Wis. Veteran with Gulf War Illness Reconized by U.S. Sen. Feingold for Service

A speech by U.S. Senator Russ Feingold

Click Here for Audio of Senator Feingold's Speech

(Washington, D.C. - Saturday, June 19, 2009) - Thank you, Al, for that introduction. You gave me my most recent tour of the Fort earlier this year, and, as always, I was so impressed by every aspect of this terrific installation. I’m so pleased to be with all of you to celebrate Fort McCoy’s 100th anniversary. It was wonderful to hear from Colonel Chesser, Major General Sholar, and especially from Colonel McCoy about the history of this Fort and its founder. It truly is an honor to be in the presence of you and your family here.

We are here today because of Robert McCoy. Military installations are sited in different places for many different reasons. In the case of Fort McCoy, it was because one man looked at this tract of land – at woods and pasture that most wouldn’t have given much thought to – and saw something else. Robert McCoy saw the potential for this land to train service members to defend our country. With his own military experience, he knew this could be an ideal place to put an artillery camp, and he began buying the land to make that vision a reality.

The story of this Fort is the best kind of American story, where determination, strength of character, and commitment to duty win the day. Those are values we prize as Americans, and nowhere are they more evident than in our service members. These men and women make those values their life’s work, and each, in their own way, affects the course of history, just as Robert McCoy did. It’s those values, and those men and women, past and present, who we celebrate today as we celebrate Fort McCoy.

This Fort has contributed so much to our nation’s defense. It has played a major role in training field artillery units for deployment in World War I, again helped units deploy in World War II, served as a major training center for the Fifth Army preparing for the Korean War, and was a major mobilization site during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. And, of course, today Fort McCoy supports the training of more than 100,000 people a year and has prepared more than 84,000 military personnel from 49 states and two territories for mobilization and demobilization since September 11, 2001.

All that has been done right here, in this corner of the state that Robert McCoy surveyed more than 100 years ago and saw the potential for something much more. In Wisconsin, we are tremendously proud of Fort McCoy and all it has accomplished. And today the Fort is playing as important a role as it ever has, serving as the only major installation located in the north-central US. That is a significant role to play, and a significant responsibility to bear as you train our nation’s service members. You carry out that duty with an unwavering commitment to excellence. I’m very pleased that Fort McCoy has received significant funding from the stimulus legislation passed by Congress earlier this year to modernize existing barracks and build new housing. This support is not only well deserved, it is long overdue; it will help make life just a little more comfortable for those who sacrifice so much while serving our country.

You offer state-of-the-art training to those about to deploy, including the 32nd Brigade Combat Team that recently deployed to Iraq. I spoke at the send-off for the 32nd Brigade, and frankly I had never been more moved in my career than I was to be in front of those I believe it was 3,200 courageous men and women. It was an honor to say a few words to them, and it’s wonderful that they could be trained right here in Wisconsin at this top-notch facility. They could have no better preparation for their deployment than the training you offer at Fort McCoy.

Wisconsin has such a strong tradition of military service and that’s something we are very proud of here in this state. On this past Memorial Day, I visited the Forest Hills Cemetery in Madison, where some of our Civil War soldiers are interred. Being there was a profound reminder of the power of the individual stories of all who have served; how they inspire us, and how they fill us with gratitude for their service. Wisconsin offers countless such stories, from those who rest at Forest Hills to others who fought World Wars in the theaters of Europe and the Pacific, who deployed to Korea and Vietnam, who served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and who serve today in Iraq and Afghanistan.

These stories are as unique as each individual, but they are united by the values of determination, strength of character and commitment to service that characterize our military as a whole. One story I came across recently really struck me, because it was an unsung story of service from World War II with some unlikely circumstances.

I received a letter from a woman in Texas, asking me to help recognize a courageous group of young women who, during the darkest days of World War II, served their country as Women Air Force Service Pilots, through what became known as the WASP Program. As part of that program, from 1942 to 1944, more than 1,000 women towed targets for air-to-air gunnery practice and ground-to-air anti-aircraft artillery practice, ferried aircraft, test flew airplanes, instructed male pilots, and flew every other type of mission Army Air Force male pilots flew, all within the Continental United States.

Some lost their lives in the line of duty. These were women of what so many have called the greatest generation, who served as our country’s first military women aviators. While the program was shut down when Congress wouldn’t grant the women military status, they paved the way for the women service members who proudly serve in the Armed Forces today. Their dedication and commitment to duty when the nation needed them, even when they failed to get recognition for so many years, is a moving story of service to our country.

Nineteen WASP members were from Wisconsin, including two surviving members: Elinore Pyle of Merrill and Ethel Sheffler of Appleton. I was pleased to cosponsor legislation, which the U.S. Senate has passed, to award a gold medal in honor of the courageous Women Air Force Service Pilots for their military service.

So many stories of service like these are here in Wisconsin, close to home. Another Wisconsinite I’d like to highlight grew up near here, close to Fort McCoy. Anthony Hardie grew up in Onalaska. Many know Anthony from his outstanding work as the Executive Assistant for Legislative, Public and Intergovernmental Affairs with the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs.

Anthony served with the U.S. Army from 1986 through 1993, including service in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, Somalia, several additional operations in Africa, and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba during the Haitian boatlift refugee crisis. He was a highly decorated Staff Sergeant, the recipient of the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Humanitarian Service Medal, among many others.

Of all his medals, he is most proud of his humanitarian service medal, which he received for his service aiding Haitian child refugees. Anthony’s record is an inspiring combination of old-fashioned commitment to duty, along with a new set of skills that is needed as we combat the threats of the 21st century.

