HadIt.com VA Claims Research http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:51:55 -0500 60 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32618 [/size]

Yesterday the Senate passed S. 1963, the "Caregiver and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2009", which would provide comprehensive new support to caregivers of severely disabled veterans and improve health care services for women veterans and all veterans who rely on the VA. I wanted you to know that this important victory would not have been possible without the grassroots efforts of thousands of DAV members and supporters throughout the country. With your help, DAV was able to play an important role in getting S. 1963 through the Senate and we will continue working with Congress until this legislation is enacted into law. For your perusal, I have included DAV's press release below.

Thanks for all you have done. ------------------ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 20, 2009

Senate Passes Major Veterans Legislation to Aid Caregivers, Women Veterans
WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 - The Disabled American Veterans (DAV) applauds the U.S. Senate for unanimously approving S. 1963, "The Caregiver and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2009." As passed, S. 1963 creates a comprehensive new program to support family caregivers of severely disabled veterans, and strengthens VA health care programs for women veterans, homeless veterans, veterans with mental health needs, and veterans suffering from traumatic brain injury. "The Senate's overwhelming statement of support for this bill sends an unmistakable message that our government has an obligation to provide comprehensive support to family caregivers of severely wounded and disabled veterans," DAV National Commander Roberto Barrera said. "S. 1963 also contains landmark provisions that will help ensure that women veterans, who have played an increasingly essential role in our military, receive quality, timely and gender-appropriate health care services from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), equal in every respect to that afforded male veterans," Barrera said. S. 1963 combines the content of two measures previously approved by the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, S. 252 and S. 801, into a single VA health care omnibus bill. Since the House of Representatives has already passed similar, but separate veterans health bills, the two bodies must now reach an agreement on identical legislation before it can be sent to the President for his approval. "DAV looks forward to working together with the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees and other interested veterans service organizations to develop the strongest veterans health care legislation we can to aid all veterans," Commander Barrera said. "In particular, we believe that disabled veterans from all eras could benefit from family caregiver support services and will work to see that the final legislation moves in that direction," he said. Commander Barrera expressed DAV's gratitude to several Senators who played leading roles in developing and moving the legislation successfully through the Senate. "Senator Daniel Akaka, Chairman of the Senate's Committee on Veterans' Affairs, has been a tireless champion for veterans health care programs throughout his tenure, and his skillful work on S. 1963 was central to the Senate's approval," Barrera said. "A veteran himself, Chairman Akaka has proven to be a reliable and effective leader, always ready to stand up for our nation's veterans." "Senator Richard Burr (N.C.), the Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, worked in a truly bipartisan manner with the Chairman to help craft this legislation and then provide crucial leadership to help it overcome barriers that may otherwise have derailed it," Barrera said. "DAV applauds Senator Burr for putting the interests of veterans first." "DAV also applauds the relentless efforts of Senator Patty Murray to enact legislation that will improve the lives of all veterans, especially women veterans. Senator Murray's landmark women veterans health care legislation was included within S. 1963, and her passionate advocacy for women veterans has been crucial throughout this process," Barrera said. The 1.2 million-member Disabled American Veterans, a non-profit organization founded in 1920 and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1932, represents this nation's disabled veterans. It is dedicated to a single purpose: building better lives for our nation's disabled veterans and their families. More information is available at www.dav.org ]]> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:44:18 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32618 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32617 http://www.socialsecurity.gov/compassionateallowances/



Social Security has an obligation to provide benefits quickly to applicants whose medical conditions are so serious that their conditions obviously meet disability standards.

Compassionate allowances are a way of quickly identifying diseases and other medical conditions that invariably qualify under the Listing of Impairments based on minimal objective medical information. Compassionate allowances allow Social Security to quickly target the most obviously disabled individuals for allowances based on objective medical information that we can obtain quickly.

Commissioner Astrue has held four Compassionate Allowance public outreach hearings. The hearings were on rare diseases, cancers, traumatic brain injury (TBI) and stroke, and early-onset Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. The Commissioner will hold the fifth public outreach hearing on schizophrenia in November 2009. The hearing will take place in San Francisco, California.

The initial list of Compassionate Allowance conditions was developed as a result of information received at public outreach hearings, public comment on an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, comments received from the Social Security and Disability Determination Service communities, and the counsel of medical and scientific experts. Also, we considered which conditions are most likely to meet our current definition of disability.

A modest 50 conditions were selected for the initiative's rollout. The list which follows will expand over time.

Additional information about how compassionate allowances are processed

https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/...33;opendocument

Initial List of Compassionate Allowance Conditions

List of Conditions

1

Acute Leukemia

2

Adrenal Cancer - with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent

3

Alexander Disease (ALX) - Neonatal and Infantile

4

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

5

Anaplastic Adrenal Cancer - with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent

6

Astrocytoma - Grade III and IV

7

Bladder Cancer - with distant metastases or inoperable or unresectable

8

Bone Cancer - with distant metastases or inoperable or unresectable

9

Breast Cancer - with distant metastases or inoperable or unresectable

10

Canavan Disease (CD)

11

Cerebro Oculo Facio Skeletal (COFS) Syndrome

12

Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) - Blast Phase

13

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) - Adult

14

Ependymoblastoma (Child Brain Tumor)

15

Esophageal Cancer

16

Farber's Disease (FD) - Infantile

17

Friedreichs Ataxia (FRDA)

18

Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), Picks Disease -Type A - Adult

