VA sees connection between ALS and military service


Thursday, April 9, 2009
SANFORD — The Department of Veterans Affairs has determined that there is a connection between military service and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which is known as ALS and Lou Gehrig's disease.

Joseph Armstrong, the state director of the Order of the Silver Rose, provided the Sanford News with a press release detailing the department's announcement. Armstrong lives in Sanford and works with fellow veterans and supporters to bring awareness to veterans' issues ranging from Agent Orange exposure to prisoners of war and those missing in action.

Veterans with ALS may receive badly needed support for themselves and their families after the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that ALS will become a presumptively compensable illness for all veterans with 90 days or more of continuously active service in the military.

"Veterans are developing ALS in rates higher than the general population, and it was appropriate to take action," Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake said.

Peake based his decision primarily on a November 2006 report by the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine (IOM) on the association between active-duty service and ALS.

"We are extremely grateful to Secretary Peake, Congressman Henry Brown and Senator Lindsey Graham for standing on the side of veterans with ALS across the country," said Gary Leo, the president and CEO of The ALS Association. "Thanks to their leadership, veterans with ALS will receive the benefits and care they need, when they need them. Thanks to their efforts, no veteran with ALS will ever be left behind."

The report, titled "Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in Veterans: Review of the Scientific Literature," analyzed numerous previous studies on the issue and concluded that "there is limited and suggestive evidence of an association between military service and later development of ALS."

"ALS is a disease that progresses rapidly, once it is diagnosed," Peake explained. "There simply isn't time to develop the evidence needed to support compensation claims before many veterans become seriously ill. My decision will make those claims much easier to process, and for them and their families to receive the compensation they have earned through their service to our nation."

According to the ALS Association, ALS is a "progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord." The disease leads to complete paralysis in its victims — but almost always leaves their minds intact.

Sanford resident Gary Sullivan, the co-founder and president of the ALS-Maine Collaborative, was diagnosed with ALS in December of 2004. He expressed gratitude to Maine Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins for their support of the bill Congress passed last September that provides immediate benefits to all Veteran's diagnosed with ALS.

Sullivan also reacted to the VA's determination that military service and ALS are linked.

"As a person with ALS, I am greatly saddened that those who have served our country with honor and courage now are at a greater risk of having Lou Gehrig's disease because of that service," Sullivan said. "The ALS-Maine Collaborative is proud to have taken a lead in the state in collaborating with the Veterans Affairs Department and the Togus VA Medical Center and other ALS-related organizations in addressing the medical needs and quality-of-life issues of all people with ALS in the state, including our veterans."

Ryan Lilly, the associate director of the Togus VA Medical Center, is a member of the ALS~Maine Collaborative's board of directors, as are representatives of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, e-Hope and the Maine Hospice Council.


http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll...782/-1/SANNEWS