Those skills were critically important as he translated for Haitian refugees, and as he trained Senegalese peacekeepers to serve in Liberia.

And his commitment to duty was central to his decision to serve in the Gulf War, even when he could have stayed home.

When Anthony did come home after the Gulf War was over, he worked with Representative Tammy Baldwin, sharing his expertise in veterans and military affairs issues, as well as other areas. Then Ray Boland, who is here today, appointed Anthony to work at the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs.

Anthony’s decision, after so many years of service, to dedicate himself to serving other veterans, is a testament to his outstanding character. It is fitting that members of the State Assembly recently introduced a resolution honoring Anthony’s outstanding service to our country.

Anthony has also lived for nearly two decades with Gulf War illness. He has been a leader in ensuring that our government acknowledges the impact of this illness and moves forward with determination to find treatments. He has also worked with my office to enact legislation ensuring that all veterans are informed of the care and benefits which they have more than earned. Anthony has said that "taking care of each other is what makes the military strong," and our nation is certainly stronger because Anthony Hardie has dedicated his life to military service and military veterans.

Through the generations, that commitment to duty always endures. Now a new generation is coming up, and I have been tremendously impressed by their commitment to service as well. As a U.S. senator, I have the privilege of nominating young men and women to our service academies, and I am always impressed by the candidates we see. In the fall of 2005, I nominated a young man named John Campion of Green Bay to attend the U.S. Naval Academy. He was accepted and is now a midshipman expected to graduate in 2010. I mention this young man not only because I was impressed by his qualifications, but because he has a focus on international cooperation that I think will be critical to our security in the 21st century. He is studying Mandarin and traveled to China last summer and is doing so again this summer. He also was recently awarded a highly prestigious Truman Scholarship. And later this summer, he will be going to the Horn of Africa with a group of midshipmen for a journey with both humanitarian and training goals. With his strong focus on international cooperation, John is poised to make an outstanding contribution to the Navy, and to our security.

Anthony and John exemplify the kind of warriors we need to face the threats of the future. In this new century, we face myriad new threats that, as all of you know, don’t completely resemble the threats of the Cold War.

The major strategic gap in our 21st century defenses is not a missile gap or a gap in military personnel and hardware measured against the armies and arsenals of another state. The major strategic gap is a deficit in the strength and variety of resources we must bring to bear on the asymmetric threats of today, particularly terrorism.

An effective 21st century national security strategy must include enhanced multilateral diplomacy and strengthened mechanisms to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Our strategy must also encourage participatory, transparent and fair government around the world, and promote accountability and the rule of law. That’s because these are key American principles, and because ineffective, repressive, corrupt and unresponsive governments can provide breeding grounds for extremism that threatens our country.

That is why the work of service members like Anthony Hardie, caring for refugees and training peacekeepers, is so important. And why the focus of a midshipman at the Naval Academy on maritime cooperation with China and India is potentially so valuable.

As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee, I’m heartened by that focus, and by those critically important skills.

In this new century, while we need a more modern strategy, we will also draw our strength from something that is timeless: the Armed Forces’ fierce commitment to service. The military’s devotion to serving and protecting our country is as important to our security as any strategy we could employ. We are of course so fortunate that so many brave Americans answer the call to duty, and go on to serve our nation with such distinction.

In Congress, I will continue to work to see that our country repays some small measure of that devotion by supporting service members after they come home. I’m proud to work on a number of efforts to improve service members’ transition to civilian life, and to ensure that they get the benefits they were promised.

I think that’s our duty to all you who have served, and we must uphold it, as our service members uphold their duty to defend the United States of America.

In this new century, we celebrate the contributions of Fort McCoy, and the Wisconsinites, then and now, who have worked to strengthen our security. I thank everyone here at Fort McCoy for your tireless efforts to defend this nation, and to give your fellow service members the state-of-the-art training they need to do the same.

It has truly been an honor to pay tribute to the vision of Robert McCoy, and the dedicated men and women who have brought that vision to life over the last 100 years. I know I’m joined by everyone across our state as I congratulate Fort McCoy for 100 years of service to our nation.

Thank you.

Veterans Groups to Meet in Louisville in July

By Anthony Hardie, 91outcomes

(91outcomes.blogspot.com) - The National Gulf War Resource Center has released its agenda for the upcoming 2009 annual membership meeting, to be held July 31st and August 1st, 2009.

This year, the Resource Center's annual meeting will be held in conjunction with the 2009 annual conference of Veterans of Modern Warfare (VMW) and the 2009 National Convention of the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), which will be held from July 27 to August 2, 2009 at the Galt House Hotel and Suites, 140 North 4th Avenue, in Louisville, Kentucky [VVA Full Agenda].

For a nominal registration fee, attendees will have the option of participating in a host of events during the joint conferences and convention. Among these will be informative presentations on Gulf War illness and related topics.

Numerous celebrities will also be participating, adding interest and levity to the seriousness of the many issues to be discussed in presentations and workshops throughout the joint events.

The National Gulf War Resource Center has updated its contact information, as follows:

The National Gulf War Resource Center
2611 SW 17th Street Suite 1 B
Topeka, KS 66604
(866) 531-7183

RAC Agenda for June 2009 Meetings in Boston Released

By Anthony Hardie, 91outcomes

(91outcomes.blogspot.com) -- The Congressionally Chartered federal Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses has publicly released its agenda for the RAC's upcoming meetings in Boston.