19

Gallbladder Cancer

20

Gaucher Disease (GD) - Type 2

21

Glioblastoma Multiforme (Brain Tumor)

22

Head and Neck Cancers - with distant metastasis or inoperable or uresectable

23

Infantile Neuroaxonal Dystrophy (INAD)

24

Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC)

25

Kidney Cancer - inoperable or unresectable

26

Krabbe Disease (KD) - Infantile

27

Large Intestine Cancer - with distant metastasis or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent

28

Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome (LNS)

29

Liver Cancer

30

Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL)

31

Metachromatic Leukodystrophy (MLD) - Late Infantile

32

Niemann-Pick Disease (NPD) - Type A

33

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer - with metastases to or beyond the hilar nodes or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent

34

Ornithine Transcarbamylase (OTC) Deficiency

35

Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) - Type II

36

Ovarian Cancer - with distant metastases or inoperable or unresectable

37

Pancreatic Cancer

38

Peritoneal Mesothelioma

39

Pleural Mesothelioma

40

Pompe Disease - Infantile

41

Rett (RTT) Syndrome

42

Salivary Tumors

43

Sandhoff Disease

44

Small Cell Cancer (of the Large Intestine, Ovary, Prostate, or Uterus)

45

Small Cell Lung Cancer

46

Small Intestine Cancer - with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent

47

Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) - Types 0 And 1

48

Stomach Cancer - with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent

49

Thyroid Cancer

50

Ureter Cancer - with distant metastases or inoperable, unresectable or recurrent





"Keep on, Keepin' on"
Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"
See my web site at:
http://www.angelfire.com/il2/VeteranIssues/ ]]> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:38:13 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32617 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32616
[/size]
[b]New Denver VAMC, Doesn't have PTSD Program? That can't be right


http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/21301540/detail.html[/b]



DENVER -- When officials broke ground on the new $800 million VA Medical Center, many veterans assumed that a residential treatment center for those suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder would be built in the new hospital.

But several were surprised to learn this month that the hefty price tag does not include the PTSD treatment center.

"This is beyond comprehension," said Rep. Mike Coffman, who is himself a veteran of the gulf war and of the war in Iraq.

VA officials told 7NEWS that "major construction funds" can’t be spent on the residential treatment facility, but that the facility will be built.

"The PTSD residential program is a crown jewel of VA in eastern Colorado," said Lynette Roff, director of the VA’s eastern Colorado health care system. "We are very committed to making sure it is included in our new facility and that it continues to grow."

Roff said the VA has applied for separate funds for a stand alone facility which will be constructed just to the north of the new hospital.

She said the $9.5 million PTSD Center will open about the same time as the new hospital.

"We have lots of time between now and 2013 or 2014 when we activate the hospital to make that residential treatment facility become a reality," Roff said.

That's good news for Chuck Douglas and Paul A. Hernandez, both Vietnam veterans who went through the program at the existing VA hospital.

“It has been immensely helpful to me,” Douglas said. “I can’t give enough credit to the staff.”

“I didn’t realize I had issues,” Hernandez said. “People with PTSD isolate themselves. They don’t talk to other people. You waste your life away basically.”

"We don’t want the new center for us," the two vets said. "We want it for the servicemen and women who are coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan."

Coffman said he’s going to see if the funding law needs to be changed.

"For them to have failed to incorporate this into their original plans makes me question a lot about what else is in the plan or isn’t in the plan," the congressman said.



Also see:

www.chieftain.com/articles/2009/10/25/.../doc4ae3885a0c061712657647.txt



1. DENVER -- When officials broke ground on the new $800 million VA Medical Center, ... month that the hefty price tag does not include the PTSD treatment center. ... “The PTSD residential program is a crown jewel of VA in eastern Colorado,” said ... which will be constructed just to the north of the new hospital. ...
woundedtimes.blogspot.com/.../how-many-more-veterans-will-die-between.html





[size="3"]"Keep on, Keepin' on"
Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"
See my web site at:
http://www.angelfire.com/il2/VeteranIssues/]]> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:35:05 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32616 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32615
If I ask on the status with an IRIS, will it delay the claim? "I don't want to loose my place in line"]]> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:22:20 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32615 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32614 http://www.nvlsp.org/Information/ArticleLi...Court/index.htm

This is a very nice 'comment' from the court as to the value of this extraordinary legal text-the VBM from NVLSP.

I know many question the cost and value of the VBM but I would have gotten no where with my claims if I did not have it-been getting it since 1991.

NVLSP is non profit and their help to vets is Pro Bono.]]> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:15:58 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32614 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32609 NEWS FROM…

CHAIRMAN BOB FILNER

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 20, 2009

Contact Kristal DeKleer at (202) 225-9756

http://veterans.house.gov



Washington, D.C. – House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner (D-CA) released the following statement in response to H.R. 2254, The Agent Orange Equity Act of 2009, reaching 200+ cosponsors:



More than 200 Members of Congress Agree: Agent Orange Veterans Deserve Compensation for Their Sacrifice!!



“Republicans and Democrats alike have joined together to stand up for Agent Orange veterans. More than 200 Members of the House of Representatives have added their support for H.R. 2254, a bill to expand the eligibility for presumptive conditions to all combat veterans of the Vietnam War, regardless of where they served. Current law requires VA to provide care for service members exposed to Agent Orange by virtue of their ‘boots on the ground,’ but ignores veterans that served in the blue waters and the blue skies of Vietnam. H.R. 2254 will provide veterans with benefits based on their exposure to Agent Orange regardless of an arbitrary geographic line or location. These are benefits that they have earned, yet the Department of Veterans’ Affairs illogically refuses to acknowledge them.

