Data show spike in ALS for soldiers
May 21, 2008

Given that veterans of the first Persian Gulf war are twice as likely as other soldiers to get amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), they certainly deserve to receive the "service-connected" disability benefits and health care compensation that the Department of Veterans Affairs long denied them ("Veterans with ALS in race against time," May 19).

The VA claims evidence to support broader compensation of all veterans with the disease is lacking, but it has never published its own data on ALS rates among veterans of earlier wars.

A large mortality study of more than 500,000 men published in 2005 by researchers at Harvard University, however, provides just such evidence.

It found the risk of ALS among veterans born between 1915 and 1939 was 1.53 times higher than that of non-veterans, independent of when or where the soldiers served.



Whatever the cause(s) of this excess mortality, it clearly is related to military service, and the soldiers should be compensated.

Such compensation will be too late for my brother and for several other members of his small unit who died of ALS after serving in Korea. But I hope it will not come too late to help those currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Albert Donnay

Baltimore

The writer is an environmental health engineer.


http://www.baltimoresun.com:80/news/...,5828388.story

Senator Coburn

Unfortunately, Senator Coburn is distorting the truth. The fact is the
CDC piloted three databases and they were successful. That is why this
bill is in the Senate. Secondly, we are taking about 5 million dollars
- less than 30 seconds in Iraq. A small amount of money - this will
not affect what other diseases get.
Many in the Senate are trying to get Coburn to release a number of
health care bills to the floor for debate and vote. The fact is, while
Coburn states that this is due to his ideology, if you speak with
Congressmen and Senators on the hill, they will tell you that Coburn
uses these bills to get what he wants. In other words, he is using the
lives of people as bargaining chips.
ALSA is working with many Senators on this bill, 73 co-sponsors. They
are trying everything.

It is important that we email our Senators and talk to everyone we
know to get this bill moving. We are one man away from what will be a
very important step towards knowledge, treatment,and hopefully a cure
for this disease.

"laurenersner"

from
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group.../message/55126