The RAC's June 29-30 meetings will be held at the Boston University School of Public Health, Crosstown Center, 801 Massachusetts Ave., Room 462, in Boston, Mass.

The RAC's scheduled presentations for Monday, June 28, which begin at 8:30 a.m. and conclude at 5:00 p.m., include the following:

• Kuwaiti oil well fire study - Dr. Douglas Dockery, Harvard University School of Public Health
• Gulf War associated chronic coagulopathies update - Dr. Ronald Bach, Minneapolis VA Medical Center
• Impaired immune function in Gulf War illness - Dr. Nancy Klimas, Miami VA Medical Center
• Immune network remodeling in chronic fatigue syndrome - Dr. Gordon Broderick, University of Alberta
• The role of neuroinflammation in chronic illness - Dr. Keith Kelley, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Current therapies for Chronic multisymptom illness - Dr. Meryl Nass, Mt. Desert Island Hospital
• Update of VA Gulf War research - Dr. William Goldberg, VA Office of Research and Development
• Update of UTSW Gulf War research - Dr. Robert Haley, University of Texas Southwestern/VA Dallas Healthcare System

Following Monday's presentations will be a discussion of potential GWI treatments by the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses and invited speakers.

The presentations scheduled for Tuesday, June 30, which begin at 8:30 a.m. and conclude at 1:15 p.m., include:

• Current practices in cognitive rehabilitation and pain management - Dr. Ross Zafonte, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital
• Potential treatment for cognitive dysfunction using transcranial laser/light emitting diodes - Dr. Marney Naeser, VA Boston Healthcare System
• Innovative therapies for mild brain injuries - Dr. Philip De Fina, International Brain Research Foundation/Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation
• Current therapies for fibromyalgia - Dr. Dedra Buchwald, Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses

Following Tuesday's presentations will be a Committee discussion and opportunities for public comment. All meetings, including the committee discussion, are open to the public.

The RAC's next public meetings will be held November 2-3, 2009 at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs central office in downtown Washington, DC.

More information on the RAC's upcoming meetings is available from the RAC's website.

BREAKING NEWS: New Congressional Hearing on Gulf War Illness Scheduled for July 30

By Anthony Hardie, 91outcomes

(91outcomes.blogspot.com) -- The Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Veterans' Affairs has announced it's next hearing on the research related to Gulf War illness, which affects between 175,000 and 210,000 of the 697,000 veterans of the 1991 Gulf War.

The hearing, entitled, The Implications of VA’s Limited Scope of Gulf War Illness Research, will be held on Thursday morning, July 30th, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. in the Veterans' Affairs Commtitee Hearing Room in the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

The hearing is the second of an announced series of at least three hearings by the Subcommittee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses.

The first in the series was held on May 19th, was entitled, Gulf War Illness Research: Is Enough Being Done?

91outcomes website posts about the May 19th hearing included the following:

• The opening statement by Subcommittee Chair Rep. Harry Mitchell (D-AZ).
• Links to testimony from the Full Witness List;
  
• House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chair Bob Filner's press release about the hearing, entitled, VA Unresponsive to Questions, Needs of Gulf War Veterans;
• An Air Force Time article about the hearing; and
• A special series of 91outcomes exclusives:

1. Background on those testifying at the hearing;
   
2. An article providing an overview of the hearing;
   
3. An article about the VA using recycled testimony; and,
4. An opinion piece entitled, VA Rolls Out Same Old Cast of Characters.
   

TREATMENT TRIAL of Low-Dose Naltrexone: Northern California Gulf War Veterans Needed

Written by Anthony Hardie, 91outcomes

(91outcomes.blogspot.com) -- Veterans of the 1991 Gulf War in northern California suffering from Gulf War Syndrome and Fibromyalgia are needed for a clinical trial of a new drug that may help alleviate their symptoms, including pain, unrefreshing sleep, and debilitating chronic fatigue.

The study is a collaboration between Stanford University School of Medicine and the American Fibromyalgia Syndrome Association, and focuses on a treatment trial of Low-Dose Naltrexone (LDN), which may have a role in regulating natural pain-reducing systems.

The study is currently recruiting Gulf War veteran volunteers. Participation will cover 22 weeks, with 12 laboratory visits and a daily log to measure symptoms.

Study participants must be suffering from moderate to severe fibromyalgia -- one of three conditions for which U.S. veterans of the 1991 Gulf War can receive presumptive service-connection -- or the chronic multi-symptom illness commonly known as Gulf War Syndrome.

Study participants must be no older than age 65, can be male or female, must not be currently taking any opioid analgesic (pain medication), must not be pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant, and must not have an allergy to naltrexone.

The study is a a placebo-controlled, double-blind, cross-over drug trial. It was funded through the peer- and Gulf War veteran-reviewed Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP) of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program.

In order to participate, Gulf War veterans near Stanford, California should contact the LDN study coordinator, Jarred Younger, at mailto:LDN_Younger%40stanford.edu?subject=NCT00568555,%20SU-10232007-756,%20Effects%20of%20Low%20Dose%20Naltrexone%20in%20Fibromyalgia.

E-ZINE ARTICLE: Protecting the Brain: Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, Lupus, Lyme, MS, ALS, Autism, and Depression

By Heidi Whitaker

(E-zine). In the case of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, MS, ALS, autism, Alzheimer’s, lupus, and Lyme Disease, inflammatory proteins called cytokines cross into the brain. They do so through weakened areas of the blood brain barrier (BBB). In the brain, they cause “brain fog,” sleep disturbances, and increased pain, depression, and anxiety. Certain cytokines can deplete the brain of tryptophan, which is necessary in the production of serotonin.