“Time is running out for these Vietnam veterans. Many are dying from their Agent Orange related diseases, uncompensated for their sacrifice. If, as a result of service, a veteran was exposed to Agent Orange and it has resulted in failing health, this country has a moral obligation to care for each veteran the way we promised we would. And as a country at war, we must prove that we will be there for all of our veterans, no matter when they serve.

“There is still a chance for America to meet its obligations to these estimated 800,000 noble veterans. The courts have turned their backs on our veterans, but I believe this Congress will not allow veterans to be cheated of their earned benefits. I would like to thank the more than 200 Members of the House who have bravely joined the fight to stand up for the rights of Agent Orange veterans. I also urge Senators to cosponsor S. 1939, Senator Gillibrand’s companion legislation."



###

http://veterans.house.gov/dear_colleague/H...arColleague.pdf


]]> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:55:21 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32609 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32603 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:38:37 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32603 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32602 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:03:31 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32602 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32599
We need to fight this together...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091120/ap_on_...predicting_ptsd]]> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:28:44 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32599 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32598 Gulf War Veterans 1990-91 Demand Real Diagnostic Testing and Action NOW

Posted on November 18, 2009 by dsnurse

The Controversy continues: IS THE VA Using the Best Test?

Gulf War Veterans 1990-91 Demand Real Diagnostic Testing and Action NOW

I fully anticipate an attack but this article that follows is well written and addresses one issue. That issue is Science being corrupted and how it impacts veterans. The veterans of Gulf War 1990-91 are ill and not getting better. In fact I have the obits I am working on for October and November. I know I am not getting all the obits but these show a small picture of the impact and losses. How many of these went to the VA at all, I do not know. How many are rated by the VA, I do not know. I do know we the veterans are not getting all the facts. I can guarantee you that we are not getting the tests that are mentioned. Would the tests spoken about lead to more truth? Why aren't these test being used in research, I don't have that answer but could guess. The gulf war veterans of 1990-91 simply went and did their duty and came home ill and have been seeking answers and help. WE have no choice but to continue to seek answers in biomarkers, diagnostic testing, proactive care to include active screening for all diseases and diagnosis, and to push for treatment! And to demand compensation and all assistance, we went healthy and came back ill! WE need help rapidly just as much as OIF/OEF/Koskovo/Vietnam Veterans/Agent Orange/ WWII vets. WE need assistance that is being offered to OIF/OEF veterans in new legislation but we are not being covered. Why do sick and ill veterans have to battle every step of the way to get any help? We are the unseen casualties and the uncounted casualties.

Depleted Uranium and the Medical Mismanagement of Gulf War Veterans

by Paul Zimmerman

The United States insists that weapons containing depleted uranium pose no health hazards to exposed populations. This charade persists because an artful propaganda matrix has infiltrated and corrupted certain aspects of the radiation and biological sciences. The facts which follow will introduce how our debilitated veterans are being misinformed of the possible role played by uranium in their illnesses.

1. Within the medical system of the Veterans Administration, veterans are misled into believing that no medical test exists that can determine DU contamination. This stance was echoed in a 2006 study by the Institute of Medicine, lauded as "...the authoritative word on Gulf War Illness" (1). In the preface of the IOM's definitive study, this quote appears: "Although there is a blood test that can provide an indication of exposure to Agent Orange and dioxin that occurred many years ago, there is not (sic) biological measure that can be employed today to assess exposures during the Gulf War" (2).

This statement is a lie. A protocol does exist which can determine depleted uranium contamination years after the exposure event. The methodology was published in 2002 by Durakovic, Horan and Dietz (3). Essentially it involves collecting a 24-hour urine sample and analyzing the uranium content by means of multicollector, inductively coupled plasma ionization mass spectrometry. By this means the relative concentration of the different uranium isotopes can be measured. This information can then be used to determine whether or not the test subject was contaminated with DU. This test has been reproduced by a number of research groups around the world and has been confirmed as the state-of-the-art means of accurately determining DU exposure. The Veterans Administration ignores this scientific breakthrough and does not offer it to veterans attempting to come to terms with the cause of their illnesses.

2. The US government ardently wishes to convince the public that the only battlefield hazard posed by DU munitions is shrapnel injuries. Again, the Institute of Medicine study succinctly states this position: "...it is now understood that retention of DU-containing embedded shrapnel is the major source of increased DU exposure in military personnel." This too is a lie. Its purpose is to draw attention away from the inhalation pathway. In the study by Durakovic et al. mentioned above, 27 veterans were studied. All presented complex, nonspecific symptoms of Gulf War Illness. None of them had suffered shrapnel injury. Among this cohort, 14 were found to have been contaminated with depleted uranium. It is important to note that this test was conducted nine years after the Gulf War, demonstrating the long residency time of inhaled uranium and the ability to identify such contamination years after the exposure event.

