Update Report

 

Hi to all,

 

Here are a few things to catch up on.

 

I am doing somewhat better than expected on my failure analysis paper on the effected immune system impacts based on the three reports of: Seveso, Italy; the Korean Report; and a German report that all found the same immune system issues associated to dioxin.

 

In sending the information that I had convinced the DC panel to "try and add" Chronic Peripheral Neuropathy to our list of associated disorders to several prominent toxicologists, I included the fact I was doing this failure modes and effects study.

 

I explained a little of what I was doing and indicated that I was more convinced than ever that it is impossible to have a toxic chemical cause certain forms of cancers related to B and T cell dysregulaton and then not have the subsets of those B and T cell maturations also be associated.  It is medically impossible.

 

That would be like in my old line of work of an integrated circuit being contaminated causing catastrophic failures or lets call that a cancer.  Then not say that the part could ever be degraded in performance from the same contamination over the life of the part while not suffering a total catastrophic failure or cancer would be completely nuts.  Not even logical in a non-living object much less in living cell maturations that may totally stop or ebb and flow as the process continues in parallel and/or series cell destruction/cell modifications.

 

Much to my surprise, I was passed on to what they said was the most knowledgeable scientist on the immune system damage done by dioxin.  So maybe I am not that far off for a novice anyway.  I would imagine they are on Christmas break so I have not heard from the contact yet but am anxiously waiting to see what comes of this.  I had intended to take the study over to Emory and have their scientists review it but this might be even better yet if I can get some assistance.

You have probably seen the e-mail going around about the “unclaimed benefits for our economic challenged older Veterans as well as their widows.”

 

If not, in my response below, the link for this is listed.

 

I am sending that to my congressman and senators and the contacts I made in DC.  You are welcome to copy and do the same.

 

Dec 26, 2005

 

Subject: The most recent media exposure of the Veterans Administration’s lack of any outreach for the Nation’s Veterans and their widows.

 

Reference: http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,83689,00.html

 

“Veterans, Survivors Miss out on Pensions Charlotte Observer” December 23, 2005

 

While it is refreshing the article came out in the public media, which seems to actually cover up for the VA and our government regarding “Veterans Issues,” VA’s dismal performance, and the total monarchy of the VA.  The VA rationale for the failure of this program is the “typical VA response.” 

 

Gee, we got all this money that congress intended for us to use to support our Nation’s War Veterans and their poor widows.  However, for whatever reason (cough cough) the word has not gotten out.  By the way, the VA made it as confusing as possible so that no one could understand it.

 

Now since everyone in the world except Veterans knew about this program including the United States Congress one would have to ask WHY this information is so obscure?

 

Why did the congress not mandate the VA to do something in realm of “real outreach programs” on “national media” during that period of “known program failure?”

 

One reason is; the congress can mandate all they want.  The VA takes its’ March Orders from the president not the congress.  Congress is seemingly powerless to do anything with regard to the VA.  Why? 

 

Because for all intent and purpose of the law the VA combines all executive, legislative and judicial branch functions, “only for Veterans and their widows,” under one Federal Agency.  Unprecedented in our Nation’s history has such a “conflict of interest” for an entire segment of society been allowed to exist by our constitutional leaders.

 

In the 2000 congressional oversight transcripts, the three or four congressmen that bothered to show up wanted to know why the VA outreach was so minimal even for the associated Agent Orange disorders, which as you know from my postings are a joke, anyway.

 

I have full Colonels as well as all ranks of enlisted coming to our reunions that do not know their severe diabetic condition is covered as just one other example of a lack of VA outreach.  Why?

 

The answer; is in the congress, and in the White House, and certainly in the VA.  There was never “any intention to give away” the “22 Billion dollars a year” for our Nations Veterans and their poor widows nor any other so called congressional VA mandate.

 

Heavens, the congress argues for six months on a 1.5 billion-increase in VA dollars needed that will be taken away next year, depending on the mood of the congress and especially the mood of the Commander and Chief.

 

Does anyone really believe that the VA or any other government agency has tried the least bit to get the word out on this little known, very expensive, real cost of doing war benefit?

