize that wounds such as brain injuries from blasts — which do not show up on scans — are only understood by what patients say they are suffering, Bristow said.

"VA has been assessing their injuries based on outdated science," said Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2008-09-22-tbibenefits_N.htm

What piece of mind for Gulf War Veterans

2010-11-02T15:02:00.003-04:00

Finally, piece of mind for Gulf War Veterans
by SENATOR JAY ROCKEFELLER

A long-anticipated report was recently and finally issued that
brought comfort to many Gulf War veterans and their families. The
report issued by the Congressionally-mandated Research Advisory Com-
mittee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses in conjunction with the
Boston University School of Public Health reached an important
conclusion ? simply put: there is substantial and overwhelming
evidence that Gulf War Syndrome is a real illness.

The Committee report is important news for Gulf War veterans and
their families. At long last, they have validation that the health
issues they live with each day are real, there is a name for their
illness, and there is hope that they can finally get the treatment
and disability benefits that they are entitled to receive.

Not long after the successful conclusion of the Gulf War, many
soldiers returned home with multiple, persistent health problems
that had no clear cause and no cure. The symptoms experienced by
these veterans included a combination of memory and concentration
problems, persistent headaches, unexplained fatigue and widespread
pain, and also included chronic digestive problems, respiratory
symptoms and skin rashes.

Unfortunately, Gulf War veterans' complaints about their health
issues fell on deaf ears at the VA and within the Pentagon. As
Chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee in the early
1990s, I believed it absolutely necessary to get to the truth ? no
matter how uncomfortable it would be for the Pentagon or the VA.

Throughout the 1990s, those of us on the Senate Committee on
Veterans' Affairs held numerous, often contentious, hearings into
what would come to be known as Gulf War Syndrome or Gulf War
Illness. The Pentagon and the VA never officially acknowledged the
cause of these symptoms. Despite the lack of an official cause, it
became clear through our investigation that pyridostigmine bromide,
a "pretreatment" for nerve agent poisoning, was at least one cause
for the symptoms experienced by Gulf War veterans.

Now, 17 years later, the Congressionally-mandated Research Advisory
Com-mittee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses has officially released a
450-page report that validates these suspicions. It confirms Gulf
War Illness is a result of soldiers' exposure to neurotoxic
chemicals, including pyridostigmine bromide and pesticides. The
Committee also found that the association between exposure to smoke
from oil well fires, neurotoxins, and the receipt of large numbers
of vaccines could not be ruled out as causes as well.

This report confirms the cause of Gulf War Illness, but sadly, it
also states that the majority of sick Gulf War veterans have not
seen their health improve over time. Treatment options for the
175,000 ? 210,000, or one in four, Gulf War veterans suffering from
the effects of neurotoxin exposure remain few and ineffective.

We have a moral responsibility to provide care for Gulf War
veterans. They served our country, put their lives on the line and
fought with great distinction. I will not stop fighting until our
veterans are provided with every resource and benefit they have
earned.

More research must be conducted into the proper treatment of this
illness. I am pushing now for increased funding that will keep this
issue front and center ? and bring us closer to finding a cure.

I have been working for Veterans my entire career. As a nation, we
owe them everything and can never forget how much they have
sacrificed and how deserving they are of piece of mind, support, and
a special thing called hope.
http:www.rockefeller.senate.gov/contact/

(PS) as lived by Venus Hammack a VA-DHA patient

2010-09-24T20:48:00.004-04:00

[1] What is the GWVIS ?
Public Law 102-85, enacted on November 4, 1992, authorized the creation of the Gulf War Registry as well as the Gulf War Veterans Information System (GWVIS). VA began preparing GWVIS reports in 2000, and VA ceased producing the reports in 2008 after VCS observed that VA’s GWVIS reports were incomplete. VA has since confirmed that it failed to update computer programming to identify all disabled Gulf War veterans.

[2] Where is the GWVI-TF and why do they not demand the GWVIS report production in a through and timely manner (like Sept 2010)?

John Gingrich, Chief of Staff for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and Chairman of is the Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses Task Force
(GWVI-TF, or “Task Force”).
the Task Force was designed as a matrix organization within VA that meets regularly to investigate allegations and perceptions, analyze facts and data, coordinate and review findings and proposals, and collaboratively develop recommendations.
The Task Force includes staff from the
Office of the Secretary (OSVA), VHA, VBA,
Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs (OPIA),
Office of Policy and Planning (OPP), and the
Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs (OCLA).

The staff from these offices represented a broad spectrum of subject matter expertise and stakeholder perspectives necessary to ensure success. Members were charged with defining the key areas of review, consulting key experts and relevant stakeholders, and capturing the issues, data, programmatic and performance information necessary to inform their recommendations.

[3] How does the stakeholders organizations and veterans know the VA system is being used in behalf Gulf War Veterans with the data from the GWVIS or meetings/phone numbers/webpage of the Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses Task Force ?
Is this lack of communication with the Taskforce valuable for gulf war era vets?
Will service connection for veterans Sunset?

Experiments on our Military

2010-09-14T00:13:00.002-04:00

This a Study that a VA proform on Gulf War Veterans

FRIDAY, April 9 (HealthDay News) -- The cluster of symptoms experienced by some veterans of the 1991 Gulf War is a real disease, but its causes, treatment and potential cure remain unknown, concludes a new report from U।S। experts at the Institute of Medicine (IOM)।
However, newer medical technology, including the ability examine genetic mutations, may hold the key to finally unraveling the mystery of an illness that has plagued one-third of Gulf War veterans for two decades, the experts said.

The panel "identified chronic multi-symptom illnesses, sometimes referred to as Gulf War illness, as a group of illnesses that is clearly associated with deployment," said report committee chair Dr. Stephen L. Hauser, professor and chair of neurology at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine.

According to the report, released April 9, service in the Gulf War has long been linked with gastrointestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome, as well as substance abuse, particularly alcoholism, and psychiatric problems such as anxiety disorder.

In addition, service during the Gulf War is associated with fibromyalgia and chronic widespread pain, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (the neurological disorder also known as "Lou Gehrig's disease") and sexual difficulties.

However, more research is needed to understand the biological underpinnings of these illnesses, Hauser said. That information is vital to developing better treatments, cures and "one day to prevent this from happening in the future," he added.

In 2008, a Congressionally mandated report from the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses did point to wartime exposures to "certain chemicals," including pesticides and a drug used to shield soldiers against nerve gas, as the likely cause of veterans' symptoms.

But Hauser said the IOM panel could not confirm that. "We have been unable to identify any particular drug, toxin, immunization or exposure that we feel confident is responsible for these symptoms, which are clearly highly prevalent even 19 years later in our returning veterans," he said.

"We do not understand the etiology and do not fully understand whether this is a single medical problem, or several interrelated problems," Hauser added. "We don't understand the relationship between Gulf War illness and other multi-symptom problems."

Gulf War-linked illnesses affect not only U.S. veterans, but veterans from the United Kingdom, Denmark, Canada and Australia, Hauser noted.

This is the latest in a series of reports on Gulf War illness from the IOM.

According to Hauser, the latest medical technologies may open a door to finding the connection between deployment and Gulf War illnesses. "Modern science gives us a way to explore the underlying cause in a way that was unimaginable five years ago," he said.

Unlocking the secret of Gulf War illness is possible, Hauser said. Not only will this lead to better treatment for veterans, but for civilians who suffer from similar problems, he said.

Moreover, some of these same problems are being seen in soldiers fighting today in Iraq and Afghanistan and even among those not deployed.

"One of the interesting things that we see are the symptoms we have been focused on in the Gulf War, are experienced also by soldiers in current Mid-East wars, but the frequency of these symptoms is high even in those soldiers who are not deployed," Hauser said. "This seems to be an increasing problem in the military population at large."

IOM Committee member Dr. Ezra S. Susser, a professor of epidemiology at Mailman School of Public Health and professor of psychiatry at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in New York City, noted that symptoms observed among Gulf War veterans are "clearly deployment-related."

"This doesn't mean that only people in the Gulf War get these symptoms, but they are at much higher risk than people who were not deployed to the Gulf War," Susser said.

The members of the IOM committee hope the report will spur a new effort to understand Gulf War illness.

"There is a silver lining in the gray cloud," said committee member Dr. Robert Brown Jr., chair and professor of neurology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He believes that researchers now have "both the structure and the numbers of cases at hand to enable a frontal assault on this."

Dr. Nancy G. Klimas, a professor of medicine, psychology microbiology and immunology and director of the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Gulf War Injuries Research Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and the Miami VA Medical Center, noted that her own studies have already identified genetic dispositions to Gulf War syndrome.

Among veterans with Gulf War disease, stress activates genetic pathways that are inflammatory, Klimas said. "There is something about an autonomic challenge that triggers an inflammatory response," she said. "There are about 700 genes that activate in a way in these guys that have Gulf War illness that is different from the control population."

This is only one way genes can be used to understand Gulf War illness. "What we hope is that we will be designing studies that are 'virtual' clinical trials," Klimas said. In this way, researchers can change variables in key genes and see what the response is.

Klimas said that, as each year goes by, the search for the causes of Gulf War syndrome gets tougher. "To start 10 years after someone's been ill, it's harder to unravel the confounds," she said. "So you get these overlays of confusing things on top of whatever was there to begin with -- it makes it a very difficult thing to try to untangle."

As a doctor who treats veterans with Gulf War illness, Klimas is looking for research that will find better treatments. "I am interested in studies that will result in therapies," she said. "These guys have been sick for 20 years."

"Now is the time to do more," Hauser added.

Copyright © 2010 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

SOURCES: Stephen L. Hauser, M.D., professor and chair of neurology, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine; Robert Brown, Jr., M.D., chair and professor of neurology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Ma.; Ezra S. Susser, M.D., Ph.D., professor of epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health and professor of psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University, New York City; Nancy G. Klimas, M.D., professor of medicine, psychology, microbiology and immunology, director, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Gulf War Injuries Research Center, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Miami VA Medical Center; April 9, 2010, Institute of Medicine report, Gulf War and Health

Will VA continue Gulf War Health Survey Cohort ?

2010-09-04T21:56:00.004-04:00

This notice could be the Deconstruction of Gulf War Programs/Regulations.
Gulf war illness—better, worse, or just the same? Annual cohort study
First, to describe changes in the health of Gulf war veterans studied in a previous occupational cohort study
and to compare outcome with comparable non-deployed military personnel.

Secondly, to determine whether differences in prevalence between Gulf veterans and controls at follow up can be explained by greater persistence or greater incidence of disorders.

Third, Gulf War Veterans have previously been shown to have, in the short-term, an excess risk of death from ‘external’(i.e. non-disease) causes of death.

Fourth, study aims to determine whether there remains an excess of non-disease-related deaths in Gulf Veterans, years after deployment, and, for long as GW vets/stakers use the VA System,(this study) needed to determine whether there is a relationship between experiences reported in the Gulf, post-war symptoms, and subsequent mortality experience.

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
>
> [OMB Control No. 2900-New (VA Form 10-0488)]
>
> Proposed Information Collection (Follow-Up Study of a National
> Cohort of Gulf War and Gulf Era Veterans) Activity: Comment Request
> AGENCY: Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs.
> ACTION: Notice.
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------->
With respect to the following collection of information, VHA invites comments on:
(1) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of VHA's functions, including whether the information will have practical utility;

(2) the accuracy of VHA's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information;

(3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and

(4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or the use of other forms of information technology.

Jagmedic said
Seeing Federal Registry Notices like this makes me wonder if the "don't Look - don't Find" Doctrine is being reactivated?

Kamisiyah made some GW veterans Ill

2010-08-29T23:32:00.005-04:00

WASHINGTON, Jan. 21— For the first time, a Federal agency acknowledged today that there appeared to be a direct link between the release of toxic chemicals in Iraq in 1991 and one of the many different symptoms that have come to be called gulf war syndrome.

A preliminary analysis by the Department of Veterans Affairs indicated that a limited sampling of soldiers exposed to low doses of nerve gas in the destruction of an Iraqi ammunition depot reported higher rates of arthritis-like joint symptoms than other soldiers who fought in the Persian Gulf war. But the findings are far from conclusive, said Federal researchers who have warned that the findings could change as more soldiers are examined.

''It's an interesting finding that raises questions,'' said Kenneth W. Kizer, the Under Secretary for Health Affairs at the veterans department, after announcing the results of the analysis at a House subcommittee hearing.

The study is based on the results of medical examinations of 1,978 veterans who were within 30 miles of the Kamisiyah ammunition storage area in southern Iraq when American troops destroyed the complex immediately after the gulf war in March 1991. Among the ammunition stored at the site were at least 500 rockets filled with sarin, a toxic nerve agent.

Of those 1,978 veterans, the 81 who were involved in blowing up the depot or were in the immediate area of the complex have not complained of suffering fatigue, skin rashes, headaches, loss of memory, chest pains or other symptoms at significantly higher rates than other American soldiers who fought in the gulf, according to the study.

But 28.4 percent of those 81 soldiers have reported various types of muscle and joint pains, compared with only 18.4 percent of the entire group of 1,978 veterans. A total of 16.8 percent of 52,216 gulf veterans so far examined by the Government have reported suffering the same arthritis-like symptoms.

The preliminary finding seems to run counter to one conclusion of a special White House panel, the Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses। The panel could find no evidence that exposure to chemical weapons had affected the health of gulf war veterans.

Until last June, Pentagon officials had denied for years that there was any evidence that American troops had been exposed to Iraqi chemical weapons at all. Now, they acknowledge that more than 20,000 troops might have been exposed to such agents during the destruction of the Kamisiyah depot, although there were no immediate reports of acute symptoms at the time. The 81 veterans most likely exposed to the poison gases included in the preliminary Veterans Affairs study represent only a small fraction of the 1,022 military personnel in the immediate vicinity of Kamisiyah.

