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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Vets use settlement millions from massive identity-theft suit against VA to help other vets
BY Stephanie Gaskell
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Pay it forward.
That's what a group of veterans is doing with a $20 million class-action settlement from the Department of Veterans Affairs over a massive identity-theft suit.
They're donating about $13 million to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and the Fisher House Foundation, two New York-based charities that help families of fallen and wounded troops.
"When I first heard about it, it just really knocked me down. It's indicative of the kind of men and women they are," said Fisher House CEO Ken Fisher.
About 20 million veterans sued the VA after an employee's laptop with their personal information was stolen in 2006. The vets argued that the VA didn't do enough to protect them after discovering the sensitive data was missing.
"The veterans are very glad to have done this. These two are the most substantial organizations around," said plaintiff John Rowan, a 64-year-old Air Force veteran from Middle Village, Queens. "But the bottom line is, we had to make sure the VA doesn't do this again."
The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund raises money for families of soldiers killed in combat. It also helped build the renowned Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio and the soon-to-be opened National Intrepid Center for Excellence, a traumatic brain injury hospital in Bethesda, Md.
There are 45 Fisher Houses across the country, located next to VA hospitals to give families of wounded soldiers a place to stay while they're being treated.
"It's just an incredible gift," said Chairman Arnold Fisher, whose uncle, Zachary, founded the organization in 1991. "Veterans have been forgotten about by many people of this country. They're the ones who deserve the credit."
sgaskell@nydailynews.com