Low serotonin levels can result in non-restorative sleep, depression, increased stress, increased appetite, increased pain perception because of an increase in Substance P, and IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). The decrease in serotonin and increase of Substance P may result in low Growth Hormone (HGH) production, which is characteristic of Fibromyalgia.

This tryptophan deficiency is especially detrimental in those who suffer from depression, anxiety, Chronic Lyme, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Fibromyalgia sufferers, who already struggle with low serotonin levels.

It is important to strengthen the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) against cytokine invasion. Cytokines will only cross the BBB in an area that it is weakened. Low levels of vitamin B, a deficiency of certain essential fatty acids, and a viral infection, like a cold or flu can weaken the blood brain barrier. A study published in June 2002, in the scientific journal Differentiation, reported new evidence that mobile phone radiation can also weaken the BBB against harmful substances. (Cordless phones pose the same risk, but to a lesser degree.)

Diet and dietary supplements can strengthen the brain’s protective barrier (BBB) against cytokine invasion. Because vitamin C can strengthen capillaries and the blood brain barrier is made up of capillaries, it is reasonable to believe that vitamin C could provide the BBB with added protection. Additionally, animal studies show that flavonoids, like those found in blueberries, bilberries, and grape seeds can protect the blood brain barrier. These flavanoids can be purchased in supplement form. They are also anti-inflammatory, so they protect the brain by reducing cytokine levels and strengthening the BBB.

Heidi Whitaker is an author, popular speaker, and co-founder of http://www.healthydivas.com She has dedicated her life to the fight against autoimmunity. To download a free copy of her book "Conquering Autoimmunity" visit http://www.healthydivas.com/conquer_autoimmunity_free_download.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Heidi_Whitaker

NEWSWISE ARTICLE: Fibromyalgia Patients Show Decreases in Gray Matter Intensity

Newswise — Previous studies have shown that fibromyalgia is associated with reductions in gray matter in parts of the brain, but the exact cause is not known. Using sophisticated brain imaging techniques, researchers from Louisiana State University, writing in The Journal of Pain, found that alterations in levels of the neurotransmitterdopamine might be responsible for gray matter reductions.

For the study, magnetic imaging resonance data from 30 female fibromyalgia patients were compared with 20 healthy women of the same age. The primary objective of the study was to confirm original findings about reduced gray matter density in a larger sample of fibromyalgia patients. They explored whether there is a correlation between dopamine metabolic activity and variations in the density of gray matter in specific brain regions.

Results showed there were significant gray matter reductions in the fibromyalgia patients, which supports previous research. In addition, the fibromyalgia patients showed a strong correlation of dopamine metabolism levels and gray matter density in parts of the brain in which dopamine controls neurological activity. The authors concluded that the connection between dopamine levels and gray matter density provide novel insights to a possible mechanism that explains some of the abnormal brain morphology associated with fibromyalgia.

REUTERS ARTICLE: Jazz Pharma's pain drug significantly reduces symptoms

Mon Jun 15, 2009 9:30am EDT

June 15 (Reuters) - Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc (JAZZ.O) said its experimental treatment for fibromyalgia significantly reduced pain compared to the dummy drug in a late-stage trial, sending shares of the company up as much as 37 percent.

The company said sodium oxybate, or JZP-6, showed statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in pain and the core symptoms associated with fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain condition and majority of patients are also affected by other symptoms like fatigue, sleep disturbances, cognitive dysfunction and impaired physical function.

On June 10, shares of Jazz Pharma soared more than 200 percent, in anticipation of the drug's late-stage data, which was scheduled to be presented at the 2009 Associated Professional Sleep Societies meeting.

In November, Jazz Pharma said the drug met the main goal of reducing pain and fatigue in the first of two late-stage trials.

Sodium oxybate is already being marketed under the brand name Xyrem in the United States as an oral solution for the treatment of narcolepsy, a condition marked by excessive daytime sleepiness, impaired vision and muscle weakness.

Shares of the company rose as much as 37 percent to $3.62 Monday in premarket trading. They closed at $2.64 Friday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Anuradha Ramanathan in Bangalore; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan)

Chemical Warfare Agents Burned Landscapers, Caused Cancers in Unsuspecting Washington, DC Residents

Written by Anthony Hardie, 91outcomes

(91outcomes.blogspot.com) -- A World War I former chemical munitions site in a residential neighborhood in Northwest Washington, DC, rediscovered accidentally in 1993, has been found to contain Lewisite and Mustard chemical warfare agents. The full article follows below.

Both Lewisite, with its characteristic smell of geraniums, and Mustard, with its telltale onion/garlic odor, were created in large quantities by the pre-1991 Gulf War Iraqi military-industrial complex. Lewisite-Mustard chemical weapons were used by Iraq to devastating effect during the eight-year Iraq-Iraq War that preceded the 1991 Gulf War.

U.S. and Gulf War troops were exposed to sarin and cyclosarin and may have been exposed to mustard chemical warfare agent gas vapors at the close of the 1991 Gulf War following unwitting detonations and a toxic cloud thereby released at the Iraqi munitions depot at Khamisiyah, Iraq.

In 1997, the Pentagon has confirmed one Gulf War soldier's chemical burns by mustard, Private David Fisher -- though it later downgraded its official evaluation from "likely" to "indeterminate.