 

Does anyone really believe that the intent of government when it was announced intended to really give this money out, other than for politics?  Look what I did for Veterans, vote for me type politics.

 

The subjects may change but the “same old tired VA excuses and VA dismal performances” remain the same.

 

The facts are the VA remains unchallengeable and omnipotent. 

 

Our own congress will not change that fact nor even address that issue.

 

As a side note, I contacted the Quilt of Tears Organization since they travel around and see a much larger cross section of veterans than I do.  They said the same thing that is unimaginable the number of Vietnam Veterans that do not know many of these toxic chemical medical issues are covered and service connected.

 

Kelley

 

PTSD issues:

 

Here is an article recently released on PTSD and the “now politics” involved.  I saw this coming at the Disability Commission in Sep but they are marching on this one relatively quick.

 

Thanks to one of the 1/44th fellows for sending this in.

 

As you can tell this is getting to the point almost identical in our toxic chemical history where the government took action to stem the onslaught of claims for Agent Orange Exposures and made conservative efforts to deny, block, or put in processes that stall and limit all claims using the unfettered legal power given to the VA.

 

It looks like it is time the government/VA wants to stem this most recent onslaught also.

 

While the VA has said, they will not review the 72,000 PTSD claims already approved after being challenged by the Senate, in public no less.  Lets not forget just how untrustworthy and legalistic the VA is actually.  They certainly can say one thing and do the opposite in any issue they want and then turn around and justify it as if it was the Veteran’s fault or initiative.

 

 

A Political Debate On Stress Disorder
As Claims Rise, VA Takes Stock

By Shankar Vedantam
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 27, 2005; A01

The spiraling cost of post-traumatic stress disorder among war veterans has triggered a politically charged debate and ignited fears that the government is trying to limit expensive benefits for emotionally scarred troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the past five years, the number of veterans receiving compensation for the disorder commonly called PTSD has grown nearly seven times as fast as the number receiving benefits for disabilities in general, according to a report this year by the inspector general of the Department of Veterans Affairs.  A total of 215,871 veterans received PTSD benefit payments last year at a cost of $4.3 billion, up from $1.7 billion in 1999 -- a jump of more than 150 percent.

Experts say the sharp increase does not begin to factor in the potential impact of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, because the increase is largely the result of Vietnam War vets seeking treatment decades after their combat experiences.  Facing a budget crunch, experts within and outside the Veterans Affairs Department are raising concerns about fraudulent claims, wondering whether the structure of government benefits discourages healing, and even questioning the utility and objectivity of the diagnosis itself.

“On the one hand, it is good that people are reaching out for help," said Jeff Schrade, communications director for the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.  "At the same time, as more people reach out for help, it squeezes the budget further."

Among the issues being discussed, he said, was whether veterans who show signs of recovery should continue to receive disability compensation: "Whether anyone has the political courage to cut them off -- I don't know that Congress has that will, but we'll see."

Much of the debate is taking place out of public sight, including an internal VA meeting in Philadelphia this month.  The department has also been in negotiations with the Institute of Medicine over a review of the "utility and objectiveness" of PTSD diagnostic criteria and the validity of screening techniques, a process that could have profound implications for returning soldiers.

The growing national debate over the Iraq war has changed the nature of the discussion over PTSD, some participants said.  "It has become a pro-war-versus-antiwar issue," said one VA official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because politics is not supposed to enter the debate.  "If we show that PTSD is prevalent and severe, that becomes one more little reason we should stop waging war.  If, on the other hand, PTSD rates are low . . . that is convenient for the Bush administration."

As to whether budget issues and politics are playing a role in the agency's review of PTSD diagnosis and treatment, VA spokesman Scott Hogenson said: "The debate is over how to provide the best medical services possible for veterans."

People with PTSD have paralyzing memories of traumatic episodes they experienced or witnessed, a range of emotional problems, and significant impairments in day-to-day functioning.  Underlying the political and budget issues, many experts acknowledged, is a broader scientific debate over how best to diagnose trauma-related pathology, what the goal of treatment should be -- even what constitutes trauma.