3. According to conventional wisdom, there are two vectors to uranium's toxicity: it is radioactive and it is a heavy metal capable of producing adverse chemical effects. These two phenomenon are usually treated separately despite the fact that abundant research has proven that the two work synergistically, each enhancing the deleterious effects of the other. Uranium's radioactivity is rejected out of hand as hazardous because the "dose" of radiation likely to be absorbed on the contaminated battlefield is too low to produce cancer. Cancer? Why does cancer enter the discussion of the unexplained illness of Gulf War veterans? Unbeknownst to most people, the current science of radiation safety confines itself to cancer causation. This is a sophisticated ruse that has held sway over radiation protection for half a century. There exists a large body of research on noncancerous effects of radiation that is ignored by the international radiation protection community and the Veterans Administration. [A complete explanation can be found in (4) in the bibliography].

As for uranium's chemical toxicity, typical acute exposure events prior to the first Gulf War, such as with uranium miners, led to the determination that the kidney was the organ most susceptible to damage. However, battlefield exposure has no corollary to any other type of uranium exposure and, as a consequence, may produce unique physiological effects. In no other circumstances do humans inhale aerosolized micro- and nano-sized particles of highly insoluble ceramic uranium-bearing material. Innovative research is urgently needed to confirm if other types of injury may be initiated in the contaminated individual that bypasses observable damage to the kidney. (See discussion below).

4. The first Gulf War ignited a renewed interest in the toxicology of uranium. Numerous laboratory studies have documented that uranium is genotoxic (capable of damaging DNA), cytotoxic (poisonous to cells), mutagenic (capable of inducing mutations), teratogenic (capable of interfering with normal embryonic development) and neurotoxic (capable of harming nerve tissue). This research has yet to dislodge the stale mantra that uranium is only capable of causing cancer or kidney damage. [For an extensive review of recent research on the toxicology of uranium, see (4)].

5. Here's an example of blatant medical fraud. A veteran suffering from the undiagnosed illness commonly referred to as Gulf War Syndrome, goes to his doctor concerned that uranium exposure may have been a factor in his deteriorating condition. In response, the physician orders a test to measure the total concentration of uranium in a 24-hour urine sample. (This is an entirely different test from the one described earlier.) When the test results return from the lab, the GI is informed that the amount of uranium in his urine is within the normal range. Uranium contamination is not a problem. What he is not told is that this was a foregone conclusion. Why? Because he was given the wrong diagnostic test!

In accidents where people absorb into their bodies an abnormal amount of uranium, the soluble portion relatively rapidly enters the blood, is transported to the kidneys and is then excreted. During this period, measured in days to weeks, the uranium concentration in the urine will be elevated while the body efficiently goes about ridding itself of excess uranium. Measurement of total uranium in urine during this time will demonstrate abnormally high levels which can be used to determine if kidney damage is a possible concern. Similarly, a veteran injured by shrapnel will show an elevated concentration of uranium in his urine for years as uranium slowly dissolves from the metal fragments in his body. In the case of inhalation exposure, measurement of total uranium would be elevated only if measured on the battlefield soon after exposure while the soluble fraction of uranium is being eliminated from the body. But conducted years after exposure, the test would provide no useful information because uranium levels would have returned to within the normal range. What's not being addressed is the fate of the insoluble portion of the absorbed uranium. This uranium dissolves very slowly, over a period of years. While this is taking place, the total concentration of uranium in the urine may never rise above the normal range. If a veteran wants to know whether he is carrying depleted uranium in his body years after exposure, he requires the proper diagnostic test, the one mentioned in #1 above.

5. The war is Bosnia was fought between March 1992 and November 1995. In its aftermath, soldiers serving in the former Yugoslavian army, staffers of humanitarian missions and Yugoslavian residents began manifesting symptoms of some unidentified illness similar to that suffered by US soldiers who served in the Gulf. Belatedly, NATO announced in 2000 that munitions containing depleted uranium had been fired on the Bosnian battlefields. This revelation was groundbreaking. The Bosnian theater contained none of the risk factors for Gulf War Illness that veterans were exposed to who served in Iraq and Kuwait such as oil well fires, vaccines for anthrax or botulinum toxins, Iraqi chemical and biological warfare agents, etc. The only factor that linked the two theaters together were DU munitions.

Using an innovative technique of electronic microscopy, Antonietta Gatti and Stephano Montanari analyzed tissue samples taken from those suffering so-called Balkan War Syndrome (5). Every tissue sample and lymph node that was examined contained spherical, combustion-derived metal-alloyed microparticles and nanoparticles. To confirm an environmental origin of this debris, the researchers noted that particles found in the tissues of diseased soldiers and civilians were "mutually compatible" with those found on the ground in the territories where battles had been fought and where the pathologies were contracted.

This avenue of investigation reveals a third vector of DU's toxicity which acts synergistically with DU's radiation and chemical effects. Nanoparticles have recently received a great deal of attention due the numerous proposed applications of nanotechnology, the use of materials smaller than 100 nanometers (0.1 microns). Nanoparticles have been shown to exhibit many unusual properties. They possess the ability to pass directly through certain tissue types, travel along neurons, escape filtration from the blood by the spleen and the liver, and avoid immune system detection by macrophages. These unusual characteristics give nanoparticles ready access to all tissues of the body. While circulating through the body, their surface chemistry provides a platform for ongoing heavy metal interactions with the body's molecular makeup. Thus, insoluble uranium nanoparticles represent point sources for chronic chemical and radiological poisoning to the body's interior. In addition, nanoparticles of many different compositions have been implicated in initiating inflammation, oxidative stress and gene activation.