Military and Veterans Affairs officials ultimately hope to interview all 21,799 military personnel who were within 30 miles of the storage site when it was destroyed. The records that so far have been included in the Veterans Affairs analysis are of veterans who have volunteered to be examined by the Government, often after complaining of suffering from one symptom or another.

''This health surveillance data is preliminary,'' Mr. Kizer told the House subcommittee, ''and is compiled from evaluations of a nonrandom, self-selected group of individuals possibly exposed to nerve agents at Kamisiyah.''

Jeffrey Ford, a 33-year-old gulf veteran who was a member of the 307th Engineering Battalion involved in the destruction of the depot, said he welcomed the Veterans Affairs analysis.

''It shows something in the area took place that affected these soldiers,'' Mr. Ford said. ''When you talk about joint pain, some of these people are in wheelchairs.''

Mr. Ford, who attended the hearing, said he had not had any symptoms attributed to the syndrome.

James J. Tuite 3d, director of the Gulf War Research Foundation, a group that calls on the Government to acknowledge that tens of thousands of veterans became sick from the war, said, 'After their repeated denials that there were any exposures whatsoever, the statement is certainly welcome.''

But Mr. Tuite added, ''What I am concerned about is the red herring of Kamisiyah. There were credible, scientific and reliable detections of chemical warfare agents in other locations, too.''

U.S. Agency Links Chemicals to One Illness of Gulf War Soldiers

Gulf War Veterans Information System (GWVIS) reports

2010-08-11T16:09:00.004-04:00

he Gulf War Veterans Information System (GWVIS) provides the best available current data identifying the Gulf War service member population. The GWVIS reports monitor, in part, the service members’ use of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare and disability benefits.
GWVIS reports are distributed each quarter during the following months: March, June, September, and December.

yes it is difficult to find the details of GW Vets who are
using the VA system. I was disappointed how quietly, sneaky
this information is published. It seems it stalled for months
and Congressional memebers are told this report is not Completed
this the 'day before" a hearing or before a NEW senior VA secY or
Depty Secy is appointed. Why is this ?

Is there a reason that the latest report pushes VA-RAC research
do not address clinical programs for chronic pain or fatigue
or Peripheral neuropathy issues/sympthoms in health care/beneifit rating

If this Report (GWVIS) being slanted, how would we stakeholders know? Jagmedic

gwvis_aug_2008
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/index.php/foia/1186-gulf-war-reports
http://www.foodincmovie.com/

Cabal at VA Is Killing Veterans

2010-07-31T23:28:00.004-04:00

Why is the VA treating the few gulf war veterans who seeking service connection for UDI (undiagnosed illneses)or MUPS (multiple undiagnosed illneses)are being treated and rated like AO veterans ??

This continued off and on for the next 35 years with over twenty requests being submitted to the VA for service-connected disability as by then this veteran had 22 documented diseases covering virtually every system in his body—bones, muscles, nerves, immune, endocrine. You name it, the organ was affected. Every claim that was submitted by this veteran was denied. By now he had four confirmed diseases that were on the VA’s list of “presumptive” Agent Orange diseases—but still he was denied service-connected disability.

This Vietname Vets was able to get non-service connected disability in mid 1999 due to the massive amount of physical damage which kept him unemployed for the better part of 20+ years. By then he had undergone over 80 major surgeries just to keep his body working; arms, hands, shoulders, legs, kidneys and bladder - nothing was left out of the mix. All of his doctors were pretty much in agreement with Agent Orange being the culprit and cause of all of this. But, still the VA denied his requests for service-connected disability classification.

He kept fighting and in 2003 he was finally granted “service-connected” disability—but not for his physical conditions. Nope, the VA re-classified him service-connected disabled for combat-related PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). There was no mention of his physical conditions in his new VA classification। I guess the VA decided that all of his physical problems had disappeared. I sure you care about the hundreds of GW who suffer twenty years later with the only VA rating won is for PTSD.
http://www.alternet.org/health/147695/witness%3A_'cabal'_at_va_is_killing_veterans

Future for Dissatisfied Veterans - Desert Storm

2010-06-14T12:31:00.006-04:00

We have a problem with Deployment Health Working Group !
Since DOD is not capable of releasing the actual classified data around the exposure events, it is not providing the substantive evidence that would support specific Gulf War Illness Claims. The DHWG knows this fact and has operated as a invisible secret entity since 2001। No website, they dont respond to phone calls, and they do not meet with advocates to discuss any points to include there annual reports to VA.
This has been a grossly ineffective entity throughout its incarnation and cannot be trusted to be genuinely objective when it comes to Gulf War Illness health concerns. It is a bad idea to bring them in or have them interject into something they have been less than supportive or useful at. This just brings old ideas from legacy government personnel to the table that our illness is somatic in nature.

http://yourgulfwarvoice.uservoice.com/forums/44931-issue-1-leverage-deployment-health-working-group
This is what the House subcommittee must know.

July 27, 2010 10:00AM
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
Gulf War Illness: The Future for Dissatisfied Veterans
•Room 334 Cannon House Office Building
http://veterans.house.gov/hearings/hearing.aspx?NewsID=601

Will nation's women's military memorial stay open?

2010-05-20T00:46:00.003-04:00

Will nation's women's military memorial stay open?

The Associated Press • May 16, 2010

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Garage sales and quilt raffles helped a determined group of female World War II veterans raise money to transform a rundown wall at Arlington National Cemetery into a grand stone memorial to women who served their country. But those women are dying off, even as the memorial runs short of funds.

With women now involved more heavily in combat jobs, those early organizers hope a new generation will step up to the challenge of keeping the memorial open so military women's stories won't be lost.

The dedication of the memorial that today is visitors' first view of the cemetery was such a joyous event that 40,000 people attended in 1997. One of them was a 101-year-old World War I vet named Frieda Mae Hardin met with cheers when she told the crowd that women considering military careers should, "Go for it!"

Even as a steady flow of visitors enters its doors, the deaths of about three-quarters of the 400,000 women who served in World War II has left the memorial honoring military women of all eras without many of its loyal benefactors, though some still visit.

"Most of them are in wheelchairs and they are ill. All of their hair is white, and I look and I think, who knows how long we've got left. We just want to do our best while we're here," said Lorraine Dieterle, 84, a World War II veteran stationed in New York as a photographer for the Coast Guard who volunteers at the memorial.
The recession and a post-9/11 decline in bookstore sales inside the memorial have only made it harder to raise the private dollars that make up a large share of the memorial's $2.7 million annual budget.

Things looked so bleak last year that keeping the memorial open became an "iffy" proposition, said retired Air Force Brig.
Gen. Wilma Vaught, 80, a Vietnam veteran and president of the board of directors of the Women In Military Service For America Memorial Foundation.

The memorial remained afloat thanks to a $1.6 million congressional appropriation and a special fundraising drive that's brought in $250,000. But paying bills remains a challenge, Vaught said.

"You're constantly wondering if you're going to get enough money to pay for the rent, pay for the electricity for the building, pay for the people that work," Vaught said in an interview near the entrance of the memorial, which features exhibits and rooms used for gatherings after funerals and support group meetings of families of the fallen. "It's always with you."

The fundraising problems come as U.S. service women serve in combat as convoy drivers and gunners. More than 230,000 women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and more than 120 have died in the wars. Memorial organizers hope the newest generation of female service members will step forward.

They want more of them to donate as well as participate in memorial activities and enter their stories into the memorial's computerized registry, which includes the biographies of an estimated about 241,000 of the 2.5 million women who have served in the U.S. military.

"For some women, they have this idea this is something you do when you retire or it's something you do when you've done some accomplishment. That really isn't it," Vaught said. "The mere fact that you're serving is all that needs to be true."
The $22 million memorial took more than a decade to plan and construct. It was the brainchild of a group of female World War II veterans who felt the stories of the women who served in the war were too often left out of museums.

Dieterle recalled that she and other vets in Michigan held countless garage sales and sold doughnuts to raise money for it.
Eventually, organizers were able to get the financial support of states across the country, foreign countries and corporations to help get it opened.
She described the dedication day as one of "exultation."

"I think half of the people that were there were World War II veterans," said Dieterle, who now lives in Fairfax, Va. "We were so excited about having our memorial."

Alice Konze, 89, a retired Army major who was stationed in France and Germany during the war, said it's been forgotten how much men deeply resented the military women who served in the 1940s in positions such as nurses and pilots.

We did do unusual things and there was a need for women to get in, we ... in the military and the women who went to work in the factories really led the women's revolution at that time," said Konze, of Oxon Hill, Md.

On May 1, a temporary exhibit titled "When Janey Comes Marching Home: Portraits of Women Combat Veterans" featuring portraits and oral histories of female combat troops from the recent conflicts went on display.

The memorial also plans a Memorial Day unveiling of the uniform, medals, and other items belonging to Cpl. Jessica Ellis, 24, an Army medic from Bend, Ore., who was killed in Iraq in 2008.

When women from the recent conflicts do enter the memorial's doors, organizers say they can't help but get caught up in the stories of the women who came before them and to feel a connection.

One of them on a recent day was Air Force Maj. Linda Stanley, 52, who served as a nurse in Balad, Iraq, and made the trip days before her retirement from the military.
She said it's taken her a long time to mentally process the death and destruction she saw in Iraq to the point she was ready to enter the doors of a place like the memorial.

Once inside the memorial she said she was glad she had entered. She had found a safe place. "Anyone who goes to combat is going to be affected," she said. "Man, woman, anybody."

http://www.womensmemorial.org

Good Advice for Gulf War Veteran

2010-05-03T23:38:00.003-04:00

In all claims there are two parts. The first is the hardest, and that is proving that the veteran's illness is due to his or her service. The second part is determining to what degree the veteran is disabled, expressed by a percentage,
0 percent to 100 percent.

Here is my proposed RS (VA-ratings Staff) VBA checklist for GWI:

1.Was the veteran present in the theater of operations during the time frame established for the Persian Gulf War? Yes or No.

2.Does the veteran have an undiagnosed illness or one that is a medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illness defined by a cluster of signs and symptoms or any diagnosed illness as outlined in VA regulations to a degree that warrants a presumption of service connection?
Yes or No.

3.If the RS marks Yes to both of these questions, then the veteran's disability is to be considered service-connected (SC) under Section 1117 - Undiagnosed Illnesses due to service in Southwest Asia. All that remains is a determination as to the percentage of disability.

The last part of my complaint about getting (gulf war veteran) GWV's their service-connected disability claims is the VA's outdated computer check-in system. A GWV may have four to six problems but is able to have only one listed for his or her check-in. When the RS looks over the veteran's file he/she does not see all of the problems that the veteran has because the VA's computer system cannot handle it. This will affect the claim in terms of the percentage of disability awarded.

The veteran must ensure that the examining physician (C&P) at the VA adds all complaints to the comment area. If the physician refuses to do so, the veteran should go to the VA's ER for the other problems. Also, have someone keep track of when you are ill and how bad it gets.
(Keep notes)

For some of us, mostly men, admitting we are sick can be problematic. The common thing for us veterans is to "tough it out" and downplay how bad it really is. Veterans need to tell their doctor the truth about how bad it hurts and how they have a hard time working. Be truthful at all times.

The last thing I would like to talk about is Veterans Service Officers (VSO's). There are some good ones and some bad ones. A veteran should not pay too much attention to who the VSO works for (DAV, American Legion, VFW, etc.) because it does not matter. The important thing is how well the individual VSO is versed in the laws concerning PGW veterans.

Veterans need to talk to the other veterans in their area. Having a good VSO involved with the claim will make a lot of difference in the outcome.

Finally if the veteran has a scar, and the VSO wants to file it under section 1117, the veteran should get a new VSO. Scars should never be filed as an undiagnosed illness. There is a nexus for the scar to your service. When your VSO files it as an undiagnosed illness he is causing a delay in getting the veteran's claim approved.

Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Awareness: May 15

2010-04-27T13:26:00.002-04:00

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is nearly four times as common in veterans of the first Persian Gulf War as in nonveterans, according to a new study

Article: "Association of Medically Unexplained Fatigue with ACE Insertion/Deletion Polymorphism in Gulf War Veterans," Georgirene D. Vladutiu, Ph.D. and Benjamin H. Natelson, M.D., Muscle & Nerve;

The Persian Gulf War began in 1991, but more than 170,000 veterans still are battling Gulf War syndrome. For years, they battled stigma and disbelief, but finally in late 2008 a congressionally mandated panel concluded that Gulf War syndrome (GWS) is in fact "real" and is not a psychological condition

Symptoms of Gulf War Syndrome & Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Symptoms of Gulf War syndrome include:

•Chronic fatigue
•Cognitive dysfunction
•Joint and muscle pain
•Anxiety
•Depression
•Pain or discomfort related to sexual intercourse
•Bronchitis
•Asthma
Of those symptoms, bronchitis, asthma, and
pain related to intercourse appear to be unique to GWS.

Classes of Drugs Used as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Treatments
Several categories of drugs are used to treat ME/CFS. They include:

•Antimicrobial drugs (includes antiviral, antibiotic)
•Antidepressants (SSRIs/SNRIs and tricyclic)
•Anxiety or anxiolytic agents
•Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
•Blood-pressure medications

http://chronicfatigue.about.com/od/treatingfmscfs/a/cfsdrugs.htm

We must have VA office of Environmental Agents ;
VA office of Education and
VA office of Pubic Relations communicate this health problem to staff the veterans/stakeholders interact the most --
Primary Care Doctors/PA
and C&P Doctors/PA
VA Claims Adjuticators.