Harvard psychologist Richard J. McNally argues that the diagnosis equates sexual abuse, car accidents and concentration camps, when they are entirely different experiences: A PTSD diagnosis has become "a way of moral claims-making," he said.  "To underscore the reprehensibility of the perpetrator, we say someone has been through a traumatic event."

Chris Frueh, director of the VA clinic in Charleston, S.C., said the department's disability system encourages some veterans to exaggerate symptoms and prolong problems in order to maintain eligibility for benefits.

"We have young men and women coming back from Iraq who are having PTSD and getting the message that this is a disorder they can't be treated for, and they will have to be on disability for the rest of their lives," said Frueh, a professor of public psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina.  "My concern about the policies is that they create perverse incentives to stay ill.  It is very tough to get better when you are trying to demonstrate how ill you are."

Most veterans whom Frueh treats for PTSD are seeking disability compensation, he said. Veterans Affairs uses a sliding scale; veterans who are granted 100 percent disability status receive payments starting at around $2,300 a month.  The VA inspector general's report found that benefit payments varied widely in states and said that was because VA centers in some states are more likely to grant veterans 100 percent disability.

Psychiatrist Sally Satel, who is affiliated with the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said an underground network advises veterans where to go for the best chance of being declared disabled.  The institute organized a recent meeting to discuss PTSD among veterans.

Once veterans are declared disabled, they retain that status indefinitely, Frueh and Satel said.  The system creates an adversarial relationship between doctors and patients, in which veterans sometimes take legal action if doctors decline to diagnose PTSD, Frueh said.  The clinician added that some patients who really need help never get it because they are unwilling to undergo the lengthy process of qualifying for disability benefits, which often requires them to repeatedly revisit the painful episodes they experienced.

The concern by Frueh and Satel about over diagnosis and fraud -- what researchers call "false positives" -- has drawn the ire of veterans groups and many other mental health experts.

A far bigger problem is the many veterans who seek help but do not get it or who never seek help, a number of experts said.  Studies have shown that large numbers of veterans with PTSD never seek treatment, possibly because of the stigma surrounding mental illness.

"There are periodic false positives, but there are also a lot of false negatives out there," said Terence M. Keane, one of the nation's best-known PTSD researchers, who cited a 1988 study on the numbers of veterans who do not get treatment.  "Less than one-fourth of people with combat-related PTSD have used VA-related services."

Larry Scott, who runs the clearinghouse http://www.vawatchdog.org , said conservative groups are trying to cut VA disability programs by unfairly comparing them to welfare.

Compensating people for disabilities is a cost of war, he said: "Veterans benefits are like workmen's comp.  You went to war.  You were injured.  Either your body or your mind was injured, and that prevents you from doing certain duties and you are compensated for that."

Scott said Veterans Affairs' objectives were made clear in the department's request to the Institute of Medicine for a $1.3 million study to review how PTSD is diagnosed and treated.  Among other things, the department asked the institute -- a branch of the National Academies chartered by Congress to advise the government on science policy -- to review the American Psychiatric Association's criteria for diagnosing PTSD.  Effectively, Scott said, Veterans Affairs was trying to get one scientific organization to second-guess another.

PTSD experts summoned to Philadelphia for the two-day internal "expert panel" meeting were asked to discuss "evidence regarding validity, reliability, and feasibility" of the department's PTSD assessment and treatment practices, according to an e-mail invitation obtained by The Washington Post.  The goal, the e-mail added, is "to improve clinical exams used to help determine benefit payments for veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder."

"What they are trying to do is figure out a way not to diagnose vets with PTSD," said Steve Robinson, executive director of the National Gulf War Resource Center, a veterans advocacy group.  "It's like telling a patient with cancer, 'if we tell you, you don't have cancer, then you won't suffer from cancer. "

Hogenson, the VA spokesman, said the department is not seeking to overturn the established psychiatric criteria for diagnosing PTSD.

“We are reviewing the utility and the objectivity of the criteria . . . and are commenting on the screening instruments used by VA," he said.  "We want to make sure what we do for screening comports with the latest information out there."
 

 

Now here in one scenario article they are worried about an extra 2.6 billion a year but in the other article they are not worried about the unclaimed awards totaling 22 billion a year!  I will say one thing.  The VA is very consistently “inconsistent.”