Another Gulf War veteran testified in 2005 to the federal Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses about his unit's discovery of freshly vacated Iraqi bunkers in a complex near Shumayah and Qasr as Subiyah, Kuwait, just north of the Kuwait bay and west of Bubiyan Island, with the characteristic geranium and onion/garlic odors in each of the bunkers, still filled with the Iraqis' personal equipment, including numerous unfinished plates of food -- something soldiers never leave behind.

A 1996 CIA report, which was met with heavy criticism at the time by Gulf War veterans, states that there was no intentional release by chemical warfare by the Iraqis during the 1991 Gulf War. It is unclear whether information provided by Gulf War veterans about known releases has ever been favorably evaluated by CIA, DOD, or other government entities.

However, a former CIA analyst's book, "Gassed in the Gulf," detailed Patrick Eddington's professional conclusions that the Iraqis did in fact intentionally release chemical warfare agents during the 1991 Gulf War. Eddington has been a frequent news commentator on defense and intelligence matters, and is currently a senior Congressional staffer on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

The illnesses and injuries that result from exposure to Lewisite and Mustard vapors are in common with many of the respiratory and sinus ailments about which thousands of Gulf War veterans have reported during and following the 1991 Gulf War. Yet, the federal governments of the U.S., UK, and coalition partners have done little to determine the extent of these chemical injuries to Gulf War troops, almost certainly because initial U.S. reports in the 1990s have remained unchallenged.

Unknown to many Gulf War troops, while Mustard agent causes immediate damage at levels where the odor is detactable, symptoms from the exposure don't develop until hours to days later. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provides more information about Mustard and Lewisite on the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) website. Additional information is provided by CBWInfo on Lewisite and Mustard.

Symptoms from vapor exposure include respiratory ailments and were shown in the years following WWII Lewsite-Mustard experiments to cause lasting sinus, lung, and gastroesophageal symptoms in those exposed.

The full Washington Examiner editorial is shown below:

Chemical weapons waste at Spring Valley about to blow

By: Harry Jaffe

Examiner Columnist | 6/12/09 5:51 PM

Seems everywhere the military sets up shop, it often leaves a mess, sometimes a toxic one. Since the Washington region is home to many forts and bases, airfields and Navy yards, we are also the home to a few toxic waste sites.
With great irony, the most toxic site is also in one of the capital city’s most elite neighborhoods: Spring Valley. The Northwest community, by the Maryland line, has been home to presidents and generals and senators for decades.
And since the U.S. Army used the farms and forests around Ward Circle to develop chemical weapons for World War I, it has been the resting place for bombs filled with mustard gas and arsenic and poison gases such as arsine.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been in charge of cleaning up Spring Valley, since the chemical weapons were first discovered in 1993. It says the job is done. It has dug deep pits and collected unexploded bombs and it’s ready to explode them — right in Spring Valley.
Not so fast, says Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton. At a hearing this week before her subcommittee, she said: “The Corps had no right to announce its exit without more, especially considering the many errors and missteps so far and an absence of transparency over the years that borders on suppression on information.”
As for “suppression of information,” the Corps in Spring Valley has few rivals. But the federal government at large is responsible for a massive cover-up.
Back in 1918, military scientists sent out a request for poisons. A chemist across town at Catholic University concentrated arsenic to create Lewisite, known as the “dew of death,” because one drop could kill. The Army tied goats and dogs to trees in Spring Valley, dropped bombs of chemicals and watched the animals die.
For more than 70 years, the experiments and the chemicals left in the ground remained secret. A contractor uncovered a stash of bombs in 1993, and the Corps investigated. In 1996, it declared the job done. It took watchdog D.C. health officials and journalists to uncover more toxic waste and force the Corps back to work.
On Friday, I visited one of the worst toxic pits, at 4825 Glenbrook. The brick mansion and its stately stone neighbor are still fenced off. Traffic is still diverted. There’s heavy equipment in the driveway, and Army trailers sit in the American University campus on the hill above.
Reporting on the story in 1998, I found that landscape workers had been burned by toxic agents in the stone mansion’s yard, and residents of 4825 had come down with cancers that could have been related to the chemicals.
Neighborhood activists such as Kent Slowinski testified at Norton’s hearing that letting the Corps explode the bombs on its current site, near Sibley Memorial Hospital, is unsafe, at best.
Given the government’s general lack of honesty and willingness to cover up information for the last 70 years, we are fortunate to have Norton in the position to make sure Spring Valley residents are safe. She could perform the same duty for residents across the region.

MEDICAL STUDY: Metro DC Gulf War Veterans Needed

Written by Anthony Hardie, 91outcomes

(91outcomes.blogspot.com) -- Metro Washington, DC healthy and ill Veterans of the 1991 Gulf War are needed for a new medical study at Georgetown University comparing genetic and other differences between those suffering from Gulf War illness and their healthy Gulf War veteran counterparts.

The study, being led by Dr. James Baraniuk, M.D., will compare ill Gulf War veterans genetic material to that of their healthy counterparts. Among the study's goals is to develop a better understanding of how Gulf War illness affects the human body -- particularly the central nervous system.

Specifically, the study will investigate variations in the CNDP1 (Carnosine dipeptidase 1) gene that encodes a particular protein in the brain believed to be relevant to the progression of Gulf War illness.

In an October 2008 presentation about his research, Dr. Baraniuk said:

Dr. Baraniuk has also conducted research on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME), and hypothesizes that Gulf War veterans with greater fatigue and other symptoms will have more of certain biological markers in their genetic material.

The study will involve collecting genetic samples of volunteers participants, including a mouth (cheek) swab, urine and blood samples, and a professionally conducted spinal tap to collect a small sample of critically important cerebro-spinal (CSF) fluid.