Will funds be found for new Clinic ?

2010-04-21T00:07:00.001-04:00

Reminder from: Chemically_Wounded_ Warriors Yahoo! Group

Title: Clinic Information

Date: Wednesday July 23, 2008
Time: 8:00 am - 8:00 am
Repeats: This event repeats every day.
Notes: A new Chemically Wounded Warriors Clinic, is opened to all, chemically wounded veterans.

The nation's first and only clinic to test, diagnose and treat Chemical exposure diseases!!!! !

Call This Number to make an appointment, with North Texas Neurology Associates, at the new clinic."

(940) 322-1075

Will write V.A. Letters!!!!!
Will conference with your Doctors!!!!!

Early dection is critical!!
Call today!!!!

Ask for the "Chemically Wounded warriors Clinic," when making appt.

Danny Bartel, M.D., Neurologist
Texas State Board of Medical Examiners License #E6226
Board -Certified American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology #24-298 and American Board of Clinical Neurophysiology

Agent Orange and Chemically Wounded Warriors Clinic, North Texas Neurology Associates, Wichita Falls, Texas

"Medicare, Tricare, and most health insurance plans accepted."

Plan on approximately a 3-day stay. The time it takes for exam and evaluation is dependent upon test results. which will vary with each individual

IOM report links illness, Gulf War service

2010-04-19T18:49:00.002-04:00

A link exists between Gulf War service and multisymptom illness, although the causes of these symptoms remain unclear, the Institute of Medicine concluded in a new report.

“Military service in the Persian Gulf War is also associated with
multisymptom illness;
gastrointestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome;” stated the report, which was produced by the IOM's Committee on Gulf War and Health.

Evidence also exists that service in the war may be linked to other conditions such as fibromyalgia and
chronic widespread pain,
sexual difficulties, and
death attributable to causes such as car accidents in years following deployment,
although data on this subject are limited, according to the report.

“It is likely that multisymptom illness results from the interactions between environmental exposures and genes, and genetics may predispose some individuals to illness,” the committee noted.

The panel recommended a renewed commitment to improve identification and treatment of multisymptom illness in Gulf War veterans.

“The path forward should include continued monitoring of Gulf War veterans and development of better medical care for those with persistent, unexplained symptoms,” it recommended.

http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20100409/NEWS/304099962#

How long before your Primary Care sees this ?
http://yourgulfwarvoice.uservoice.com/

multisymptom illness IOM’s moniker for GWS

2010-04-14T21:52:00.004-04:00

When will the VA-GWVI-TF tell VA primary care doctors and Adjuticators of this disorder. Maybe then fewer Vets/Stakeholders will be driven away or denied claims.

Hundreds of thousands of U.S. veterans who claim to suffer from Gulf War Syndrome just received powerful new ammunition against arguments that their symptoms are trivial, if not altogether fictional. On April 9, the Institute of Medicine – the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences – issued a report that concludes military service in the Persian Gulf War has not only been a cause of post-traumatic stress disorder in some veterans but also is “associated with multisymptom illness.”

That multisymptom illness is IOM’s moniker for what the vets refer to as Gulf War Syndrome.

"It is clear that a significant portion of the soldiers deployed to the Gulf War have experienced troubling constellations of symptoms that are difficult to categorize," according to neuroscientist Stephen L. Hauser of the University of California, San Francisco. He chaired the IOM committee that issued the new report.

"Unfortunately,” Hauser said, “symptoms that cannot be easily quantified are sometimes incorrectly dismissed as insignificant and receive inadequate attention and funding by the medical and scientific establishment. Veterans who continue to suffer from these symptoms deserve the very best that modern science and medicine can offer to speed the development of effective treatments, cures, and – we hope – prevention.”

The new report argues that medicine’s trouble in defining the nature or precise cause(s) of Gulf War Syndrome does not negate its existence. Indeed, the IOM’s new analysis “began with the premise that multisymptom illness is a diagnostic entity.” Its analysis then investigated evidence to determine whether a link exists between multiple, unexplained symptoms and Gulf War deployment.

And IOM’s report now concludes that Gulf War Syndrome is real, based on data documenting a high rate of symptoms in former U.S. troops who had served in the Gulf War nearly two decades ago. High-quality surveys of Gulf War vets from other nations, such as the United Kingdom and Australia, show many of those men also have been suffering similar chronic symptoms, which could include everything from gastrointestinal illness and mental confusion,to attacks of sudden vertigo, intense uncontrollable mood swings, fatigue and sometimes numbness – or the opposite, constant body pain.

Last month, a team of researchers headed by Robert Haley of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas reported new brain-imaging confirmation of Gulf War illnesses, which it described as a trio of syndromes with puzzling symptoms.

But there’s certainly a suspicion, it said, that multisymptom Gulf War Syndrome(s) may reflect interactions between environmental exposures and genes, such that genetics predisposed many troops to illness. IOM now recommends that research commence immediately to investigate that genetics angle. And there should be a big enough population to study this in, IOM says, with more than one-third of the 700,000Gulf War vets claiming multisymptom illnesses associated with their military service.

The report also calls for a substantial commitment to improve identification and treatment of multisymptom illness in Gulf War veterans. That would, of course, first require that the Department of Veterans Affairs acknowledge these syndromes as real disease.

http://www.usnews.com/science/articles/2010/04/12/gulf-war-syndrome-real-institute-of-medicine-concludes.html

2010-04-12T23:30:00.003-04:00

The report was terrible people. It drew meaningless conclusions based on lack of evidence. Of which VA quickly picked up on.

The important items are listed as inadequate evidence or no
association. The ones that would get a real service connection.
Then look what they did to ALS, dropped it to limited evidence
when there are hotspots in the region where more got it than
others. This is the first ever evidence of a cause of ALS and
the IOM wants to back away from that.

Multisymptom illness, that like a 10% to 30% diagnosis at best.
Its not taken seriously.

What do they push the most - PTSD. Please, this is a psychiatric
diagnosis that gets on average 30% then gets you cut out of
other clinics as Somatic. Does it have a physiological cause, yes.
But it wont be treated as physiological as if to try and chemically
rewire the brain of the physical damage. They will put people
on antipsychotics and send them to psychiatry were the clinician
writes damaging notes in there medical files that wont help. This
then compounds as many are railroaded and the research
begins to reflect the trend. PTSD service connection in VA is
a bad thing and they tried to force it on us in the early 90's as
a easy diagnosis to get service connection. Its not even handled
the same as for OIF.

Anyone grabbing at this straw is sending us back to the early
90's rather than trying to make real changes. Because this
report was not a victory for us and now VA will make sure that
the "Undiagnosed Illness" law reflects this to keep things
vague and of low percentage rating value. Grabbing at this rather
than fighting harder for the other categories is a sell out.

I have stocking glove neuropathy, congestive heart failure, respiratory
problems, and among others. 46 years old with a bunch of geriatric
conditions - of which by this reports definition says there is no association
evidence. They are telling me "screw you" on my health conditions I
didn't have before the war. How is PTSD and multisymptom ratings going to
help with some of my conditions. It wont. Yet, where is there conclusive
evidence on how these aren't a problem. They don't have that, they just
decided for VA to make them not a issue by ignoring the lack of evidence
against. Damn researchers focused on brain imaging and ignored most
other conditions anyways.

Once again, Ship of fools on both sides.

Review confirms PTSD, other syndromes in Gulf vets

2010-04-11T00:07:00.003-04:00

War is a Racket and some Gulf War Vets paid the Price!
How to decrease the amount of GWV seeking health care and benefits ???

announce that everyone so seen in VA or DoD health Clinics for any
health complain has PTSD. The well warrior attitude will send them
running to a private health care provider.

Review confirms PTSD, other syndromes in Gulf vets
Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

A US soldier watches two Blackhawk helicopters leaving forward operating base Loyalty in Baghdad February 8, 2007.
Credit: Reuters/Carlos Barria
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Studies confirm that Gulf War veterans suffer disproportionately from post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychiatric illnesses as well as vague symptoms often classified as Gulf War Syndrome, a panel of experts reported on Friday.

Health

The Institute of Medicine panel said better studies are needed to characterize a clear pattern of distress and other symptoms among veterans of the conflicts in the Gulf region that started in 1990 and continue today.

"It is clear that a significant portion of the soldiers deployed to the Gulf War have experienced troubling constellations of symptoms that are difficult to categorize," said Stephen Hauser, chairman of the department of neurology at the University of California, San Francisco.

The committee declined to say that there was any such thing as Gulf War Syndrome but did note many veterans had "multisymptom illness."

"Unfortunately, symptoms that cannot be easily quantified are sometimes incorrectly dismissed as insignificant and receive inadequate attention and funding by the medical and scientific establishment," Hauser added in a statement.

"Veterans who continue to suffer from these symptoms deserve the very best that modern science and medicine can offer to speed the development of effective treatments, cures, and -- we hope -- prevention."

Hauser and the rest of the panel reviewed 400 studies in-depth for their report and concluded that in many cases there was tantalizing evidence, but just not enough data to back it up.

BOWEL, SLEEP DISTURBANCES

They found many reports of "seemingly related symptoms, including persistent fatigue, chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, memory problems, headache, bodily pains, disturbances of sleep, as well as other physical and emotional problems."

But doctors struggle to categorize as they have no known cause, no diagnostic biomarkers and no way to find traces in tissue.

Studies showed sufficient evidence that veterans suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and substance abuse, particularly alcohol abuse and gastrointestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome.

There is also clear evidence of "multisymptom illness" among U.S., British and Australian veterans but not enough evidence to show what may have caused it.

"It is beyond dispute, however, that the prevalence of symptoms such as headaches, joint pain, and difficulty concentrating, is higher in veterans deployed to the Gulf War theater than the others," the report reads.

The experts, including epidemiologists who study patterns of disease, neurologists and psychiatrists, found limited but suggestive evidence that Gulf War veterans have higher rates of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also called ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease -- a crippling, progressive and fatal nerve disease.

Veterans also appear to risk fibromyalgia and chronic widespread pain, sexual difficulties and deaths from car accidents.

Inadequate evidence could be found of links to cancer, blood disease, hormone imbalances, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, birth defects, pregnancy or fertility problems.

Better studies are needed to follow veterans long-term and catalog their illnesses. "A second branch of inquiry is also important," the report added.

"It consists of a renewed research effort to identify and treat multisymptom illness in Gulf War veterans."
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6383RF20100409

Gulf War Veterans Illness TaskForce Restricted

2010-03-31T19:25:00.005-04:00

http://www1.va.gov/opa/vadocs/gwvi_draft_report.pdf
Final Draft Report of
Department of Veterans Affairs
Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses Task Force
to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs
March 29, 2010

Will this be the same as Federal Registry Announcement ??
Will this groups support the Other Committee (below)

Advisory Committee On Gulf War Veterans
www1.va.gov/gulfwaradvisorycommittee/

Exercise Alters Pain Sensitivity in GW Veterans Pain

2010-03-29T23:36:00.003-04:00

This what I will carry to my next primary care clinic appointment.
Because other wise the med staff are not driected to follow this material.
And it my explain why I'm in tears for two days after doing my lawn work. Could VA Office of education and environmental Agents add this study in thier Public Relation Releases ?

J Pain. 2010 Mar 23.

Exercise Alters Pain Sensitivity in Gulf War Veterans
with Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain.
Cook DB, Stegner AJ, Ellingson LD.

Research Service, William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, Wisconsin; Department of Kinesiology, University of Wisconsin, Madison,Wisconsin.

Since returning from the Persian Gulf, nearly 100,000 veterans of the first Gulf War (GVs) have reported numerous symptoms with no apparent medical explanation. A primary complaint of these individuals is chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP). CMP symptoms in GVs are similar to those reported by patients with fibromyalgia (FM), but have not received equivalent scientific attention. Exercise research in CMP patients suggests that acute exercise may exacerbate pain while chronic exercise can reduce pain and improve other symptoms. However, the influence of exercise on GVs with CMP is largely unexplored.

This study examined the impact of an acute bout of exercise on pain sensitivity in GVs with CMP. Thirty-two GVs (CMP, n = 15; Control, n = 17) were recruited to complete a series of psychophysical assessments to determine pain sensitivity to heat and pressure stimuli before and after exercise. In response to heat-pain stimuli, GVs with CMP reported higher pain intensity and affect ratings than healthy GVs and exhibited a significant increase in ratings following exercise. GVs with CMP rated exercise as more painful and effortful and were generally more sensitive to heat-pain stimuli than healthy GVs. These results are similar to what has been reported for acute exercise in patients with FM.

PERSPECTIVE: Gulf War veterans with CMP perceive exercise as more painful and effortful than healthy GVs and experience increased pain sensitivity following exercise. These results suggest that similar abnormalities in central nervous system processing of nociceptive information documented in FM may also be occurring in GVs with CMP. Copyright © 2010 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

PMID: 20338824 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

IOM and Gulf War Health - times 8

2010-03-23T20:43:00.003-04:00

Another opportunity for this Committee to say it is unlikely that any illness or exposure could have made troops ill. They did the same thing for Agent Orange vets for Twenty years.

see

The Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) Committee on Gulf War and Health,
Volume 8: Update of Health Effects of Serving in the Gulf War
will hold a report briefing from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM on Friday, April 9th, 2010.
The briefing will be held in Room 700 in the National Academies Keck Center,
500 5th Street NW, Washington, DC.

non-combat deaths and injuries Maine GW

2010-03-23T20:34:00.003-04:00

non-combat deaths and injuries this is what the VA calls these
problems when Service Connection is not granted. This is important if
you happen to be the 10% who suffer and may have died from
Undiagnosed/ chronic multsympthom illness.