With over 100,000 Gulf War veterans ill with an undiagnosed illness, one would think that the work of Gatti and Montanari would have stimulated medical follow-up among researchers sincerely interested in exploring the origins of Gulf War Illness. However, their work has so far remained ignored by the Veterans Administration.

6. On August 20, 2007, the Discovery Channel aired an episode in its series Conspiracy Test entitled "Gulf War Illness". During the program, the results of research undertaken at the Molecular Medicine and Genetics Lab at Wayne State University were presented. In a preliminary study supervised by Dr. Henry Heng, blood samples were collected from five veterans of the 1991 Gulf War who were suffering symptoms of the undiagnosed illness they had contracted while in military service. All had previously tested positive for the presence of DU in their urine and none had served in any area of Iraq where possible exposure to chemical warfare agents might have occurred as a result of the destruction of weapon caches at Khamisiyah. Using spectral karyotyping (SKY), Heng and his graduate students imaged and analyzed the chromosome structure of blood cells in each of the veterans. What Heng and his colleagues found using this technique was startling. The karyotype of each of the veterans clearly displayed significant levels of chromosome damage. According to Heng, the damage widely exceeded that observed in cancer patients. Translocations, broken chromosomes, centromere displacements and aneuploidy (a gain or loss in the number of chromosomes) were observed. According to Heng, the chromosome aberrations observed were typical of the type of damage produced by radiation. This is another avenue of investigation ignored by VA.

7. In 2003, Heike Schröder and her research associates published a study of 16 British Gulf War and Balkan War veterans who suspected that they had been exposed to depleted uranium. When compared to suitable controls, the study group demonstrated a statistically significant increase in the frequency of dicentric chromosomes and centric-ring chromosomes in peripheral lymphocytes (6). (These aberrantly shaped chromosomes are created when two double-strand breaks in DNA are improperly repaired, either between the DNA from two separate chromosomes or within the DNA of a single chromosome. The elevated occurrence of these in individuals serves as a biological indicator of exposure to ionizing radiation.)

The findings of Schröder and her colleagues are extremely significant. The observed chromosome aberration frequency they observed should not have been occurring at the "dose" delivered by battlefield DU. According to the authors: "However, as dicentric chromosomes are reliable indicators of ionizing radiation, our findings contradict official releases from the IAEA, the WHO, the MOD and the DOE, stating that the radiotoxicity of DU would be negligible" (7). A further bewildering discovery was that the observed chromosome aberrations should not have been so prevalent 10 years after exposure, which was when the veterans in this study were tested. Schröder offered the observation that soluble DU would have been flushed from the bodies of test subjects relatively soon after exposure. Further, the biological half-life of dicentric chromosomes is 3.5 years. As a consequence, the observed chromosome aberrations could not have been produced at the time of the exposure event. So how were they produced? Schröder proposed that the chromosome aberrations were a manifestation of ongoing damage to the body's interior produced by the radiation emitted from insoluble particles that were lodged in the body since the moment they were absorbed on the contaminated battlefield.

The scientific research mentioned above clearly suggests that depleted uranium is a factor in the undiagnosed illness suffered by veterans. Yet numerous publications from the world's guardian institutions continue to proclaim that this is impossible. The VA has aligned itself with this political propaganda and, in the process, makes a mockery of science.

To conclude, the Veterans Administration is being lackadaisical at best, criminally negligent at worst, in its treatment of veterans suffering from symptoms of so-called Gulf War Illness. Valuable avenues of research are being intentionally ignored because they raise disturbing questions of the impact to health from radioactive material released into the environment. Rather than throw a disparaging light on cherished weapon systems, our cherished veterans are being abused by an uncaring medical system..

Bibliography

1. Sartin J.S. "Gulf War Syndrome: The Final Chapter?" Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 2006; 81(11):1425-1426.
2. Institute of Medicine. Committee on Gulf War and Health. A Review of the Medical Literature Relative to the Gulf War Veterans' Health. Gulf War and Health. Volume 4: Health Effects of Serving in the Gulf War. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2006.
3. Durakovic A., Horan P., Dietz L. "The Quantitative Analysis of Depleted Uranium Isotopes in British, Canadian, and U.S. Gulf War Veterans". Military Medicine. 2002; 167(8):620-627.
4. Zimmerman P. A Primer in the Art of Deception: The Cult of Nuclearists, Uranium Weapons and Fraudulent Science. August, 2009. www.du-deceptions.com
5. Gatti A.M., Montanari S. "So-called Balkan Syndrome: A Bioengineering Approach". Emilia, Italy: Laboratory of Biomaterials of the University of Modena and Reggio; February 2004. http://www.idust.net/Docs/Nanoparticles01
6. Schröder H. Presentation at the World Uranium Weapons Conference. October 16-19, 2003. University of Hamburg, Germany. http://www.traprockpeace.org/depleted_uranium_hamburg03.html
7. Schröder H., Heimers A., Frentzel-Beyme R., Schott A., Hoffmann W. Chromosome Aberration Analysis in Peripheral Lymphocytes of Gulf War and Balkans War Veterans. Radiation Protection Dosimetry. 2003; 103(3):211-219.

http://www.veteranstoday.com/article9445]]> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:20:32 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32598 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32597 "Ominous" Phone Message Tells Veterans About Education Claims Backlog.