Volunteers will need to remain at the study site for a few hours, and will be compensated for their participation. Most importantly, this study will help advance the understanding of the underlying mechanisms of Gulf War illness, which affects between 175,000 and 210,000 of the 696,842 veterans of the 1991 Gulf War.

The study was funded through a peer- and Gulf War veteran-recommended grant from Congressional appropriations to the U.S. Department of Defense's Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program.

Health and ill veterans of the 1991 Gulf War who are interested in participating in the study should contact mailto:gwiresearch%40georgetown.edu?subject=NCT00810225,%202008-012,%20Study%20of%20Gulf%20War%20Illness%20%28GWI%29%20by%20Comparing%20GWI%20and%20Healthy%20Veterans, or call study coordinator Samantha Merck at (202) 687-8231 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. EST.

"Analysis of the fluid flowing from the brain will identify factors that may indicate the pathology of CFS to direct the creation of new treatments, and serve as diagnostic biomarkers for future testing."

Utah Concerned about DU, but not the Pentagon

Written by Anthony Hardie, 91outcomes

(91outcomes.blogspot.com) - A June 12, 2009 editorial by the Salt Lake City Tribune editorial board, entitled Depleted Uranium: State Board Should Slam the Door, identifies the long-term risks of depleted uranium (DU), which the State of Utah is being asked to accept for long-term storage.

Part of the controversy lies in questions regarding whether the State would be making environmental regulations more strict than those propagated by the federal government, which is currently prohibited by federal law.

The editorial notes that DU "is dangerous for many millennia."

However, the Pentagon continues to find DU an important element in its defense arsenal.

A 2007 DoD-commissioned RAND study on DU asserted that, "researchers reported neither adverse renal [kidney, where DU is believed to settle] effects attributable to DU nor any adverse health effects related to DU radiation."

However, an Institute of Medicine report on DU issued in 2000 was inconclusive, leaving several important questions about the potential impact on human health as unanswerable given the available scientific data.

Yet, DoD fully downplays any potential health effects from DU in its current Fact Sheet, Depleted Uranium (DU) For Servicemembers and Families. In addition to selectively quoting two aging reports released in 1999 and 2001, the Fact Sheet describes uranium as, "a common heavy metal that each of us is exposed to routinely; that, "Many independent studies and investigations have found that radiation from DU does not pose a significant health risk;" and that, "Service members who have inhaled DU particles or who have retained DU fragments in their bodies have shown no long-term health effects."

The Pentagon's Fact Sheet for military servicemembers and their families does not include references to more recent research, such as that cited in a full chapter of the November 2008 comprehensive review of the scientific literature related to Gulf War veterans' health, exposures, and outcomes, entitled, Gulf War Illness and the Health of Gulf War Veterans: Scientific Findings and Recommendations, issued by the Congressionally chartered federal Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesss, which found:
Meanwhile, Utahians continue to publicly air their concerns about accepting the radioactive, toxic waste for storage in their state, and some 1991 Gulf War veterans continue to have concerns about DU as a potential cause of current and future illnesses and disease.

"Low-level exposure to spent DU munitions and dust is thought to have been widespread during the Gulf War and was most prominent among ground troops in forward locations. Recent animal studies have demonstrated acute effects of soluble forms of DU on the brain and behavior, but persistent effects of short term, low-dose exposures like those encountered by the majority of Gulf War veterans have only minimally been assessed. There is little information from Gulf War or other human studies concerning chronic symptomatic illness in relation to DU or uranium exposure. Exposure to DU in post-Gulf War deployments, including current conflicts in the Middle East, has not been associated with widespread multisymptom illness. This suggests that exposure to DU munitions is not likely a primary cause of Gulf War illness. Questions remain about long-term health effects of higherdose exposures to DU, however, particularly in relation to other health outcomes." (p. 8)

DoD Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) -- FY09 Gulf War Illness Research Program -- Clinical Trial Research Awards

Synopsis:

Through the FY09 Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP), the Department of Defense's Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) solicits applications for the Investigator-Initiated Research Award.

The Investigator-Initiated Research Award contains the following key mechanism elements:

• Supports new ideas in basic and clinical developmental research focusing on GWI.
• Preliminary data are not required, and if provided, do not necessarily have to come from the GWI research field.
• Clinical trials are not allowed under this mechanism.

Deadlines:

Jun. 17, 2009 (REQUIRED pre-application - letter of intent);

Sep. 9, 2009 (invited full application).

The official announcement and description of this opportunity may be found on the funding agency's website:
http://cdmrp.army.mil/funding/gwirp.htm

Areas of Interest:

The Investigator-Initiated Research Award supports research focusing on the complex of symptoms known as Gulf War Illness, improving its diagnosis, and better understanding its pathobiology. It is intended to encourage basic or clinical developmental research aimed at identification of objective measures to distinguish ill from healthy veterans (e.g., biomarkers), or elucidate potential treatment targets for GWI. Studies that characterize chronic effects of neurotoxic exposures encountered during the Gulf War (and at comparable dosage) are also acceptable.