Maine Revised Statute Title 37-B, Chapter 8-A: COMMISSION TO ...
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat
2. Commission. "Commission" means the Commission to Protect the Lives and Health of Members of the Maine National Guard established in section 532. ...
www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/37-B/title37-Bch8-A.pdf

One purpose of the “Commission to Protect the Lives and Health of Members of the Maine National Guard” is to prevent future non-combat deaths and injuries by learning from the past and seeing to it that a better job is done in the future. Your input is critical to this process.

Commission members stand ready to listen to your concerns and take whatever action is in their power to see that the suffering you and your family have endured shall not be repeated.

Ratings issue Gulf War Illness

2010-03-15T16:20:00.001-04:00

Gulf War Illness
In 2009 three presumptives for Gulf War Illness were identified. In addition to these presumptives, Gulf War Veterans may receive Disability Compensation for chronic disabilities from undiagnosed or medically unexplained illnesses. Examples of these are headaches, skin disorders, muscle pain, joint pain, respiratory disturbances, gastrointestinal disturbances, etc. Gulf War veterans with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), otherwise known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, should also apply for Disability Compensation. For more information, visit the visit the VA’s Office of Public Health and Environmental Hazards website.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)

Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS)

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
------------http://veterans.vermont.gov/benefits/presumptives

When will primary VA doctors recommend Neurology before Psychology ??

Brain Fog Symptoms - why can a veteran survive with these disfuctions:
Symptoms of brain fog can range from mild to severe. They frequently vary from day to day, and not everyone has all of them. Symptoms include:

Word use & recall: Difficulty recalling known words, use of incorrect words, slow recall of names.

Short-term memory problems: Forgetfulness, inability to remember what's read or heard.

Directional disorientation: Not recognizing familiar surroundings, easily becoming lost, having trouble recalling where things are.

Multitasking difficulties: Inability to pay attention to more than one thing, forgetfulness of original task when distracted.

Confusion & trouble concentrating Trouble processing information, easily distracted.

Math/number difficulties: Difficulty performing simple math, remembering sequences, transposing numbers, trouble remembering numbers.
http://chronicfatigue.about.com/od/symptoms/a/brainfog.htm

What Advisory committe on GW Vets knew

2010-03-12T13:19:00.001-05:00

Reminder of where the committee report is, the only place

http://www1.va.gov/gulfwaradvisorycommittee/

Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans Report

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Where its not:

http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/gulfwar/

http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1858

http://www.va.gov/Gulf_War_Background_Brief.pdf

http://www1.va.gov/RAC-GWVI/

2010-03-08T19:13:00.002-05:00

VA Gulf War Veterans Illness Task Force
Background Brief 26 February 2010

The Gulf War Veterans Illness Task Force (GWVITF) is a leading
edge of the Secretary’s vision of transforming the VA into a 21st century organization. The Task Force represents a bold step forward in how VA considers and addresses the challenges facing not just Veterans of a specific era, but the challenges facing all Veterans. Improving the responsiveness of the VA to the challenges facing the 199-01991
Gulf War Veterans is a priority that requires innovation and the engagement of all stakeholders, including VA employees, DoD, Congress and Veterans’ Service Organizations (VSOs)and gulf war veterans.

John R. Gingrich
The Chief of Staff (OS)
Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Avenue, NW - Washington, DC 20420

17 years and where are we at - gulf war veterans illness

2010-03-08T19:04:00.002-05:00

Let's put this stress theory into perspective with prior wars.
At last count, 16% of the 700,000 troops who served in Desert Storm have been awarded disability benefits by the VA, in a war that only lasted 100 hours 16 percent.

Only 9.6% of Vietnam veterans were awarded disability benefits, a long harsh war that lasted ten years.

Korea, another long, bloody war, had only 5% awarded benefits.

Veterans of World War II had only 6.6% awarded benefits

The Research Working group has spent $500 million so far in their response to
Gulf War illness; half a billion dollars!

Last year the GAO produced an analysis of this research and found that of the
21 major research questions proposed by the Research Working Group,
as high priorities to Gulf War illness, not one question has been answered after
spending $500 million. Not one!

So how has the Research Working Group spent the money?

$175 million was spent on the Combined Clinical Evaluation Protocol and the VA's Persian Gulf Examination Program. These programs provided basic physical exams for over 100,000 Gulf War veterans, but they did not include tests, like brain scans and genetic tests, that would lead to identifying the problem. It was a complete waste of money.

$150 million has been spent on the activities of OSAGWI, the Office of Special Assistance for Gulf War Illness. Its primary focus was to convince the American people that the veterans are only suffering from stress. It was a $150 million public relations campaign. The top doctor in OSAGWI now works for the VA's Office of Research!

When veterans and the media complained about what OSAGWI was doing,
President Clinton appointed a Presidential Special Oversight Board to look into it.
Just before their report came out giving OSAGWI a clean bill of health, the leading scientists on the staff resigned in protest, claiming that their reports critical of OSAGWI had been changed to positive.

One of the top managers of that Special Oversight Board, a long-time PR man for the
Pentagon, is reported to have said over and over, "The only problem with the Gulf War illness is that we did not manage the press soon enough." This man now works in the VA's Office of Research!

Another $175 million has gone into the Research Working Group's peer-review funded research. But what has come out of their research? Basically, the peer- review funding system supported a lot of research on stress, and they funded a lot of studies to show that Gulf War veterans are not very sick.

Three years ago, Dr. Kang, a researcher in the VA Central Office, completed a large study of 20,000 veterans showing that there is a neurological Gulf War syndrome and that veterans who were exposed to low-level nerve gas were 7 times more likely to have it.

This directly duplicated Dr. Haley's epidemiologic study. But after three years, where is the journal publication? It appears that they have withheld it from publication because the findings violate the government's stress policy.

Dr. Kang recently published another study showing that the children born to Gulf War veterans have 2 to 3 times more birth defects than those born to other military personnel.
But government officials diffused that finding by saying that they had not yet reviewed the medical records of the babies to be sure the veterans weren't lying about birth defects.
How many years does it take to review those medical records?

In short, the research funded by the peer-review system of the Research Working Group seems to have been put through a filter, and only that showing stress gets through. All the rest is filtered out.

Again and again, the propaganda team falsely promotes these messages:

a.. "there is no unique illness"

b.. "we will never know the cause"

c.. "we did not keep records" (they kept records, but destroyed them later).

d.. "there are no objective measurements"

Any government employee who questions the stress theory is open to sudden intense criticism, as are the researchers with distinguished credentials in the private sector. This is inexcusable

Brain fog or Mild Brain Injury

2010-02-18T18:36:00.002-05:00

Have veterans with Brain fog or Mild Brain Injury fallen thru the cracks?

Within the first year of deployment will look into
or evaluate vets this complain. If found having post concussion
syndrome send patient for re-training to improve quality of life
activities. Now that over a decade has passed and followup care
should be given many VA primary care doctors will not give troops
the brain injury training they need. All too often practioniers
will tell vets you are over 50 yrs old -- you're just have a
"Senior Moment". Only Support for MBI issues today have come
from State "brain injury associations" not DoD- Health or VA.

Although severe brain injuries are generally easy to diagnose, milder versions ? most commonly called concussions ? often go unnoticed because symptoms are more subtle or slow to develop.

But even concussions can have long-lasting, damaging effects. Symptoms can be physical, such as dizziness or headaches, or cognitive, like memory loss. Other problems can be behavioral and emotional, creating a diagnostic gray area between brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder.

According to Pentagon estimates, up to 20 percent of combat-exposed troops have suffered at least one concussion.

http://www.usatoday .com/news/ military/ 2009-03-04- braininjuries_ N.htm
==========
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/nation/content/nation/epaper/2008/12/28/1228soldiers.html

Chronic widespread pain, physical role function in OEF/OIF veterans

2010-01-07T19:41:00.004-05:00

Chronic Wide pain
[1] "CWP was common and related to poorer physical role function," it appears that this study acknowledges that these patients are not feeling well.

[2] "independent of comorbid mental health concerns."
it sounds like the word independent means NOT a mental health issue.

Look how the civilian medical community perceives this pain.
Definition: Somatic pain is a type of nociceptive pain. Unlike visceral pain (another type of nociceptive pain), the nerves that detect somatic pain are
located in the skin and deep tissues. These specialized nerves, called nociceptors,
pick up sensations related to temperature, vibration and swelling in the skin, joints and muscles.
If you cut your skin, the pain you experience is somatic pain.
You also experience somatic pain if you stretch a muscle too far or exercise
for a long period of time. Nociceptors send impulses to the brain when
they detect some kind of tissue damage.

Why are government practioniers look for mental illness LESS for neurological disorders?
++++++++
Chronic body-wide pain prevalent, impacts work

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Many adults suffer from chronic widespread body pain, which often hampers their work life, according to the results of a survey of a cross-section of Swedish adults.

Widespread pain including fibromyalgia syndrome -- one of the most severe forms of widespread pain -- has been variously defined in the literature as pain at more than three locations in the upper and lower half of the body, or pain in at least two sections of two opposite limbs and around the spine.
http://www.chiroeco.com/chiropractic/news/5350/782/Chronic-body-wide-pain-prevalentimpacts-work/
++++++
Most GPs and nurses do not have training or deep experience in pain management. Look for humility in an experienced pain manager. There are some docs trained in chronic pain management, and some pain centers. Ask about credentials and experience treating chronic pain. Educate yourself at sites like:

» American Pain Society
» National Pain Foundation
» American Pain Foundation

Brain fog post gulf war deployment

2009-12-31T12:09:00.003-05:00

Due to this brain fog I often do not write clearly.
Many times I must take sentences from others, cut and paste
to express my option.

I start using gadgets and date books in order to keep track of our normal daily to-do list. If we handle our own checkbook, I gradually have more and more trouble with it. Even taking a shower is a major effort because I don't remember whether I've rinsed the shampoo out of my hair - I lose the washcloth - I drop everything - I forget whether I rinsed all those hard-to-reach areas. What were once functions that I handled without thought, I now need to consciously review every aspect of the process before it occurs.

If we tell our doctor about our problems, we are often easily placated by the doctor's words. "Everybody starts having trouble as they get older." "No, you don't have Alzheimer's - just FMS." "Oh, you're just depressed."
However, something is wrong. This is not the everyday forgetfulness that everyone experiences from time to time. This is a 24 hour, seven day-a-week continual struggle to appear and act normally. It's been proven by SPECT and PET scans of the brain. It really IS all in our heads - and it's real.

Unfortunately, the full extent of our brainfog may not be known until a moment of clarity. That moment may be as simple as finding your "lost" glasses on the end of your nose, or as complicated as finding out years later that you made a stupid little mistake when you filed your taxes.

Cognitive dysfunction is a right temporal lobe phenomena. Multiple mood swings, trouble sleeping are all temporal lobe abnormalities.

Temporal lobe is responsible for understanding what we hear, retrieving and restoring our memories even though the patient may feel they have difficulty with their memory.

It does not appear the VA has rating for this disorder yet.
This is problem Sergent Hammack is currently suffer with.
One in four Gulf war veterans suffers from illness caused by toxic exposure.
How do we get VA Health care pay attention to gulf war vets with these problems.

I thank the writer of the following site
http://lymeadvocacysite.blogspot.com/2009/12/its-amazing-in-this-day-and-age-of.html

Gulf Vets Health care issue

2009-12-31T11:48:00.001-05:00

bureaucracy - Definition [byoo-rok´r?-se]
(n.) Administration of a government chiefly through bureaus or departments…
(n.) Management or administration marked by hierarchical authority among…
(n.) An administrative system in which the need or inclination to follow…

Bureaucracy is the structure and set of regulations in place to control activity,
usually in large organizations and government. As opposed to adhocracy,
it is represented by standardized procedure.
the relevance to gulf war exposures and distance from potenical sources of
combustion products is still under Study.

Is this vet, Sergent Hammack getting mishanded by the VISTA records system?
She has been a patient and received VA health care for last 12 years.
Her Mammograms were preformed by VA Boston and VA Washington DC.
Her last Mammogram tested VA Miami was questionable and physican was to
compare with earlier exams. Did this Desert Storm vet fall thur the cracks?

Problem is her doctor can not find the
exams (of 2005 and 2007). It is sad that her earlier records are lost.
Her VA doctors only option order another exam in three months to
idenify any adverse changes.

Committee Scientific Director Roberta White, PhD, associate dean for research at
Boston University's School of Public Health, stated: "Veterans of the first Gulf
War have been plagued by ill health since their return 17 years ago. Although
the evidence for this health phenomenon is overwhelming, veterans repeatedly
find that their complaints are met with cynicism and a 'blame the victim'
mentality that attributes their health problems to mental illness or
non-physical factors."

I guess this could an IG complaint. Seamless transitions from one VA
hospital to another VAMC is not yet in effect. Is this medical records
screw up happening in the civilain hospital system.

http://www.gwumc.edu/sphhs/faculty/levine_paul.cfm

Joint Pain in Gulf War Syndrome

2009-12-16T21:49:00.001-05:00

Joint Pain in Gulf War Syndrome Appears Not To Be Inflammatory But Rather Neurological: Presented at ACR-ARHP
By Maggie Schwarz

WASHINGTON, DC -- November 15, 2006 -- Joint pain in veterans with Gulf War syndrome appears to be a stress response similar to fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome, rather than an inflammatory one, researchers reported here at the American College of Rheumatology - Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals Annual Scientific Meeting (ACR-ARHP).