Northern Illinois University's Northern Star (11/19, Lawe) reports, "Student-veterans seeking a solution to their money problems from...Veterans Affairs over the phone receive an ominous message. 'The Veterans Administration is receiving an unprecedented number of education claims, and as a result it is temporarily taking longer than usual to process claims,' a recorded message states before an options menu is even reached." The "message...is advising veterans to wait 10 to 12 weeks for their claims to process. The backup is due to a new" GI Bill "being implemented by the VA, which came into effect Aug. 1." The Northern Star adds, "'I think that the VA did not put enough people on this issue,' said J.D. Kammes, president of the NIU Veterans Club."

Backlog Causing Financial Problems For Iraq Vet.

Massachusetts' Standard Times (11/16, Aleem) said Iraq veteran Richard Messier "thought he would not have to worry about paying for college under the Post 9/11 GI Bill," but a "heavy backlog of claims with the Department of Veterans Affairs has created financial problems for the 23-year-old unemployed, full-time undergraduate at Bristol Community College." In September, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, "announced that 'emergency checks' of $3,000 would be issued to address problems caused by the backlog." Messier "said he had received the emergency payment from the VA office in Providence, 'but that's running out, too.'"


http://www.veteranstoday.com/article9455.html]]> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:10:32 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32597 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32596 Subcommittee Approves Veterans Appeals Improvement And Modernization Act.

The Air Force Times (11/19, Maze) reports, "A House subcommittee moved Wednesday to reduce the amount of time it takes for a veteran to appeal a benefits decision, which can add two to five years to the wait for benefits. Approved by the disability assistance and memorial affairs subcommittee," the "unnumbered draft bill, called the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2009, attempts to streamline both the administration appeals process within the Veterans Affairs Department and the judicial review process through the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims." The bill also "tries to set the stage for more fundamental changes by creating an independent panel, the Veterans Judicial Review Commission, that would evaluate the disability and survivor benefits claims process and recommend changes. An interim report from the commission would be required by July 2010 with a final report by Dec. 30, 2010."


http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2009/11/military_veterans_benefitsappeals_111809w/

http://www.veteranstoday.com/article9455.html]]> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:06:02 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32596 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32593 Military experiment seeks to predict PTSD

Thursday, November 19, 2009

TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. - Two days before shipping off to war, Marine Pfc. Jesse Sheets sat inside a trailer in the Mojave Desert, his gaze fixed on a computer that flashed a rhythmic pulse of contrasting images.

Smiling kids embracing a soldier. A dog sniffing blood oozing from a corpse. Movie star Cameron Diaz posing sideways in a midriff top. Troops cowering for safety during an ambush.

A doctor tracked his stress levels and counted the number of times he blinked. Electrode wires dangled from his left eye and right pinky finger.

Sheets is part of a military experiment to try to predict who's most at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder. Understanding underlying triggers might help reduce the burden of those who return psychologically wounded - if they can get early help.

PTSD is a crippling condition that can emerge after a terrifying event - car accident, sexual assault, terrorist attack or combat. It's thought to affect as many as one in five veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.

Military doctors have been mystified as to why certain warfighters exposed to bombings and bloodshed develop paralyzing stress symptoms while others who witness the same trauma shake it off.

Studies on veterans and civilians point to some clues. Childhood abuse, history of mental illness and severity of trauma seem to raise a person's risk. Having a social net and a coping strategy appear to offer some protection.

However, none of the factors explored so far are reliable predictors.

"Right now, we can't determine with certainty who will and who won't develop PTSD," said Paula Schnurr, deputy executive director of the Department of Veterans Affairs' National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. "Perhaps with better measures, we can get closer."

Earlier this year, a quarterly publication from the national PTSD center found that studies to date have looked at only "a narrow band of the potential risk and resilience predictors" and that more work beyond surveys was needed.

New PTSD studies are using technology to try to get at the answer. Select Marine and Army units are undergoing a battery of physical and mental tests before deployment including genetic testing, brain imaging and stress exams. They are followed in war zones and upon return.

There's an urgency to detect early signs. Since the 2001 terrorist attacks, more than 1.8 million U.S. troops have fought in Afghanistan or Iraq. The Obama administration is weighing whether to increase forces in Afghanistan where violence has escalated in recent months.

Previously called shell shock, combat fatigue and post-Vietnam syndrome, PTSD was officially recognized as a mental disorder in 1980. Sufferers experience flashbacks, nightmares, sudden outbursts and social withdrawal and are sometimes haunted years after the trauma.

The ongoing wars have given scientists fresh opportunities to follow service members.

One autumn morning, a throng of Marines squeezed into a trailer at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Southern California before deploying to Afghanistan. They belonged to the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment - nicknamed the "Thundering Third."

"We're doing this not to make you better prepared to go do what you have to do in Afghanistan. We're not doing this to make your health any better," said Dr. William Nash, a retired Navy psychiatrist and study co-investigator. "We're doing this so that we can learn more about how to protect Marines from stress injuries like PSTD."

Nash asked how many have heard of PTSD. A half dozen raised their hands.

Who wants PTSD? "Right, nobody," he answered rhetorically.

The trailer soon buzzed like a factory, with Marines rotating from one test station to another in an assembly line. They donated blood, urine and saliva samples so researchers can search for genetic biomarkers that might play a role.

Groundbreaking research published last year on adult survivors of child abuse suggests that specific variations of a gene increased their chances of developing PTSD. Scientists believe there may be many other gene variants that contribute to PTSD risk.