 

 

While in Washington, Glenda’s presentation was on just a few of the data points I found that shows dioxin causes central nervous system damages.  When she asked them to tell the difference between this incurable, very possibly degenerating, CNS physical damage, and the mental PTSD symptoms after comparing all of them they could not.

 

While giving my presentation, I got to the point in the presentation where I was reinforcing her data points and I guess the light bulb went on in some of the panel as they indicated this sounded like the “new Mefloquine issue and its causation of central nervous system damages that mimicked PTSD symptoms.” 

 

I had not heard of this as it was directly related to the Gulf War Veterans.  However, yes I agreed with them.

 

 

As a side note, I can now see how this political system works and in my opinion without viable hard working lobbyist inside 495 for Veterans we will get what we get; not what was earned.  That unfortunately seems to be how our government works.  Money and numbers of votes mean more than justice. 

 

If I won the lottery, I can tell you I would hire some real lobbyist to represent Veterans on a daily basis and they would no longer be by default second-class citizens.  
 


While this concerns our Gulf War Veterans, who took the Mefloquine.  It certainly parallels our toxic chemical legacy caused PTSD symptom issues.

 

These dioxin caused personality changes were clearly presented by Glenda in just a little of the data we have collected: 

Neuropsychological damage may be one of the most significant consequences of exposure to Agent Orange.  (1) 

 

The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA, 1990) concluded that neurotoxic chemicals play a significant casual role in development of psychiatric as well as neurological disorders.  Even minor changes in the structure or function of the nervous system were found to have profound consequences for behavioral and other neurological functions.  The OTA found that neurotoxic chemicals could cause or exacerbate anxiety, depression, mania, and psychosis.

 

In addition to the biological basis for the involvement of the Central Nervous System (CNS) and whenever Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) damage is produced by a lipophilic neurotoxicant, there are numerous other investigations to support the casual relationship between dioxin and CNS effects.  CNS effects observed in dioxin-exposed populations include depression, anxiety, suicide, decreased cognitive function, fatigue, and poor coordination.  The most severe neuropsychological consequence of dioxin exposure is excessive suicides, which has been demonstrated among exposed Vietnam veterans, chemical production workers in the U.S. and European countries, forestry workers, and railroad workers.  (1) 


In 1977, the Working Group of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) found that neurological and behavioral changes were among the most frequently reported effects in studies of exposures to 2,4,5-T (IARC, 1977a). 

 

IARC identified 6 out of 7 different populations occupationally exposed to chlorinated phenolic compounds where neuropsychological symptoms or depressive syndromes were established (IARC, 1977b). 

 

IARC noted that PNS damage was also found in the same six dioxin exposed populations, including polyneuropathies, lower extremity weakness, and sensorial impairments (sight, hearing, smell, taste). 

 

(This would more than likely include the autonomic nervous system such as slowed heart rate, breathing rates, sleep apnea, delayed stomach emptying, and even insulin cycles.)  

 

In 1986, the IARC clearly restated it’s finding that dioxin had been found to be associated with peripheral neuropathies and personality changes (IARC, 1986).

 

Notice the notations of polyneuropathy, fatigue, and lower muscle weakness.  Yet, the Secretary of the VA is still denying these medical abnormalities are associated with any toxic chemical exposures in Vietnam.  This is not just a dioxin problem.  2, 4-D (Agent White) is also noted for seeking this more lipid environment repository for itself.

 

Agent Blue, the code name for cacodylic acid (dimethyl arsenic acid), is noted for many similar issues as Agent Orange, including its neurotoxic effects on the Peripheral Nervous system. (7)

 

 

Glenda challenged the panel that yes there is certainly PTSD disorders in many forms and degrees of severity.  However, in our war without toxic chemicals and the CNS damages created would this ratio of disabling PTSD issues now be .5% instead of 22% relatively speaking. 

Many veterans have boo hoo'd my theory that this PTSD was not all combat stress and was in fact “direct physical damage” from toxic chemicals. 