Frank Pessler, MD, PhD, research associate, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and colleagues performed a histological examination of synovial biopsies from Gulf War veterans complaining of rheumatologic symptoms.

Gulf War syndrome is a dramatically symptomatic, incompletely explained illness described among US and British military personnel who returned from the First Gulf War (1990-1991). Some of its symptoms may reflect underlying immune dysfunction. Rheumatologic symptoms, including joint pain and stiffness, are reported frequently, yet whether synovitis is a cause of the articular complaints in these individuals has not been determined until now.

Dr. Pessler and colleagues hypothesized that exposure to a large number of immunizations or toxins might have triggered the joint inflammation associated with Gulf War syndrome.

The researchers obtained biopsies from 9 veterans with Gulf War syndrome, and obtained 7 specimens with sufficient tissue quality for analysis. Specimens from 11 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 14 with osteoarthritis were used as controls.

Inflammatory changes were quantified using a synovitis score. Cell division and vascular density were also measured. Differences were also assessed using a composite inflammation score that consolidates results from immunohistochemical parameters into one value.

Microscopy revealed normal synovial tissue with changes consistent with healthy joints. Inflammatory cells (macrophages, T cells, CD20 B lymphocytes CD3, CD38 and CD68) were absent.

Mean synovitis score of 1.39 +/- 0.29 corresponded to absence of synovitis. Consistent with these results, inflammatory cell densities, cell division index, vascular density and inflammation score were lowest in Gulf War syndrome, intermediate in controls with osteoarthritis and highest in controls with rheumatoid arthritis.

The low numbers of inflammatory cells, which were occasionally seen, were similar to the background frequency expected in synovial biopsies from asymptomatic knee joints.

Dr. Pessler concluded that prevailing thinking on Gulf War syndrome that points to a neurological stress response rather than an inflammatory one appears to be correct.

[Presentation title: Absence of Inflammation in Synovial Biopsies Form Patients With "Gulf War Syndrome" and Joint Pain. Abstract 160] November 15, 2006

Poison powder's damage troops in Iraqi

2009-12-05T21:30:00.004-05:00

Adverse health expousures.
During the first Gulf War veterans had run into this material.
Only now it is getting press and Defense Health Affairs are silent.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/currents/20090906_Back_Channels__Many_U_S__soldiers_now_suffering_.html
Back Channels: Many U.S. soldiers now suffering.
Poison powder's damage ignored at Iraqi plant

By Kevin Ferris, Inquirer Columnist

A thick coating of orange powder was everywhere. You sat on it and slept on it.
You walked through it and brushed it off your clothes.
It was on the food and it was part of the air you breathed,
especially when the wind kicked up.

The powder was one of the first things Glen Bootay noticed when, as a combat engineer with the Third Infantry Division, he arrived at the water-treatment facility at Qarmat Ali, Iraq, in April 2003. He even mentioned it to his mom
in a call home.

Another vet told a Senate committee last month that there were about
1,000 100-pound bags of the orange powder at the plant. Medic Russell Powell
said many of the bags "were ripped and exposed to the wind, . . .
placed by doorways and buildings so we had to actually walk through the
piles of the orange powder when we entered and exited the buildings. . . .
We used them as security measures, as sandbags. . . .
There were at least two inches of powder on my boots."

The powder was sodium dichromate, a deadly poison and carcinogen.
Until fleeing Iraqis used it to sabotage the plant, the chemical had
been used as an anticorrosive in water pipes feeding the oil fields.

One expert testified to the Senate committee that "a grain of sand
worth of sodium dichromate per cubic meter could lead to serious
long-term health problems, including cancer." And yet, after a dust storm,
Powell testified, "We'd all look like orange-powdered doughnuts."

Even during his short stay there, Bootay told the committee,
"I started to suffer from nasal congestion and headaches.
I remember that the air tasted like metal."

Complaints were dismissed as allergic reactions to sand and dust.
The powder was called a "minor irritant."
Powell testified: "I and many other soldiers and KBR workers had
severe nosebleeds, coughed up blood, had difficulty breathing, nausea,
and experienced a burning sensation in our lungs and throats. . . .
Many of the soldiers around me began having skin lesions on their
arms, hands, faces, and nostrils."

Gulf war Ilnness and GI issues

2009-12-03T20:57:00.004-05:00

Are you too looking for the VA gulf war TASKFORCE out of VA headquarters DC ?

I have notice that most disabled vets are following their not disabling sympthoms
you should follow up here:
http://ibs.about.com/u/ua/symptomsofib1/OtherSymptoms.htm

Gulf War Illness affects many soldiers who served in Operation Desert Storm and/or Desert Shield; some reports estimate this number to be as high as 25% to 30% of veterans! Symptoms of Gulf War Illness presented slowly and, in some cases, took almost two years. Another confounding factor is the seemingly random set of symptoms, which include depression, bronchitis, stomach upset, chronic fatigue, memory problems, and musculoskeletal issues.

Effort is now being put forth by the US Department of Veterans Affairs to study this illness, and several of these research studies were presented at SfN.

Many veterans report problems related to memory recall. Because the hippocampus plays a major role in learning and memory, one study conducted by HE Speed et al. from UT Southwestern investigates the effect of chlorpyrifos, a common insecticide used during the Gulf War, on this brain structure.

It's interesting to note that this later effect was detected three months after exposure to chlorpyrifos, consistent with the delayed onset of symptoms associated with Gulf War Illness.
http://ibs.about.com/u/ua/symptomsofib1/OtherSymptoms.htm

Government adresses Gulf War Veterans - Desert Storm

2009-10-19T19:31:00.004-04:00

When I went to Boston VAMC, MA in 1992 and the administration said they could not process a health exam because public law have not care for veterans of Operation Desert Sheild/Storm - it was new to the VA system and Congress need adjustment by the end user ie. "troop/patient".

Do you remember how the government had to be changed to address gulf war veterans ?

Convolution Main Entry: con·vo·lu·tion Pronunciation: "kän-v&-'lü-sh&n Function: noun 1: a complication or intricacy of form, design, or structure When Gulf War Illness became a issue in 1992, it was vague.

In 1992 a medical report about Navy Seabess was produced that drew questions about Gulf War veterans Illnesses. The Indiana outbreak investigated by WRAIR draws heat.

PL 102-585 passes. The Oil Well fires of Kuwait come into question, CHPPM is called in to provide a model to describe the fallout. Is reported to Congress.

The William Beaumont Army Medical Center decides stress is a factor in Gulf War veterans illness. 4 Gulf War Referral Centers are put in place around the country to assist in medical screenings, takes three years to implement. 1,120 Gulf War veterans have been medically screened for the pending Persian Gulf Registry.

In 1993 PL 103-210 is passed and Gulf War veterans were granted eligibility for health care within the VA for any illness possibly related to wartime service. 14,379 Gulf War vets in 1993 participate in the Persian Gulf Registry.

By 1994 it started to take form as the Senate explored classified materials released. But, it was still a Congressional issue. There is a call for external reviews of Gulf War medical information.

GAO was consulted to follow under Congressional request, but had no executive authority or privledge in its involvement.

The beginnings of a military Research Working Group, the Persian Gulf Veterans Coordinating Board began 1995 with a limited working plan for the future.

VA sets up its VA Persian Gulf Expert Scientific Committee. Also Independent medical research begins.

PL 103-446 is passed, service connection for Gulf War Illness is Posisble. But, its written to thinly, and veterans slip through the cracks.

26,620 Gulf War vets in 1994 participate in the Persian Gulf Registry.

In 1995 a Toll Free reporting line is in place.

DOD has begun declassifying 25,000,000 military records for key medical words, and converts these materials to electronic format.

PGIT hands off to the DOD oversight panel which begins transferring 6,000,000 relevant files to a central archive. Plans are made to transfer to the forming OSAGWI to regulate the distribution of that information via Gulflink.osd.mil. PGIT coordinates with DIA, CIA, VA, and others over shadowing Gulf War medical data.

Birmingham Alabama VAMC is the last to open its Gulf War Referral center.

15,377 Gulf War vets in 1995 participate in the Persian Gulf Registry.

In 1996 Gulf war Illness became Executive Authority as the Whitehouse itself mandated a request for answers. The PAC, OSAGWI, and other entities sprang to life to run interference to the information that was about to be distributed. Other than the Persian Gulf Registry, and CCEP, little else was in place. Research was picking up speed.

Peer Review takes on a new meaning as it becomes a method for filtering DOD/VA medical information carefully before disclosure.

PL 104-262 passes. Extends presumption for service connection of undianosed illnesses. 7,028 Gulf War vets in 1996 participate in the Persian Gulf Registry.

In 1997 the IOM became a more active player, as did the CDC and other agencies. GAO had a limited roll. At this point Congressional mandates were coming more into play. Congressional Oversight took a strong roll in governing activities.

The entitiy called the Research Working Group worked in the background trying to regulate much medical information at that time. But they had a public working plan in place. i.e. Cause, Symptoms, and Non-Specific Symptoms.

OSAGWI holds Town Hall meetings with vets around US, met with hositlity and loathing. IOM stipulates that DOD should explore Stress as a cause of illness. 74,594 Total PGR exams. 20,000 have now participated in CCEP. However, veterans are not making it to Phase II exams of a three part PGR Phase exam system.

GIS begins to pick up speed. 9,907 Gulf War vets in 1997 participate in the Persian Gulf Registry ,by 1998 the a long list of agencies are now involved.

NHRC, NRMC,

NAS, HHS, NIH, IOM, CDC,

HA, OSAGWI, MHVCB, VA, RAND, SAIC,

AFIP, WRAMC, WRAIR, and others.

However, the term somatoform becomes DOD choice word for dealing with Gulf War Illness.

PL 105-277 and PL 105-368 are passed, and with it the supposed formation of a independent research program with a National Study Center.

IOM is given autonomy over the Gulf War investigation, and VA expands it part in Gulf War medical research.

WRAIR position tales a back seat with the decline of the CCEP program. 5,080 Gulf War vets in 1998 participate in the Persian Gulf Registry.

In 1999 PSOB became the final Executive Authority Oversight out in place to regulate OSAGWI. Unfortunately, its DOD ringers who whitewash the issue. Recommendations are made from its findings to widen the scope of Gulf War Illness to all Deployments.

OSAGWI prepares to closed its doors. CDC has public conference in Atlanta to talk with veterans on medical planning.

MHVCB makes it recommendations of support as it host annual public DOD medical conferences with the help of the SAIC. VA, DOD, and HHS spend $134 million over the last six years on 145 federal research projects related to Gulf War illness.

Jan 1,1999 deadline for formation of RAC passes by, acting Sec of VA Togo West ignores PL 105-368. 3,395 Gulf War vets in 1999 participate in the Persian Gulf Registry.

In 2000 comes the closing of the CCEP program, soon to be replaced by WRAIR CPG. OSAGWI becomes OSAGWI-MRMD, then plans to merge with Tricare to become DHSD.

WRAIR developes DHCC to replace its defunct GWRC program. Gulf War Referral Centers are targeted for closure. Investigation into the possible causes of Gulf War Illness from specifc incidence is concluded.

PSOB makes its recommendations as it pushes Millinium Cohort Study of Gulf War veterans. VA stalls on the implementation of PL 105-368, RAC and WRIISC wait in limbo. 3,084 Gulf War vets in 2000 participate in the Persian Gulf Registry.

In 2001 starts transition to Deployment Health. Under the guise of Force Health Protection the Gulf War Illness issues takes back seat to protecting the military in general. IOM starts producing its more negative reports, being vague in its associations.

The term Undiagnosed Illness takes front seat as PL 107-103 passes. The condition ALS surfaces in Gulf War Illnesses. Formation of RAC and WRIISC finally announced. 2,534 Gulf War vets in 2001 participate in the Persian Gulf Registry.

In 2002 MHVCB is disbanded. Military begins gearing up for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

DHSD begins its transition to Tricare. Both VA / DOD now only meet with NSO's in private, last of meetings with Gulf War Veterans.

IOM now meets in private on Gulf War Illness. RAC holds meetings, but limits outside involvement. VA RWG has no external sources of information.

Legacy personnel from OSAGWI, MHVCB, SAIC, RAND, WRAMC takes up positions in all Government levels involved in Gulf War Illness.

Persian Gulf Coordinators are phased out of VA, replaced with Enviromental Health Agents. No longer have exclusive offices.

VA Form 10-9009a is taken down off net, as is old VA Persian Gulf Coordinators list. 2,188 Gulf War vets in 2002 participate in the Persian Gulf Registry.

In 2003 Operation Iraqi Freedom underway. Gulf War I now pushed firmly to the back as troops start returning from March 2003 deployment without correct pre-post deployment screenings.

Sec of VA Principi calls for medical monitoring of Iraqi Freedom troops. PTSD takes front stage, undiagnosed Illness moves to back.

Persian Gulf Registry becomes Gulf War Registry. 2,464 Gulf War vets in 2003 participate in the Gulf War Registry. 119 of these are Operation Iraqi Freedom troops.

In 2004 the RAC and IOM work closely with the VA RWG. Otherwise what remains of DHSD, and other agencies begin deferring to MOMRP.

FHP concentrates of PTSD, and pushes Gulf War further to the back. There is a complete break down of outside involvement of Gulf War vets from activity in Washington DC. Disease outbreaks and health issues of Iraqi Freedom take front stage.

Spouse and Children GWR exams are being phased out. 1,811 Gulf War vets in 2004 participate in the Gulf War Registry. 1,543 Iraqi Freedom vets in 2004 participate in the Gulf War Registry. 3,354 Total vets in 2004 participate in the Gulf War Registry.