Marines also underwent a blink test to gauge their startle response and neuropsychological screening. They filled out questionnaires and were interviewed by psychiatrists with a checklist to diagnose PTSD.

The work is funded by the Marine Corps, Veterans Affairs and Navy Medicine. Last year, about 1,000 Marines were recruited before leaving for Iraq.

This latest batch of 673 Marines who were tested during a two-week period in the fall headed to Afghanistan where they're sure to see more intense fighting. They will be followed up in the field by Navy corpsmen with special "stress first-aid" training to read early signals.

Researchers recently did six-month follow-up testing on some Marines who returned from Iraq. It will take time to analyze the results, said the study's lead investigator, Dr. Dewleen Baker of the VA San Diego Healthcare System.

Cmdr. Bryan Schumacher, the 1st Marine Division's top doctor, said the purpose of studying PTSD triggers is not to bar someone from service. If it turns out that something can be done to prevent it, those vulnerable could get special training to reduce their risk, he said.

Similar research is ongoing 1,300 miles away at the University of Texas at Austin where scientists have collected detailed health data from 178 soldiers from nearby Fort Hood who recently came back from Iraq. The base was the scene of a massacre on Nov. 5 when an Army psychiatrist opened fire, killing 13 people and wounding dozens more.

The shooting has not affected the research, which enrolled first-time deployed soldiers. Unlike the Marines, the soldiers filled out monthly questionnaires online while in combat that tracked their experiences such as whether they saw a roadside bomb go off or knew of a wounded buddy.

Before deployment, soldiers submitted a DNA sample, had an MRI scan of their brain and inhaled carbon dioxide as part of a stress reaction test.

Early results suggest soldiers who reacted more strongly to the CO2 test and who were exposed to more stress in the field showed greater PTSD symptoms, said chief researcher Michael Telch, of UT Austin's Laboratory for the Study of Anxiety Disorders.

The decision to volunteer in the Marine experiment was personal for Lance Cpl. Jaecob Kyllo. His grandfather fought in Korea and Vietnam and two uncles served in Operation Desert Storm. They spoke less afterward and would get irritated easily.

Kyllo said his uncles were diagnosed with PTSD and suspects his grandfather had it too.

"I've seen it before and it's not the most pleasant thing," said the 20-year-old from Seattle, who previously served in Iraq.

Melvin Carter, a 27-year-old Marine sergeant who had done three tours in Iraq, noticed buddies who were once laid-back turn angry after coming home. The Oakland, Calif., native copes with stress by laughing and cracking jokes.

Navy corpsman Benjamin Reinhardt was recently trained to look for signs of PTSD in 20 Marines attached to a mortar platoon. He likened his job to a school nurse. Marines confide in him about their innermost struggles. He thinks he can spot when someone is not himself.

"I tend to be reasonably observant with people's personalities. I can see changes," said the 21-year-old from upstate New York.

He added: "I hope none of us become PTSD casualties."

Sheets, a 22-year-old private first class from Newark, Del., has never seen combat before. Before joining the Marines, Sheets dabbled with college and was working a dead-end job hauling trash.

He enlisted after being inspired by a sermon from his pastor. While in infantry school, he met a sergeant who suffered from PTSD. He's not exactly sure what it is, but has heard horror stories.

"A guy comes home from war and he's freaking out. He's beating his wife. He's drinking. He's doing everything he can. He'll go off and he'll hate the Marine Corps," Sheets said. "And it's just like, OK, is that going to be me when I come home?"

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed

Legal | Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2009, PeoplePC Inc. All rights reserved. ]]> Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:51:53 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32593 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32587 I filed for ischemic heart disease on oct 15, 2009. As service connected in viet nam jan 1968 to jan 1969. In May 2002 I had heart attack resulting in 5 by pass surgery. my question would be should dissability start on oct 15 when ischemic heart disease was presumptive or on may 24 when I had heart attack?? I have done extensive research on ischemic heart disease and found it is merely another name for cornary artery disease cad. it is an aka.

Later Dave]]> Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:40:20 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32587 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32586
Also, I thought I read somewhere that veterans are reimbursed for copays for doctors, medicine, hospitals etc that where incurred after a claim was declared service connected. If this is true, is there a total percentage that you have to be disabled to get reimbursed?

Thanks in advance for you response,

Blackbird]]> Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:31:22 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32586 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32585 http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190..._051205,00.html

"One of every four veterans with a 60-percent disability is now IU and paid at the 100-percent level. Likewise half of all 70-percent disabled veterans, two thirds of all 80-percent disabled veterans and three-quarters of 90-percent disabled veterans are considered unemployable. "



I'm currently rated at 70% and submitted a claim for IU just over a month ago when I lost my job because of my PTSD. I was doing some research when I found the above statistics. Looks kind of promising for me.

Just thought I'd pass it along.

]]> Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:20:32 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32585 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32583 I just got my rating and I have to be thankful again. I had 10% for my wound from years ago, and now they gave me 70% PTSD and 20% for Diabetes II. My total score is now 80%.
I'm older, but still have two teenagers at home, and my wife is a mess. I qualify for retirement, but I can't afford to. I need it all, including the VA disability pay to just make it (I can get rid of some of the 30% interest cc debt I have now).


I am having big problems at work and it seems I may be able to make the next step to IU if need be. Well it did and kind of like the "perfect storm" has come at work happened as the same time as my PTSD worsened.