The GWIRP also seeks proposals that can contribute to improved diagnostic testing for GWI and/or improved understanding of its pathobiology. Particular areas of interest include research on objective indicators of biological processes or abnormalities in GWI associated with these areas:

• Central nervous system structure and function
• Central neuroinflammatory processes
• Neuroendocrine measures
• Autonomic nervous system function
• Immune parameters
• Indicators of chronic infection
• Gastrointestinal complaints/symptoms
• Genetic, genomic, proteomic, or metabolic characteristics

The Investigator-Initiated Research Award is designed to promote new ideas in Gulf War Illness research. Proposals are not required to include preliminary data; however, preliminary data may be used to support the objectives of a proposal. This data does not necessarily have to come from the GWI research field. Proposals not supported by preliminary data should be based on a sound scientific rationale and may reflect clinical observations or seek to evaluate in GWI discoveries made in relation to other chronic multi-symptom illnesses. Using either approach, however, the focus should be clearly on ill Gulf War veterans. It is the responsibility of the PI to clearly and explicitly articulate the project’s potential impact on GWI.

Disciplinary Category:
Medical - Basic Science; Medical - Clinical Science; Medical - Translational.

Applicant Type:

All individuals, regardless of ethnicity, nationality, or citizenship status, may apply as long as they are employed by, or affiliated with, an eligible institution. Eligible applicants for the Investigator-Initiated Research Award are independent investigators at all academic levels).

Award Amount:
The maximum funding for the award is $600,000 for direct costs. The maximum period of perfornance is three years.
Numerical value: $600,000

Funding Agency Contact:
Department of Defense
US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, Commander
ATTN: MCMR-ZB-C (OC05-PA)
1077 Patchel Street (Building 1077)
Fort Detrick MD 21702-5024
Phone: 301-619-7079
Fax: 301-619-7792
Email: cdmrp.pa@det.amedd.army.mil

Deadlines:
Deadline: 6/17/2009

DoD Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) -- FY09 Gulf War Illness Research Program -- Innovative Treatment Evaluation Award

Synopsis:

Through the FY09 Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP), the Department of Defense's Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) solicits applications for the Innovative Treatment Evaluation Award (ITEA). The ITEA supports the initial evaluation of a treatment or intervention in smaller, early phase or pilot clinical trials (Phase II or I/II), and does not require preliminary data. [Note: All studies involving interventions, regardless of design, are considered clinical trials.]

The Innovative Treatment Evaluation Award contains the following key mechanism elements:

• Supports exploratory or small-scale studies evaluating potential treatments not previously studied in GWI.
• Pilot Phase II or Phase I/II trial combinations are permitted.
• Preliminary data are not required, though proposed study must be supported by logical rationale.
• Studies having pre-liminary/preclinical data should submit to the Clinical Trial Award (see below).

Deadlines:

Jun. 17, 2009 (REQUIRED pre-application - letter of intent);

Sep. 9, 2009 (invited full application).

The official announcement and description of this opportunity may be found on the funding agency's website:
http://cdmrp.army.mil/funding/gwirp.htm

Areas of Interest:

This award mechanism is intended to evaluate a broad scope of treatment approaches with potential for widespread, cost-effective application for GWI. Treatment approaches may include pharmacologic or other physiological interventions, including either conventional or complementary treatments, or combinations of these approaches. A variety of experimental and non-experimental study designs are acceptable under this award mechanism. The proposed study design will depend on the specific treatment or intervention to be assessed, resources available to clinical investigators, and the level of evidence currently available to support the proposed treatment for GWI. Examples of potential prospective designs may include systematic case series, prospective outcome evaluation studies, small-scale randomized trials, a combination of these, or other innovative prospective methods.

Projects of interest include innovative treatment approaches currently in clinical use that have not been systematically evaluated for effectiveness in treating GWI but may have been evaluated in conditions with similarities to GWI. Also of interest are interventions based on biological alterations identified in veterans with GWI. Thus, the GWIRP will accept proposals not only for early pilot clinical trials supported by preliminary data but also for those based on sound scientific rationale without support from preliminary data.

Disciplinary Category:
Medical - Clinical Science; Medical - Translational.

Applicant Type:

All individuals, regardless of ethnicity, nationality, or citizenship status, may apply as long as they are employed by, or affiliated with, an eligible institution. Eligible applicants for the Investigator-Initiated Research Award are independent investigators at all academic levels).

Award Amount:
The maximum funding for the award is $450,000 for direct costs. The maximum period of perfornance is three years.
Numerical value: $450,000

Funding Agency Contact:
Department of Defense
US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, Commander
ATTN: MCMR-ZB-C (OC05-PA)
1077 Patchel Street (Building 1077)
Fort Detrick MD 21702-5024
Phone: 301-619-7079
Fax: 301-619-7792
Email: cdmrp.pa@det.amedd.army.mil

Deadlines:
Deadline: 6/17/2009

DoD Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) -- FY09 Gulf War Illness Research Program -- Investigator-Initated Research Award

Synopsis:

Through the FY09 Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP), the Department of Defense's Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) solicits applications for the Investigator-Initiated Research Award.

The Investigator-Initiated Research Award contains the following key mechanism elements:

• Supports new ideas in basic and clinical developmental research focusing on GWI.
• Preliminary data are not required, and if provided, do not necessarily have to come from the GWI research field.
• Clinical trials are not allowed under this mechanism.

Deadlines:

Jun. 17, 2009 (REQUIRED pre-application - letter of intent);

Sep. 9, 2009 (invited full application).

The official announcement and description of this opportunity may be found on the funding agency's website:
http://cdmrp.army.mil/funding/gwirp.htm

Areas of Interest:

The Investigator-Initiated Research Award supports research focusing on the complex of symptoms known as Gulf War Illness, improving its diagnosis, and better understanding its pathobiology. It is intended to encourage basic or clinical developmental research aimed at identification of objective measures to distinguish ill from healthy veterans (e.g., biomarkers), or elucidate potential treatment targets for GWI. Studies that characterize chronic effects of neurotoxic exposures encountered during the Gulf War (and at comparable dosage) are also acceptable.