In 2005, the RAC and IOM still work closely with the VA RWG.

DHSD makes public commentary about Gulf War Illness, and at the IOM meetings - but ends Public Relations with veterans entriely.

Congressionally funded Gulf War Research programs run out, NSO's earmark Defense Appropriations Bill for $10 million of $40 million MOMRP ( Ft. Deitrick ) for Gulf War. MOMRP and VA become soul heirs of Gulf War research.

Spouse and Children GWR exams program finally scrapped by VA EA.

832 Gulf War vets in 2005 participate in the Gulf War Registry.

1,286 Iraqi Freedom vets in 2005 participate in the Gulf War Registry.

2,118 Total vets in 2005 participate in the Gulf War Registry.

In 2006 far VA and DOD MOMRP are all thats left in the realm in the realm of Gulf War Illness research. VA is a closed loop system that does not approve independent IRG grants, and MOMRP ( Ft. Deitrick )hasnt gotten the $10 million allocation from the Defense Appropriations Bill to offer grants. So MOMRP is closing the door on the last of the Congressionally mandated Gulf War Research programs without a large governing force in place.

Meaning, without a something like a public planning board - the funds will more than likely go to OIF or FHP type projects. MOMRP and FHP meet in two weeks to discuss the 2006 -2007 research agendas. This is not a public meeting.

End of 2006 the Gulf War Registry has produced 98,813 registry exams. Only 6.7% ever made it to Phase II exams. Meaning that 92.3% of Gulf War veterans in the PGR program have had phase I visual observation exams. Also, 5,246 had Phase I followup exams. Thats 5.3% of the total seen from October 3rd 2005 back to 1990.

24.51% of the Gulf War Registry data has been collected from 1998 to 2007. This is a critical program in Gulf war medical research since it does not require Service Connection. Any Gulf War veteran can walk in for a free Gulf War registry exam that can be added to the database. If onl;y the program worked, and as it was intended.

This is the only peice of the Gulf War Program in place today that is 16 years old, and still collecting information on us in a evolving database that might one day explain some our conditions. But, it needs our help as it has fallen apart under the current administration.

Granted the RAC is in place, but the RAC does not confer with outside sources on its agenda. So far VA, Government Reform, MOMRP, and others are referring back to the Binns committee as setting the agenda for the funds.

In Oct 2009 the VA Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans end its meetings and wrote a final report with as little public notice as possble.

source: Desert storm Battle Registry

End of Gulf War Advisory Committe - VA

2009-10-10T09:35:00.002-04:00

Why did this Committee leave out these facts from their final report ? (oct 2009)
Why did the VA fail to transmitt this information to thier medical staff in VA - office of Education ?
Omission of data is just one reason why Gulf War Heath Programs failed.
http://www.va.gov/gulfwaradvisorycommitteeVA - Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans
"Distractions, depression and procrastination are set up by the enemy to make you give up!
Did you know ...

In addition, VA should invite all Veterans who participated in the original Gulf War Registry exams to complete follow-up examinations. As of June 2009, 112,257 Gulf War Veterans have had a registry exam but fewer than 5% had follow-up exams. A dynamic outreach effort will raise awareness for those Veterans whose illnesses have manifested over time as well as remind them that VA is here for them. From 1992 to 1995 the first 30,000 Gulf war veterans may have not had very comprehensive exams. By 1995 the Registry changed when it was modified to implement Uniform Case Assessment Protocols as outlined in GAO report HEHS 98 139R.

Often exams were inconsistent, and varied widely from one VAMC to another. Doctors sometimes would not authorize expensive laboratory procedures or harbored undue biases. So studying this first cohort would be productive in following up how there health changed these last 18 years.

Of the 112,257 Gulf War registry participants this will also provide an opportunity for those who were previously turned away from VA to be re-evaluated for their undiagnosed illnesses against better medical and scientific understanding of Gulf War illnesses. VA should use the information from these exams to chronicle what has happened to these Veterans and chart the course of their illnesses over time. There is research value in understanding what has happened to these Veterans and this information may inform the development of much needed treatments. A comprehensive review of Gulf War Veterans medical records for common medical conditions, such as, cancers, mental health issues, miscarriages, birth defects and suicides could further increase VAs body of knowledge on this cohort and perhaps lead to enhanced healthcare for them.

Infections from the Gulf War Forgotten

2009-10-04T15:17:00.005-04:00

The VA -Advisory Committee on Gulf War veterans fails to address this problem because less than 10% effected. What if you or a love one is a vet who returned with this infection you would want a program in place to address this illness.

Why hasn't the VA-Research Advisory Committee on GWI not made a recommendation on infectious diseases from the Middle East in the last two years ?

The nine diseases examined were bacterial diarrhea caused by campylobacter, salmonella or shigella, brucellosis, leishmaniasis, malaria, Q fever, tuberculosis and West Nile fever.

"For Gulf War veterans, we know that a number had these kinds of diseases," Dr. Kilpatrick said. "The numbers are very small, fortunately. For today's deployments, the numbers continue to be very small. These diseases can have long-term negative health effects, but if diagnosed early they can easily be treated.
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123029277

We have been unable to find the NGWRC or Gulf War Representives of American Legion, DAV or VFW speak up on this issue in the last year. Did the forget ?
We must contact the VA headquarters. Did the Clinic Doctors and other Medical Staff get this inform when the VA-Office of Education has failed to address this subject since 2003.

Chronic Gastrointestinal Illness in Persian Gulf Veterans

2009-09-25T23:38:00.005-04:00

The survey concluded in 1996 and VA is just now talking about this in 2009.
The phrase "Approximately 25 percent of military troops who were deployed in the first Persian Gulf War returned with persistent gastrointestinal symptoms" is quite a statement.
I am one of them, you are to.
Why didn't the VA recommend a Study of our GI disorders/sympthoms?
Why didn't our VA Secertary demand VA- office of Research Development
create an Investigation on this health issue?
Venus-val

++++++
Publication Date:
Friday, July 24, 2009
Federal Register Document Number:
E9-17658 ( html text pdf )
Publishing Agency:
Department of Veterans Affairs
Dates: Comments must be submitted on or before August 24, 2009.
Comments Close: 08/24/2009
Action: Notice.
Genre: Article
Part Name: Notices
Granule Class: Notice

SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521), this notice announces that the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Department of Veterans Affairs, will submit the collection of information abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The PRA submission describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden and includes the actual data collection instrument.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before August 24, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments on the collection of information through http://www.Regulations.gov; or to VA's OMB Desk Officer, OMB Human Resources and Housing Branch, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503, (202) 395-7316. Please refer to ``OMB Control No. 2900-New (10-21092a-c)'' in any correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Denise McLamb, Enterprise Records Service (005R1B), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20420, (202) 461-7485, fax (202) 273-0443 or e-mail denise.mclamb@mail.va.gov. Please refer to ``OMB Control No. 2900-New (10-21092a-c).''

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Titles:
a. Survey of Chronic Gastrointestinal Illness in Persian Gulf Veterans, VA Form 10-21092a.
b. VA Research Consent Form (Cases), VA Form 10-2109b.
c. VA Research Consent Form (Control), VA Form 10-2109c.
OMB Control Number: 2900-New (10-21092a-c).
Type of Review: New collection.

Abstract: Approximately 25 percent of military troops who were deployed in the first Persian Gulf War returned with persistent gastrointestinal symptoms, typical of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowl syndrome. The data collected from the survey will assist VA in determining whether chronic gastrointestinal illness in Persian Gulf Veterans was caused by the presence of bacteria in the intestines and whether eradication of these bacteria reduces symptoms of chronic diarrhea.

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on this collection of information was published on May 11, 2009 at pages 21853-21854.
Affected Public: Individuals or households.

Estimated Total Annual Burden:
a. Survey of Chronic Gastrointestinal Illness in Persian Gulf Veterans, VA Form 10-21092a--3,000 hours.
b. VA Research Consent Form (Cases), VA Form 10-21092b--41 hours.
c. VA Research Consent Form (Control), VA Form 10-21092c--31 hours.
Estimated Average Burden Per Respondent:
a. Survey of Chronic Gastrointestinal Illness in Persian Gulf Veterans, VA Form 10-21092a--45 minutes. b. VA Research Consent Form (Cases), VA Form 10-21092b--15 minutes.
c. VA Research Consent Form (Control), VA Form 10-21092c--10 minutes.
Frequency of Response: One time.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
a. Survey of Chronic Gastrointestinal Illness in Persian Gulf Veterans, VA Form 10-21092a--4,000.
b. VA Research Consent Form (Cases), VA Form 10-21092b--165.
c. VA Research Consent Form (Control), VA Form 10-21092c--189.
Dated: July 21, 2009.
By direction of the Secretary.
Denise McLamb,
Program Analyst, Enterprise Records Service.
[FR Doc. E9-17658 Filed 7-23-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-P
--------orginal message ---------------
Title: Chronic Gastrointestinal Illness in Persian Gulf Veterans
Synopsis: This study surveyed a sample of Gulf War veterans from a National Guard unit and found these veterans were more likely to report a variety of digestive problems than non-deployed members from the same unit.

Overall Summary: See project objective. Overall Project Objective: Clearly define the most prevalent chronic gastrointestinal symptoms in a unit of Persian Gulf veterans. Results to Date: Survey completed. Have identified most prevalent symptoms. Note: Following is quoted from poster accepted for Poster Presentation at Digestive Disease week in San Diego, May 1995, Chronic Gastrointestinal Symptoms In Persian Gulf Veterans; MB Sostek, S Jackson, JK Linevsky, EM Schimmel, BG Fincke; Departments of Medicine and Social Services, Boston Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA.

Background: Persian Gulf Syndrome is characterized by a constellation of chronic symptoms postdating deployment to the Gulf Region in 1991. Intermittent diarrhea is one of the eight most commonly reported symptoms. The prevalence of non-diarrheal gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms is not well documented. Over the past year, we have received increasing referrals for evaluation of Persian Gulf veterans (PGV) with various GI complaints. The aims of this study were I) to determine the prevalence and spectrum of GI complaints in a representative sample from this population and II) to compare this data to a control group of soldiers not deployed to the gulf region.

Methods: A 4-page questionnaire was mailed to the 92 members of a National Guard Unit deployed to the Persian Gulf Region in 1991 and distributed to 44 members (controls) of the same unit who were not deployed to the Gulf Region in 1991. The questionnaire asked the veterans to grade current severity of 26 GI and 10 non-GI symptoms. The survey also asked veterans to recall occurrence of 5 GI symptoms either during or before the Dessert Storm mission. Results: 57/92 Persian Gulf veterans (62%) responded to the survey. All 44 of the controls returned the survey.

The table below summarized the reported frequency of several GI symptoms in this population: GI Symptom Before ODS After ODS Controls (Current) Loose Stool 2/57 (3%) 39/57 (68%)* 4/44 (9%) Abdominal Pain 2/57 (3%) 32/57 (56)* 3/44 (7%) Excessive Gas 5/57 (9%) 42/57 (74%)* 10/44 (23%) Nausea/Vomiting 2/57 (3%) 13/57 (23%) 1/44 (2%) Hematochezia no data 4/57 (7%) 0/44 (0%) *p<.0001 compared to symptom frequency before desert storm. Additional frequently reported GI symptoms among PGV's in this survey include: sensation of incomplete rectal evacuation post defecation 34/57 (60%), and watery bowel movements following episodes of abdominal pain 30/57 (53%). The most frequent non-GI symptoms were: fatigue 46/57 (81%), joint pains 42/57 (74%) and headache 38/57 (67%).

Conclusion: A significant number of veterans from a single National Guard unit, deployed to the Persian Gulf, developed GI symptoms while in that region. The majority of these veterans currently continue to report persistent loose stools, lower abdominal pain, excessive gas and tenesmus. Veterans in the same unit, who were not deployed to the Gulf region, report significantly fewer chronic GI symptoms at the present time. While these symptoms are suggestive of the development of irritable bowel syndrome following Persian Gulf deployment, further studies are needed to better understand the pathophysiology of this combination of chronic GI symptoms. Project: VA-18 Agency: Department Of Veterans Affairs Location: VAMC Boston P.I. Name: Mark Sostek Status: Complete Study Start Date: October 01, 1994 Estimated Completion Date: October 01, 1996 Specific Aims: 1. Determine and define symptom complex. 2. Look for underlying pathophysiology. Methodology: Survey of a single unit of Persian Gulf veterans. Hydrogen breath tests on affected individuals. Publications: Sostek M . High prevalence of chronic gastrointestinal symptoms in a national guard unit of Persian Gulf veterans.Am J Gastroenterol.1996;91:2494-7.

Why do VA and DOD Health Directors omit details?

VA ends Gulf War illness research contract

2009-08-27T17:20:00.001-04:00

Gulf War vets who suffer from chronic undiagnosed sympthoms,
had seeked research which was not weighed by polictics of the day.
War is a Racket and we hope big Pham get in the way of seeking treatments for our ilness.
That can not happen now. Currently VA research is not looking at neurological exposures.
We will continue to die younger than Vietnam vets.
Most vets death cerificates fail to document Gulf war Exposure at all.
Comrades please contact the only panel in the government we have left.
Silence is not an Option ! http://www.va.gov/gulfwaradvisorycommittee
VA - Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans
Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Policy and Planning (008A1)
810 Vermont Ave, Washington, DC 20420
202-461-5758 Lelia P. Jackson, Policy Analyst ,lelia.jackson@va.gov
-----orginal message--------
VA ends Gulf War illness research contractBy SUZANNE GAMBOA (AP) –
WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs has canceled a $75 million, five-year research contract with a Texas medical center studying illnesses suffered by veterans of the first Gulf War.