 


Those that can download this MEFLOQUINE .pdf file just look at the first few pages of the neuropsychiatry-associated disorders and neuropsychological issues they say are similar to PTSD, including violent behavior.  This is not some temporary thing you can fix with counseling but a permanent biophysical change disability.

Also, notice the references to following disorders:

Just so happens that it goes along with joint pain, chronic fatigue, MS development, brain vascular issues, memory loss, depression, psychosis, etc.  Like we Vietnam Veterans by the 10's of thousands have not heard of that before and in fact found in many real honest dioxin studies.

I would think COPD would fit this category.

What are the symptoms of toxic epidermal Necrolysis?
Toxic epidermal Necrolysis can cause the skin to peel off in sheets, leaving large areas that look scalded. The loss of skin causes fluids and salts to ooze from the raw, damaged areas which can easily become infected. The following are the most common symptoms of toxic epidermal Necrolysis. However, each person may experience symptoms differently:

The symptoms of toxic epidermal Necrolysis may resemble other dermatologic conditions.

What is Encephalopathy?
Encephalopathy is a term for any diffuse disease of the brain that alters brain function or structure. Encephalopathy may be caused by infectious agent (bacteria, virus, or prion), metabolic or mitochondrial dysfunction, brain tumor or increased pressure in the skull, prolonged exposure to toxic elements (including solvents, drugs, radiation, paints, industrial chemicals, and certain metals), chronic progressive trauma, poor nutrition, or lack of oxygen or blood flow to the brain. The hallmark of encephalopathy is an altered mental state. Depending on the type and severity of encephalopathy, common neurological symptoms are progressive loss of memory and cognitive ability, subtle personality changes, inability to concentrate, lethargy, and progressive loss of consciousness. Other neurological symptoms may include myoclonus (involuntary twitching of a muscle or group of muscles), nystagmus (rapid, involuntary eye movement), tremor, muscle atrophy and weakness, dementia, seizures, and loss of ability to swallow or speak. Blood tests, spinal fluid examination, imaging studies, electroencephalograms, and similar diagnostic studies may be used to differentiate the various causes of encephalopathy.

 

Remember the Koreans found Brain Atrophy and Brain Infarction in their Vietnam Veterans associated.

 

This one page describes about 90% of the reported facts of Vietnam Veterans.  The only one that I am not familiar with is this description of the skin disorders.  Although Vietnam Veterans certainly have their share of other forms of skin issues.

 

 

Notice also the self reported symptoms on page 2.

 

What I thought was incredibly coincidental to Vietnam Veterans is sleep disorders and insomnia.

 

The other one was spatial perception which I have my own theory on that involves the hippocampus area of the brain and includes short term memory loss, attention span disorders, forms of learning impairment, constant movement is required even while watching TV (fidgeting in other words), etc.  Not forgetting that even the Ranch Hand found a dioxin dose response to short term memory loss.

 

Sorry I have to send it as an attachment as so many of your e-mails may block it.

 

Nevertheless, this word certainly needs to get out to those Gulf War Veterans.

 

Now if this “one chemical” can do this to the human body in our Gulf War Veterans imagine what the most toxic chemical cocktail ever produced by man can do including neurotoxicity effects to our Vietnam Veterans.

 

Another side note; in doing this matrix on the immune system I keep running into not RA but a form of autoimmune disease that deposits these cells that degrade our joints without being Rheumatoid Arthritis.  May explain the pain, the clicking, popping as the disease continues, and the developed weakness of the joints themselves.  Nothing concrete yet but it certainly is starting to make sense.

 

Although I did find a connection to the histamine disorder and the control of the speed of the histamine responses as well as tissue destruction disorders and organ growth/enlargement disorders.  The EPA made reference to this in one of their findings and I think I found that connection.  Something that causes the VEGF to go nuts and no amount of cell growth is enough.  Therefore you get enlarged organs or even partial areas of an organ of enlargement.

 

In doing this "failure modes and effects" I have new appreciation for our immune system and its networking capabilities.  It is amazing the different levels and the impacts a change in one little thing can have.  The levels are almost like constant cell software revisions in an instant in time upgrading, reprogramming, talking, cross talking, and mediating the cells up or down in our immune system.  Not just on the same level but up and down levels in the hierarchy of functions.  Just fantastic!

