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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Senate Passes Veterans Health Amendment 
Written by Bruce Ferrell
(WASHINGTON) – The United States Senate passed legislation cosponsored by Senator Richard Burr to correct serious technical errors in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that Burr says put veterans, widows and widowers, and certain dependents at risk.
“Our nation’s veterans and their families have sacrificed of themselves on behalf of our security, and we owe them the best health care available,” Burr said in a press release. “I was proud to cosponsor this legislation that will protect the health care that these individuals have earned through their service to our nation.”
Under the Democrats’ health reform bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, “minimum essential coverage” requirements for health insurance did not clearly include TRICARE; the VA Spina Bifida Program for children of Agent Orange veterans; and CHAMPVA, a health care program for spouses and dependent children of veterans who died, or are profoundly disabled, as a result of military service. Senator Burr was concerned that without a change in the language of President Obama’s broad sweeping healthcare reform provisions, these beneficiaries could have been required to pay for additional insurance.
With the support of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, and Disabled American Veterans, Senator Burr offered an amendment to the health care reconciliation bill to maintain the integrity of the health care systems of the VA and the DOD and ensure that the authority of the Secretary of the Department of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs would not be obstructed by any provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Senator Burr’s amendment also ensured that nothing in the Democrats’ health bill would affect benefits provided under TRICARE or VA health care programs and that “minimum essential coverage” under the Democrats’ health reform bill would include coverage under TRICARE and all VA health care programs.
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