The VA says research on the illnesses, however, remains a priority.
Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel Akaka, a Democrat from Hawaii, has been pushing to the end the sole-source contract with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

Money for the contract was added to a 2005 spending bill by Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas when the GOP had the majority in Congress.

Troops returned from the first Persian Gulf War with chronic illnesses ranging from fatigue to Lou Gehrig's disease. Some have questioned whether soldiers' illnesses resulted from battle stress or exposures to toxic substances

VA turns it back

2009-06-22T14:22:00.003-04:00

Over a decade Persian er the VA has closed the "persian gulf registry".
This blocks the VA hospitals from recording the exposures that
Desert Storm vets had contact with.

It ending the "phase II/III exams, of the ("persian gulf registry")
children now suffer with.

The VA Environmental Agents Office has been blocking and or stall
the "GWVIS DATA" reports which would show the many chronic
multisymthoms the few vets who have fought the system,
have been rated/diagnosed with.

The VA Environmental Agents Office has been blocking and or stall
the production and distribution of the "Gulf War Review".
A newslettler which would keep GW in communication with current
health research, treatment options and legislative changes.

Out of touch and in the dark. We have lost Gulf War Referral clinics,
"persian gulf registry;
"GWVIS DATA" reports ;
"Gulf War Review".
VA-Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans ends this Septemeber.
VA- Research Advisory Committee on gulf War Illness will cease by
end of this year too.

Please speak out for those disabled vets who have died prematurely
and poor quality (health) life. We are not disposible GI.
Please write the VA Secretary and Congressional representives.

VA SAYS NO PRESUMPTIVES FOR HOST OF ILLNESSES

2009-04-03T23:07:00.003-04:00

VA SAYS NO PRESUMPTIVES FOR HOST OF ILLNESSES
AFFLICTING GULF WAR VETS

(source) Federal Register: April 2, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 62)
DOCID: fr02ap09-127 FR Doc E9-7342
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Veterans Affairs DepartmentNOTICE

You notice IOM avoided reviewing and discussing infections of many
other bacteria, yeast and Parasites. By IOM avoiding examine
these agents, VA and DoD doctors-adjudicators Can deny
service connections for the next 30 years.

We must voice our dissent to this NOTICE.
Due to IOM omission of infectious agents while working for
the DVA. The VA got what they paid for "twisted statistics".

The offices below will get a STATEMENT FOR RECORD (letter)
from me and I encourage other supporters to write.

[1] Thomas Kniffen, Chief, Regulations Staff (211D),
Compensation and Pension Service, Veterans Benefits Administration,
Department of Veterans Affairs,
810 Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20420

[2]http://www.va.gov/gulfwaradvisorycommittee
(EMAIL) lelia.jackson@va.gov

Guilt of gulf War Illness

2009-03-09T22:28:00.005-04:00

Many of us know of the 5 stages of grief-
1) denial 2) anger 3) bargaining 4) depression 5) acceptance.
While we may experience these stages of grief for the loss of who we once were,
(pre-chronic multi-sympthom illness (gulf war syndrome)
there is something else we also have to learn to live with -guilt.

I am so sick & tired of reading how we shouldn't let our illnesses define us- this advice must come from someone not living with a chronic illness. By the loss of abilities, mobility etcetera we are defined in a way. Our society seems to brand people by what they do- that is how we are defined "the lawyer", "the computer guru", "the army girl" have somehow now become "the gal with GWS" or "the migrainer" & so on.

Often if it is migraines, IBS or fibrobyalgia or chronic fatigue brain fog
and all things with non-measurable intensity, our character is called into question. Are we just lazy or drug seekers or hypochondriacs? The more I try to explain what I have & why I can't do this or that, the guiltier I feel. This year for the first time I missed my children's school-open-house, my husband went in my place. While I'm happy he had that chance to bond & be there for them & in a way my inability opened a door for him, I still feel guilty that my illnesses left me unable to attend.

I've heard of survivor's guilt in car accidents or such, but I've not heard anyone clearly address the guilt of a sufferer of chronic illnesses. I constantly feel bad for letting down my family & needing others to pick up the slack. Yet, if I had become disabled with a visible illness or due to an accident, I wonder if I'd feel guilty? It wouldn't be my fault, whereas a lot of common misconception about chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, GWI, migraines, etc is that we need to learn how to deal with stress, it's our fault for not coping with things better, it's in our head, etc. Perhaps I am carrying this relic of a burdon due to being diagnosed in the early 90s when these were fairly unheard of health issues (excluding migraines).

Even now, however, explaining pain without actual damage to the muscle tissue invariably generates the somewhat reasonable deduction & question of, "So, it's all just in your head?" There's another scoop of guilt heaped onto my already full plate. Then it is usually followed with, "Just power through it" or "have you tried vitamins?" & other well meaning yet equally upsetting advice.

From my perspective I've gone through every stage of grief, I seem to play hop-scotch between all 5 stages in no particular order, but guilt always remains. If I am at stage 5-acceptance, is that further weakness on my part? Is my soul giving in & giving up the fight? Or, am I more prepared, "I have these diagnoses, I know these are my limitations, here is what I can & can't do." Either way, more guilt comes wrapping its arms around me in the tight embrace of an old friend who knows me much too well. And the added burdon of being a mother comes into play.

My children do not know the healthy me. Are my children forming a misconception of women & mothers based on my inabilities & fatigue? There is a huge burdon of guilt in that question alone if there was no other guilt elsewhere, that alone would be more than sufficient to drop an elephant with its weight. Are my children seeing their friends' mothers jogging & volunteering & gardening while I lay on a heating pad or take a nap-what must they think of me? I feel burdonsome, neglectful as a wife & mother, I feel nearly valueless, so empty but for the fullness of guilt for not doing more.

Maybe once society accepts certain chronic illnesses with more legitamacy, maybe I will be able to as well & stop questioning whether this is all in my head. maybe then my old friend, Guilt will loosen his embrace.

Another complication is my youthful face. I don't mine when the general public notice this - yet the medical coummunity have mis-handled me by judging me less 30 years. I once heard an anaesthesiologist shake after a procedure saing " Jesus I did not know how much I misjudge this woman age - maybe I gave her too much anesthesia! When I open my eyes he said, lady when did you stop aging?

VA compensation will never cover this lost. Yet my military training tell me to suck and drive on.

Waiting for VA Secertary to Repond

2009-03-08T22:13:00.002-04:00

The promised overhaul of the process for deciding on
disability pay has been postponed,
Only ONE recommandation from Gulf War Advisory Committes
was acted on/implimented by the following Dept VA seceratries...
ed derwinski
anthony principi
jesse brown
hershel gober
togo west
jim nicholson
gordon mansfield
james peake
eric shinseki

The VA employees have posmised to repond to the recommendations
of the VA-Research Adviory Committee and
VA-Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans.
I wrote to each of Secertaries to get the beneifits
I earned from my honorable service to this country.
You deserve this too.

Burn Pits -Oil Well Fires Gulf War

2008-12-16T23:28:00.002-05:00

The burn pits in Iraq are just larger version of
the burn pits created from 91 till 2003.
Some 175,000 soldiers who fought in the Gulf War
have lived a nightmare for 17 years. Plagued by
debilitating illness since they deployed in this
theatre. Environmental medicine is not practiced
by military and VA doctors.
The VA and DoD is failing to advertize on going studies.
Veterans have not been told they could use the VA-WRIISC
clinics and hospital directors mis-informed Vets
that they did not have transport money to get to
DC or Orange,NJ

If you are still having problems getting care or
home or other beneifits please contact this Office.
This Committee is asking for written comments from Veterans
This Committee is allowing Vets to speak before them,
during Public Coment Sessions.
This Committee is allowing Vets to Teleconferece -
hearing sessions by telephone. Silence is not an Option ! http://www.va.gov/gulfwaradvisorycommittee
VA - Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans

Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Policy and Planning (008A1)810 Vermont Ave, Washington, DC 20420202-461-5758 Lelia P. Jackson, Policy Analyst ,lelia.jackson@va.gov

I and others suffer http://www.InvisbleDisabilities.org
Please speak up Now!

Gulf War syndrome – has it gone away?

2008-11-15T13:13:00.002-05:00

Misdiagnosis costs veterans benefits
More skimping on healthcare costs

Why does it appear VA/DOD is want only denying Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans their right to healthcare benefits, claiming they have a disorder that would have originally disqualified them entry into the Army under Department of Defense standards.

The Army is misdiagnosing those with PTSD. Combat veterans are being diagnosed erroneously with personality disorder—denying them benefits because PD is classified as a pre-existing condition. In the last six years, the Army has discharged 22,500 people diagnosed with personality disorder.

Chronic Multisympthoms Ilnesses which have occured after open wounds during deployment are not being counted in most reports. The infections, inflamation process and disorders which occures many months and years after the orginal injury are being overlooked. They are being concidered by VA and DoD as Non-serviced Connected until the individual vet Appeals several times before benefits are final granted.

Why is Congressional Oversite and VA-Environment Agents Office not accuntable for failing our disabled veteran today?

see http://www.gulflink.org
http://www.pgev.org

Don't Let the Sunset on Gulf War Veterans

2008-11-15T12:58:00.002-05:00

Desert Storm veterans are members of forgotten war as viewed by the VA and
Deployment Health Affairs CLOSED programs.

WASHINGTON -- Sixteen years after the Persian Gulf War, more than 1 in 4 of
those who fought remain seriously ill with medical problems ranging from
severe fatigue and joint pain to Lou Gehrig's disease, multiple sclerosis and
brain cancer, the chairman of a congressional advisory committee testified.
But even as more is learned about what's now called Gulf War Veterans Illness, the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs remain in virtual denial about its causes and have been slow to offer treatment, said James Binns,the head of a VA-Research Advisory Committee.

"This is a tragic record of failure, and the time lost can never be regained,"
Binns told the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee.
"This government manipulation of science and violation of law to devalue the
health problems of ill veterans is something I would not have believed possible
in this country until I took this job."

Pentagon and VA officials said they're taking the illness seriously, funding
clinical and other research, and are committed to ensuring that veterans get
needed care. "Veterans who report health problems are definitely ill," said
Michael Kilpatrick, the Defense Department's deputy director for force health
protection and readiness programs. "However, they do not have a single type
of health problem. Consequently, these veterans have to be evaluated and
treated as individuals."

To access the conference
Public comments will be received day before the MEETING,
Individuals wishing to speak must register not later than 48 hours before the MEETING.
www.va.gov/gulfwaradvisorycommittee

VA - Advisory committee on Gulf War Veterans
Department of Veterans Affairs
Office of Policy and Planning (008A1)
810 Vermont Ave, Washington, DC 20420

202-461-5758 To access the TELEconference
lelia.jackson@va.gov - Lelia P. Jackson, contact

VA-RAC on Gulf War Illness let us down

2008-09-16T16:52:00.004-04:00

This is my response to the meeting of Veterans Affairs Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Illnesses 14-15 Sept 2008 in Washington D.C.

Researchers -they can set out to prove a pet theory,
they can ignore data which contradicts a favored hypothesis,
and they can read into data facts which simply aren't there.
In addition, and perhaps more importantly, their employers can be biased.
DoD can put pressure on researchers or even research firms to
validate a preordained position or to produce a desired result.
Not that they really have to, since it is much easier to hire or retain
investigators who agree with them to begin with.
And even that is not necessary, since the DOD/VA employer gets to
write conclusions and recommendations. Scientists who dissent can
effectively be buried simply by not publishing what they have to say.

Research is never economically beneficial except for those in position
to profit from Research expenditures." What else am I to think when
monies are appropriated by southwest university and Dr. Haley
and three years or 36 months and no project started-
up to 45 million dollars not working for us veterans.
Promises 's broken.

It is sad Gulf War Scientists can find their research blocked,
or find themselves threatened with financial ruin. Corporations,
Veterans agents, think tanks, even government agencies have been
caught suppressing or distorting research on the safety of chemicals
on and around our battlefield.

This is why I feel Gulf War Research has been hijacked.
I feel the VA-RAC on GWI has been stonewalled.
I have seen the last few VA Secretaries make vague
promises of support, yet fail to implement any Recommendations
this committee has made over the years

It is the former RAC board member and Principal scientist
to southwestern university department, who accepted 15 million
for the last three years for the promise of neuro-imaging, veteran
survey and maybe a clinic.

Has not happened, will not happen. As I listen Dr. Haley give a
political doublespeak when trying to explain what he has
accomplished in the last three years.

I believe gulf war veterans will not see any Recommendations
actual carried on into completed and published research project
before this administration ends.

Only veterans who speak out, demand oversight !

Who's side is VA Secretary on ?

2008-07-22T09:08:00.003-04:00

Burden of proof verus benefit of doubt
The majority of medically relvalent records have Never been released to the public
or the researchers who write the Studies on gulf war undiagnoesed illness.
This how they are led, by omitting information.

Does the government believe that Khamisiyah event occur? – YES
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=16551

Did the government inventory these chemical weapons in Iraq? – YES
Did the military blow up thousand of rounds in the Khamisiyah area – YES
Were there American troops down wind of the explosions – Yes

From the beginning, Peake has been carefully packaged by the White House.
Article on "Packaging Peake" here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/nfDEC07/nf121007-1.htm
So are we surprised when he fails to give gulf war vets the benefit of doubt

Additionally, the VA is perceived as having a conflict of interest between its role as payor of disability benefits for veterans found to have war-related illnesses and its role as researcher into war-related illnesses. Distrust of the DoD was exacerbated when it notified 100,000 veterans of the Gulf War that they may have been exposed to chemical warfare agents destroyed at Khamisiyah, after the department had made repeated assurances that no such exposures had occurred. (OCR for page 28)http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=9713&page=26

Therefore GW veterans must still fight for their benefits and ratings.

