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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Panel urges long-term planning to care for veterans
WASHINGTON — Looking decades ahead, the Institute of Medicine is urging the Veterans Affairs Department to begin planning now for the long-term health care needs of the estimated 1.9 million veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Specifically, the institute says in a report released Wednesday, not enough is known about what works best in the long term to treat veterans with traumatic brain injuries, often caused by roadside bombs.
While a multitude of public and private programs are available to help the men and women who have served in the recent conflicts, there is little coordination and sparse information about which ones are effective, the report said.
A 16-member panel coordinated by the Institute of Medicine instigated the review of the readjustment needs of troops, veterans and their families at the request of Congress. The institute is part of the National Academies, an independent organization chartered by Congress to advise the government on scientific matters.
The report urged Congress to direct the VA to produce more detailed annual projections of the needs of veterans and their families, so more thorough planning can be done to prepare for an uptick in disability claims and health needs in the decades ahead as the veterans age.
Based on a review of disability claims from past wars, the report says the number of disability claims from recent veterans should peak around 2040.
"It's going to get worse before it gets any better," said Ryan Edwards, an economics professor from the City University of New York, who served on the panel. "We're going to see a larger burden, ... and it will continue to expand."
The VA did not immediately comment on the findings.
The report praised the VA's work to establish rehabilitation services for those with traumatic brain injury, which is often called the signature wound of the Iraq war. But it said the VA should sponsor research into protocols for long-term care for those with traumatic brain injury because little research is available.
"It's an evolving area and it's going to need to evolve more to keep up with the patient population," said Dr. George Rutherford, the panel chairman, who is a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco.
Overall, the report said, the VA and Defense Department should better coordinate services available to veterans. It held up as a successful model Military OneSource, a one-stop online and telephone information source for military personnel and their families.
The study said the Defense Department needs to better address troops' reluctance to report mental health problems and should review how it handles confidentiality when a service member seeks help. It also encouraged the Defense Department and VA to hire more mental health professionals.
It could be helpful for service members returning home from war if there's an interim place they can go following time in combat to rest and prepare for the adjustment back to the U.S., the report said.
Next month, the panel starts a second, two-year examination of veterans' health issues.
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