The GWIRP also seeks proposals that can contribute to improved diagnostic testing for GWI and/or improved understanding of its pathobiology. Particular areas of interest include research on objective indicators of biological processes or abnormalities in GWI associated with these areas:

• Central nervous system structure and function
• Central neuroinflammatory processes
• Neuroendocrine measures
• Autonomic nervous system function
• Immune parameters
• Indicators of chronic infection
• Gastrointestinal complaints/symptoms
• Genetic, genomic, proteomic, or metabolic characteristics

The Investigator-Initiated Research Award is designed to promote new ideas in Gulf War Illness research. Proposals are not required to include preliminary data; however, preliminary data may be used to support the objectives of a proposal. This data does not necessarily have to come from the GWI research field. Proposals not supported by preliminary data should be based on a sound scientific rationale and may reflect clinical observations or seek to evaluate in GWI discoveries made in relation to other chronic multi-symptom illnesses. Using either approach, however, the focus should be clearly on ill Gulf War veterans. It is the responsibility of the PI to clearly and explicitly articulate the project’s potential impact on GWI.

Disciplinary Category:
Medical - Basic Science; Medical - Clinical Science; Medical - Translational.

Applicant Type:

All individuals, regardless of ethnicity, nationality, or citizenship status, may apply as long as they are employed by, or affiliated with, an eligible institution. Eligible applicants for the Investigator-Initiated Research Award are independent investigators at all academic levels).

Award Amount:
The maximum funding for the award is $600,000 for direct costs. The maximum period of perfornance is three years.
Numerical value: $600,000

Funding Agency Contact:
Department of Defense
US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, Commander
ATTN: MCMR-ZB-C (OC05-PA)
1077 Patchel Street (Building 1077)
Fort Detrick MD 21702-5024
Phone: 301-619-7079
Fax: 301-619-7792
Email: cdmrp.pa@det.amedd.army.mil

Deadlines:
06/17/2009

SUNDAY TIMES: Scientists discover way of measuring pain

Studies of brain imaging technique, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), shows changes in brain of sufferers

by Jonathan Leake, Sunday Times.

Now we really can feel your pain. Scientists have for the first time discovered a way of using brain scans to measure the true depth of a person’s suffering.

Until now, the main way of assessing pain is to ask people what they are feeling, as there has never been a way of peering inside the brain to see what nerves are being activated.

However, a series of studies involving brain imaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has shown distinct differences between the brains of people in pain and others who are not.

“Pain seems to increase the blood flow to certain parts of the brain, roughly in proportion to the amount of pain felt, and we can measure that activation in a brain scan,” said Irene Tracey, professor of anaesthetic science at Oxford University and director of its centre for fMRI and the brain.

Such findings suggest that pain could one day be measured objectively, a change that would have widespread legal and social implications.

In accident compensation cases, for example, lawyers might be able to order reports on just how much pain a victim was suffering. Doctors might also be able to monitor the exact benefits of drug regimes and treatments.

What Tracey and others have found is that the brain possesses what they call a “pain matrix”, with such feelings typically activating more than a dozen parts of the brain.

This is in contrast to other senses such as vision or hearing, where stimuli are generally fed to just one part of the brain for interpretation.

Tracey, who described her research at the Cheltenham science festival yesterday, said the aim was to build a generalised model of how pain activated the brain, collated from scans of many different people. Then individuals suffering chronic pain could be compared with the model to give a measure of the type and level of pain they were in.

Hawaii's DAV Convention to Focus on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses

Written by Anthony Hardie, 91outcomes

(91outcomes.blogspot.com) - Hawaii's state Disabled American Veterans (DAV) is focusing on Gulf War veterans' unexplained illnesses during the organization's annual state convention from June 12-14, 2009.

An article in today's Honolulu Advertiser provides details of the conference.

According to the article:

They are particularly concerned, over the government's response to Gulf War veterans suffering unexplained health problems.

Hawaii's DAV will, according to the article, develop and provide resolutions for the DAV's national convention.

The convention will be held in Wailua, Hawaii from June 12-14 at the Aloha Beach Hotel on Kaua'i.

GULF DAILY NEWS: Wars blamed for rise in disease

Posted on » Thursday, June 04, 2009

CHRONIC levels of diabetes in the Gulf could be directly connected to war, according to an expert. SMC senior paediatric consultant in endocrinology and diabeteology Dr Abdul Jabbar Al Abbasi said pollution connected to a series of conflicts in the Middle East could have contributed to the problem. However, he said other factors such as a lack of exercise and bad eating habits were also major reasons. "We can blame it on bad eating habits, the use of preservatives in food, sedentary lifestyles, rising pollution levels or the prevalence of smoking - the bottom line is that we have a problem that has to be tackled." "The several wars this part of the world has had to endure have not helped." Latest figures suggest 25 to 30 per cent of Bahrain's adult population suffer from diabetes - figures that are mirrored across the GCC. However, only 6.2pc of the world population aged 79 and under is diabetic, while it is 9.2pc in North America and 8.4pc in Europe, according to the International Diabetes Federation. He said the SMC was fully equipped to handle the load and effort to educate patients continued. "Whether it is at the school or health centre level, we are trying to spread a net as wide as possible. "The main thrust of the education drive is that diabetes is not a problem, but could turn into a killer if not treated and managed. "Complications can create severe problems and lead to eye disease, cardio vascular conditions and amputations."