Memorial of Gufl War Veterans

2008-04-15T23:13:00.004-04:00

By 1993, we said goodbye to few comrades who died too young and unexpectedly from chronic multisympthom disorder. The day after the War ended medical records went missing,

And to our comrades who lived handicap lives and continue to Fight the Good Battle for medical care and benefits. Disorders of the Gulf War.

Here at Battlefield Corve, Fall River, MA aboard the USS Massachusetts

GW Vets with Headache and GI problems

2008-03-05T17:05:00.003-05:00

Many sick vets and myself suffer chronic
multisympthoms illness. We complaint of
headaches and GI problems. Now there is a
study that speaks to our problem.
We must demand that VA-Research Advisory
Committee - GWI to follow up on this.

Headache common in people with GI trouble
Wed Feb 27, 2008 7:39pm EST
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The prevalence of
headache is higher in people with gastrointestinal
GI) symptoms such as nausea, acid reflux, diarrhea,
and constipation, than in people who don't have
these bothersome symptoms, new research indicates.

Both headaches and GI symptoms are common in the
general population and eat up substantial healthcare
dollars, note the researchers. "However, the
scientific literature about the comorbidity of
headache and gastrointestinal complaints is scant,"
they point out in the medical journal Cephalalgia.

To investigate, Dr. Anne Hege Aamodt and associates
from the Norwegian University of Science and
Technology, Trondheim, reviewed questionnaires
completed by 43,732 participants in the
Nord-Trondelag Health Study, including information
on GI symptoms as well as headache.

After adjusting for gender, age, depression,
anxiety and other factors that might influence
the results, the research team noted a significantly
higher prevalence of headache among participants
with reflux, diarrhea, constipation, and nausea,
compared to those without such complaints.

"The association between headache and gastrointestinal
complaints increased markedly with increasing
headache frequency," Aamodt told Reuters Health.

These results have implications for the treatment
of headache patients. "It is important to consider
the total burden of discomfort in these patients
and to avoid headache medication with adverse
gastrointestinal effects in those with much
gastrointestinal discomfort," Aamodt said.

The strong ties between frequent headache and
frequent GI complaints raises questions about
common mechanisms that make headache sufferers
predisposed to GI complaints, Aamodt also noted.

SOURCE: Cephalalgia, February 2008.

Closed or Mild traumatic brain injury Desert Storm Vets

2008-01-16T22:18:00.000-05:00

How many vets were told their problems were due to stress ??
17 years later Remember us.
Not understanding you suffered from this could ruin
relationships, marriages and disrupted careers.

We vets struggled to function with shorten attention
and mild cogitive defects. Yet we also suffered "Well
Warrior Syndrome", where we deny as many sympthoms
to deal with the challenges of daily life;
avoid going to sick call;
avoid doctors visits - unless there is a GREAT loss of blood.
We avoid complainting to our family and friends.
Venus Hammack ARCENTCOM
#############

Are you suffering from Mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) ??

Some place the number of U.S. citizens who took part in the Gulf War
at over 1 million. Official Pentagon numbers only show a total of
697,000. 45,000, about 6 percent of Gulf War veterans have reported
an ailment they believe is linkedto their service.

Further Defense Department research is focusing on the 15 percent, of
all Gulf War veterans, whose ailments could not be diagnosed. Their
problems included headache and memory loss, fatigue, sleep disorders.
These have come to be known as the symptoms of Gulf War Syndrome.

Complications and lasting effects
Some concussions can have serious, lasting effects.

Cumulative effects
Some evidence suggests that the severity of concussions worsens with
successive injuries; symptoms, cognitive test performance, and
neurophysiology all change after a patient's second concussion.
[2] In addition, in some cases symptoms of the third and subsequent
concussions are worse, and patients take longer to recover from them.

[2] Even if a subsequent concussion occurs months or years after an
initial one, evidence suggests that cumulative damage may occur.
Repeat concussions can lead to problems such as loss of long-term
memory and psychiatric disorders. Some researchers have suggested
a relationship between concussions and the eventual development of
Alzheimer's disease.

Post-concussion syndrome
In post-concussion syndrome (PCS), concussion symptoms do not
resolve for weeks,months, or even years, and the patient may have
headaches, light and sound sensitivity, memory and attention
problems, dizziness, difficulty with directed movements, clinical
depression, and anxiety. Symptoms usually peak four to six weeks
after the concussion, but may go on longer, some
even lasting a year or more. Physical therapy plus rest is the
best recovery technique, and symptoms usually go away on their own
sometime.

It is not known what causes PCS symptoms to occur
and persist or why some patients who suffer a mild traumatic brain
injury (MTBI) develop PCS while others do not. It is commonly
believed that physiological and psychological factors before,
during, and after the injury all take part in the development of
PCS.

I know of many vets, who have been turned down for advance
neuro diagnostics tests which could have point out this disorder.
Don't give up, go back to the Clinic if you are still suffering
these sympthoms. You can demand to be seen at the WRIISC
clinics in VAMC NJ or Washington DC.

Moser RS, Iverson GL, Echemendia RJ, Lovell MR, Schatz P, Webbe FM, Ruff RM, Barth JT (2007). Neuropsychological Evaluation in the Diagnosis and Management of Sports-Related Concussion. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, Volume 22, Issue 8, Pages 909-916. PMID 17988831. Retrieved 2008-01-08.

Anderson T, Heitger M, and Macleod AD (2006). Concussion and Mild Head Injury.
Practical Neurology 6, Pages 342-357. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-concussion_syndrome

Government faulted for response to ill veterans

2007-09-27T08:39:00.000-04:00

Sixteen years after the Persian Gulf War, more than 1 in 4
of those who fought remain seriously ill with medical problems
ranging from severe fatigue and joint pain to Lou Gehrig's disease,
multiple sclerosis and brain cancer, the chairman of a
congressional advisory committee testified recently.
"This is a tragic record of failure, and the time lost
can never be regained," Binns (of VA-RAC on GWI) told
the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee.

The Gulf War Registry is the only program in place
right now that is free, reports medical information, and is
even still called "Gulf War". Everything else at VA is under
Environmental Health, and you see how well that program
works. The last three years that program has steadily gone
down the tubes.

The Gulf War Registry gains a temporary reprieve when VA took over
the St. Louis veteran reporting hotline, the contract had run out
Dec 1st 2005. However, the funding for the hotline came from
Agent Orange rather than Gulf War.

The Gulf War Registry funding lapsed in 2003,
and it only exist now because of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The Persian Gulf Registry started in 1992, and ran until it became the
Gulf War Registry, and started taking in Iraqi Freedom vets. However,
many like myself had assumed that quite a few had made it to Phase II
exams. Well, in this spreadsheet it becomes obvious that VA very much
mishandled this program. Something I had written the Whitehouse earlier
this year about.
http://www.gulflink.org/stats/EASbyYear.xls

Monitoring of Gulf War Illness Visits

2007-09-27T08:27:00.000-04:00

PL 102-585 was created to monitor Gulf War Veterans
health. This lead to the Persian Gulf Registry.

By 1998 the program was to be expanded under
PL 105-368 to become larger, with a national study
center. To include annual reports to Congress.

Second, the issue of the Persian Gulf Registry in relation
to continuing programs. ( Gulf War Registry )

I've discussed with you the issue of access to the Gulf
War Registry, and its decline. That the decline is due
to lack of access by VAMC attrition of its EA coordinators,
once called Persian Gulf Coordinators. That the program
has been made impotent by a lack of cooperation nation
wide from the VAMC's, which has drastically reduced
enrollment though Gulf War veterans still come into the
VAMC's in ever increasing numbers.

Many Primary care clinics of VAMC's are NOT telling veterans
that this program still exists.

Therefore the Department of Veterans Affairs can deny
the problems of these veterans, when the statistics
are not Centrally collected for Congress or
Veteran's Service Organizations to see in any reports.

Is it Gulf War Illness or Undiagnosted Sympthoms

2007-08-15T01:23:00.000-04:00

This is a book VA and Military doctors are afraid
that you will read, said Jagmedic.

What's Wrong with Me?
The Frustrated Patient's Guide to Getting an Accurate Diagnosis (Paperback)
by Lynn M. Dannheisser (Author), Jerry M. Rosenbaum (Author)

BOOKS
Help your doctor give you right diagnosis
Fed up with not knowing what ailed them, a local doctor and lawyer
wrote a book to help others with the same problem.

Nine years ago, life became a blur for Jerry Rosenbaum.

Lights were too bright, borders too soft, and opening his eyelids --
which felt like they had turned into sandpaper -- for extended periods
of time was next to impossible. Rosenbaum, a doctor in Miami-Dade County
for 20 years, had no idea what was happening to him. And worse, neither
did his colleagues.

At 45, he had developed what he and a patient of his, former Sunny Isles
Beach City Attorney Lynn Dannheisser, called a ''mystery malady,'' a
term that birthed the idea for their coauthored book, What's Wrong With
Me? The Frustrated Patient's Guide to Getting an Accurate Diagnosis.
Dannheisser, who has suffered from three mystery maladies.

The problem for many patients, Dannheisser said, is that people expect
doctors to immediately provide all the answers -- even if the patients
aren't disclosing the right information.

''Patients can certainly help their doctors,'' said David Lubarsky,
chair of the anesthesiology department at the University of Miami, home

to the school's Center for Patient Safety. ``Obviously, the best patient
is an informed patient.''

That's why, Dannheisser said, it's imperative for patients to become
more proactive with their doctors. To help, Dannheisser and Rosenbaum
created an eight-step guide to help patients be more prepared for their
appointments.

''You don't have to be a doctor in order to help your doctor,''
Dannheisser said.

However, as Rosenbaum's case shows, being one doesn't guarantee success
either. Eventually, running a practice with hindered vision became too
much for Rosenbaum to handle -- his mystery malady had forced him into
an early retirement.

But just six weeks ago -- after nine years of pain -- Rosenbaum finally
made headway with his eye problem. After scouring the Internet, he found
a surgeon who specialized in helping people who suffered from the same
symptoms. Finally, Rosenbaum was able to put a name on his disease --
blepharospasm, or involuntary eyelid muscle contraction -- and have it
treated.

Now, Rosenbaum said, he's able to keep his eyes open -- without pain --
for extended periods of time. With continued healing, he hopes he may
one day be able to reopen his practice.

''I'm keeping my fingers crossed,'' he said.

Accountability for Gulf War Disabled Vets

2007-08-12T15:14:00.000-04:00

There have been Congressional Government Reform Committees
for the past 12 years on gulf war exposures and on Gulf War
Illness. Many of the hearing held to respond to VA and DOD-health
policies and directives determined by the GAO-General Accounting
Office not implemented, or only in few facilities and poor record keeping.

With records (stat tics) not collected or stolen (VA laptops)
the public will never know for sure how many GW vets have
Cancer, heart conditions, ALS, MS or CFS.

With spottie information collected by VA Health Care (VBA)
minimal information to update VA staff by the Office of
Public Health and Environmental Hazards (13), it is not
surprising today, we still have VA and DOD doctors who still
believe there are undiagnosed illness in gulf war vets.

So when will the 135,000 gulf war vet, who have gone to
the VA for care demand our government officials to do
their job effectively and efficiently.

Comrades we must pick up our pens to ask for accountability
in medical programs and services. Demand change of the
staff who ran these Offices poorly, fired them. Bring in
NEW blood.
Do not Leave Gulf War Vets with Undiagnosed Illness Behind !

Venus
Persian Gulf Era Vets of Mass.

Gulf Syndrome Has Believers in Congress

2007-01-16T17:12:00.000-05:00

Venus Hammack lobbied for this funds to be given to this project. I attended the Congressional Hearing on this subject to give this disability a face.
I am one of the ten percent of humans, call troops/GI, who had adverse health conditions after leaving the battlefield.

Funding Continues for Illness Scientists Dismiss
Gulf Syndrome Has Believers in Congress
By David Brown
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 3, 2006; A01

Fifteen years after the end of the 1991 war with Iraq, a Texas researcher is in line to get as much as $75 million in federal funding to press his studies of "Gulf War syndrome," even though most other scientists long ago discounted his theories.

Epidemiologist Robert W. Haley has been trying for 10 years to prove that thousands of Persian Gulf War troops were poisoned by a combination of nerve gas, pesticides, insect repellents and a nerve-gas antidote. With the help of $16 million in past funding obtained by his backers in Congress and the Pentagon, Haley has argued that his "toxicity hypothesis" is the best explanation for the constellation of physical complaints that many veterans reported after returning from the Gulf.

Gulf War Era Vets persistent disabling symptoms

2007-01-15T01:39:00.000-05:00

The ground war lasted four days and resulted in 147 battlefield deaths, but almost 199,000 of the 698,000 people who were deployed have since qualified for some degree of service-related disability. Of those, 13,317 people are disabled by "undiagnosed conditions."

Today problems from endemic infections, years later are being diagnosed such as:

1. "Visceral Leishmaniasis" (kala-azar or Dum-Dum fever); Skin Infestations due to Protozoa;
viscerotropic infections of the abdomin
2. "Acinetobacter Baumannii" possibly increased the rate of immune system disorders and birth defects, reported by combat veterans.

Is this reasons doctors don't investigate veteran/patient's complaints ?
[1] the laboratory test are very expensive
[2] can be without sympthoms for 5 to 10 years
[3] currently there is NO cure
[4] so why tell the patient, it might depress the individual.

DoD & VA Doctors don't lie - They just omit the Details
Jagmedic