 

I plan on finishing up the immune system failure project, hopefully I can get that reviewed, and maybe a project on birth defects which I will have to weigh and decide if I even have access to enough data to do any justice -  with the book out now, then I have done all I know to do and am able to do.

 

One widow had written in that I need to sign up to brief the NAS/IOM.   As you recall I tried that and was to drive 16 hours for a 15 minute brief.  While the Ranch Hand, which, according to the VA/Ranch Hand- NAS/IOM connection is not used to determine anything (as testified to in the 2000 oversight meeting) is given one hour.  Yet, clearly in the same meeting many said that the Ranch Hand was being used as the "gold standard of all studies."  Sounded like the old VA/Ranch Hand/NAS/IOM quick two step.

 

While fumbling with answers from questions on "level of proof" by some congressmen, the NAS/IOM indicated they had borrowed some protocols from the IARC.  Yet, it is amazing the two scientific bodies, one independent and one hired by the government can use the same protocols and be 180 degrees out in their conclusions not just on some issues but almost all of it.  One certainly would have to wonder.

 

Obviously this disparity is from "what is the definition or level of associations."  Level of proof required in a court setting or level of proof mandated by the White House, using the VA once again. 

 

Even in this fumbling discussion, and obvious resistance to answer questions, the members said they thought that the politicians had wanted some level of benefit of the doubt included but it was obviously not given with the two step answers.  Yet, the scientists concluded they wanted cause and effect.

 

My thoughts were that maybe congress did not feel they were entitled to know this seemingly biased process that is judging death and disability but clearly it is obvious the victims are entitled to know just how this process works and how it is being measured. 

So far I have not been able to find out what these seemingly secret and directed processes and level of proof is.  Other than the NAS/IOM protocols and procedures are so constrained; I am not sure they could associate the medical reasons and rationale for pregnancy, with no level of doubt.

 

 

Ernie had warned me that the book might not sell like I thought it would.  I figured all Vietnam Veterans and Gulf War Veterans as well as widows would want to know how their government has treated them and the actual findings that have not been bought forward, the cover-ups, as well as what other studies had found that matches what we Vietnam Veterans are experiencing and still developing.  Seems he was correct and my optimistic nature and pride in the book got the best of me.

 

Although, I will be following the progress of taking Chronic Polyneuropathy to the benefits commission.  I have offered to help in that issue should Mr. Sistek in DC need my assistance at any time.  Be interesting to see when this happens the fight the VA puts up on this obviously associated disorder.  I think if we follow this closely we can see who runs the nation for the segment of society called Veterans.  Our own elected congress or the White House appointed VA.

 

It is obvious to me that congress for the most part is not going to step forward and challenge the VA on much of anything.  Some in congress may even have a vested interest in not challenging the DOD/VA.

 

Unless we can get the scientists and the real doctors of our nation to step up to the plate and challenge or we can get the national media to finally make the White House address the transgressions and real issues of what the VA actually is doing then I am afraid nothing will change. 

 

I thought at one time I could win for all Veterans with logic and data as I am sure others have fought that same battle scenario also.  But I have found out that logic and data mean nothing to a federal agency that for all practical purposes is a self contained anarchy government within our democratically elected government that its sole purpose is budget constraints directed by the executive branch.

 

Obviously Veterans cannot fight chemical company money inside 495 which goes much deeper than any of us care to imagine.  Even, I am finding out now some governors have chemical company money involved.

 

More than just a slight conflict of interest, given the total political history of our toxic chemical legacy.

 

As I indicated, the only way I know to fight is with votes (votes will trump money) and so far without lobbyist support that have not signed a pact with the government we are challenging, without Veterans putting aside their political ideologies (which the government counts on by the way), and without uniting state by state for house races and senate races then the system is totally against this entire segment of our nation.

 

Ironically the only segment that earned that right by deeds and service.

 

 

Anyway, that is the latest update of activity and hope all of you had a great Christmas and will have the very best in the New Year.

 

Kelley

SP5Kelley2nd94th@aol.com