WSU to Study Iraq Toxins' Effect
Spokesman-Review
by Bert Caldwell
Research to examine how exposure might damage offspring of soldiers
Washington State University scientists will use a $1.7 million grant to study what multi-generation genetic damage might be done by toxins U.S. troops could encounter in Iraq.
The research using laboratory rats, not humans, will be the first for the military to examine the epigenetic effects of pesticides, herbicides and other compounds, said lead scientist Michael Skinner, director of the university's Center for Reproductive Biology.
Previous studies have looked at the health effects of other substances, notably the Agent Orange used to defoliate jungles in Vietnam, on the soldiers directly exposed, he said, not on their children or grandchildren.
"The science really had not caught up with the trans-generational stuff," said Skinner, one of several WSU pioneers in the field of epigenetic, or multi-generational, inheritance.
Besides herbicides and pesticides – which and in what combinations has not been determined – the study also will look at the effects of explosives residues, he said.
The four-year study will allow researchers to see how any changes in genetic chemistry that develop are passed along through two subsequent generations of rats, he said, noting that only the first two years of research have been funded.
Among the problems that might develop are kidney disease, or changes in the male and female reproductive organs, he said.
If any genetic markers are identified in rats, Skinner said, follow-up research could look at whether they might show up among members of the military as well.
That would be of particular interest to Dave Holmes, interim chief operating officer of the Institute for Systems Medicine, which was awarded the U.S. Department of Defense grant passed through to Skinner.
Holmes' son, Tim Hammond, did two tours in Iraq with the U.S. Marine Corps.
"They sprayed all kinds of stuff on them," Holmes said.
Although the grant money, the first awarded ISM, will fund work in Pullman, he said the organization's supporters hope any subsequent clinical studies will be done in Spokane.
"There's a lot of excitement about making it happen," he said.
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Extreme Medicine Gets Pentagon Push; Human Trials Rushed
By Katie Drummond
Some of the most debilitating war injuries, from lost limbs to mangled muscle tissue to permanent burn scars, could soon benefit from cutting-edge regenerative procedures.
Human clinical trials of the latest in extreme regenrative medicine — including bone-fusing cement and muscle-growing cell scaffolds — are being fast-tracked, thanks to an extra $12 million in funding from the Department of Defense.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh are working on some of the most promising Pentagon-backed medical research projects. Just last month, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen visited the university’s labs to see the science firsthand. And despite the looming threat of a shrinking Pentagon budget, he told them that “10 years doesn’t satisfy any of us,” where clinical trials were concerned.
And that’s exactly what this funding infusion is going to address. Dr. B.J. Costello, the lead researcher behind the university’s bone cement project, told Danger Room that the Pentagon’s contract is meant “to catapult us forward.” Costello’s program was expected to be in human clinical trials in 5-7 years. With the new grant, it’ll be more like 12 months to 2 years.
“We needed more help with the process of FDA approval and associated expenses, which a company would pay for if they were planning to produce and market this science,” he said. “Instead, the Department of Defense is picking up that slack.”
Costello, whose program involves the creation of an injectable compound designed to repair cranio facial bone damage or spur normal bone growth, expects to start trials on 20 patients, most of them veterans, within a year. If those trials go well, they’ll expand to test more people or explore using the cement for different, more serious procedures.
“Right now, we’re looking at mild to moderate injuries,” he said. “But eventually this could treat long bone injuries, or have civilian applications.”
And those applications would be widespread. The bone cement could replace metal plates, repair bone damage from car accidents or assaults, and even regrow entire portions of a human skull.
Costello’s hoping the grant will also help them move forward on manufacturing facilities, where the product can be mass produced in a sterile environment.
The Pentagon grant will also hasten clinical trials for muscle tissue regeneration and a novel method of treating burn injuries. Costello is confident that all three procedures are ready for human use.
“The Department of Defense did their homework, and these projects are the cream of the crop,” he said. “This isn’t pie-in-the-sky research. We’re ready to roll.”