WHERE I NEED YOUR HELP PLEASE (but comment on any of this):
I qualify for a pension, but I can't afford to quit, and then wait for IU if it takes a long time. I have sick leave saved up (months). Can I go out on sick leave (stress and mental breakdown of course) and apply for IU while on sick leave, but not working? I could retire when I got my IU, or if I run out of sick leave before that. I heard you can't ask for IU while working no matter how bad, would being out on sick leave because of my mental deterioration be allowed?

]]> Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:17:11 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32583 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32582 nanaeris]]> Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:12:43 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32582 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32580
What are the chances that copies of my VA medical treatment records from 1995 through 2000 would also be be in my C-File?

I checked the status of my VA treatment records, but they are waiting to get them from storage in St.Louis. This makes me wonder if the VA even reviewed the records from storage when they denied my current claim. I know the only way to verify is to have copies of the C-File and VA medical treatment records in hand.]]> Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:42:26 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32580 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32579 I have been looking for a link for this being secondary to my back DDD and bilateral ankle disability.
I have searched on google but have not found anything that would show a link.
Does anyone else have a similar medical condition and if so what reference was useful to you in order to prove this is linked for service connection?
Thanks]]> Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:28:28 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32579 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32578

I HAVE ALREADY A 100% P AND T RATING

70% OF MY 100% P AND T IS MOOD DISORDER SO THE 60% PART OF MY SMC CLAIM HAS BEEN MET NOW I HAVE TO GET A 100% IN ANOTHER ISSUE AND I DONT THINK I CAN USE MY 100% P AND T


CAN A PERSON HAVE TWO PYSCH RATINGS ONE FOR PTSD AND ONE FOR MOOD?


I ALSO HAVE A CLAIM PENDING FOR PTSD


THANKS]]> Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:20:07 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32578 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32577
I was given a tens unit for the pain and ofcourse the meds. Which I am given 120 Vicoden a month, not to mention the flexeral etc. I believe all of these things are a factor for my deppression.]]> Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:21:49 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32577 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32574 it may help a claimant when they are reviewing their SMR/STR's.

It is a very simple definition of what the PULHES scores equate to
on a profile you may have recieved while on active duty.

These profiles can be of great importance as evidence for a claim.
Hope this helps a vet.
carlie


(The "PULHES" profile reflects the overall physical and
psychiatric condition of an individual on a scale of 1 (high
level of fitness) to 4 (medical condition or physical defect
that is below the level of medical fitness required for
retention in the military service).

"P" stands for "physical capacity or stamina,

"U" indicates "upper extremities," the

"L" is indicative of "lower extremities,"

"H" reflects the condition of the "hearing and ears,"

"E" is indicative of the "eyes," and the

"S" stands for "psychiatric condition."

Odiorne v. Principi, 3 Vet. App.
456, 457 (1992); see generally Hanson v. Derwinski, 1 Vet.
App. 512, 514 (1991), for an explanation of the military
medical profile system.]]> Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:18:32 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32574 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32573 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:49:57 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32573 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32572
I read your closed for comment thread on the House healthcare reform and how veterans would be able to choose the new plan:

http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32467

However, an earlier post on VAWatchdog.org states otherwise:

http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfnov09/nf110909-1.htm

Could you please tell me how I could easily find out what information is right? I am not a very savvy computer researcher which is why I have to depend on trusted sites like VAwatchdog.org and hadit. When my two vet sites are in contridiction with one another, I get confused and am not sure which one is correct or if one supercedes the other and worse, I am uncertain how to find out the answer to the contridiction.

Please help.

Thanks,
TS Snave]]> Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:33:33 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32572 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32571 JMes was a Game Warden at the base and proved CONUS exposure to AO.

J]]> Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:24:58 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32571 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32570 I found many articles on degenerative disc conditions. However, I am looking for medical reference source noting that a lumbar degenerative disc condition can cause/aggravate secondary cervical disc condition. *Some thing that ties the two together. There are many BVA decisions concerning spinal conditions. The specific nexus/tie in/aggravate/one can cause or develope into the other is what I am interested in. I am interested in professional medical articles that support this--more so than BVA. (Of course I will obtain medical opinion). I appreciate your experience or input concerning either source. Thank you! Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:00:04 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32570 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32568
My question is, if I file a sucessfull claim will I recieve the additional amount for the 2 kids who don't live with me? What about the one child I claim for tax purposes?

FYI, I pay child support for each and I'm current with all payments.

Thanks

Rob]]> Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:23:06 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32568 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32567 Report: Over $98 Billion Wasted By Government Agencies, Including VA.

The AP (11/18) reports, "More than $98 billion in taxpayer dollars spent by government agencies was wasted, much of it on questionable claims for tax credits and Medicare benefits, representing an increase of $26 billion from the previous year. In all, about 5 percent of spending in federal programs in fiscal year 2009 was improper, according to new details of a
government financial report that were released Tuesday." Among the "reported waste," Veterans Affairs spent "$1.2 billion, or 2.7 percent. That included improper payments in the pension and other compensation programs." The AP adds, "President Barack Obama is expected to sign an executive order within the next week aimed at cracking down on government waste and fraud."

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/11/17/us/politics/AP-US-Government-Waste.html?scp=3&sq=%2b%22Veterans+Affairs%22&st=nyt


http://www.veteranstoday.com/article9442.html]]> Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:20:37 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32567 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32565 How to Upgrade Your Military Discharge
http://www.veteranstoday.com/article9424]]> Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:08:00 -0500 http://www.hadit.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32565