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Report on Gulf War illness for November 2006
We are awaiting this week hopeful the signing of the contract between VA and UTSWMed(Dallas,Texas).
The collaborative agreement was announced around May. UTSWMED will become the hub of action for GW Research. We thank Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson, Ross Perot, and DR Robert Hailey for being there for gulf war veterans. This is a first in history for veterans! WE are definitely winning some. It seems slow at times but once things get in place can get done even if it is 16 years of hard work for the gulf war vets from Operation Desert Storm.
WE also have the Announcement of the VA Brain Bank located in AZ. 1Million dollars finally made this happen. The first brain has been donated was from a Gulf War Vet(we thank that family and honor that veteran) . For now they are concentrating on Gulf War veterans with ALS. They have nurses trained that go to the family and the veteran as they approach the end to present this option to them. It is an opportunity to get real answers for Gulf War Veterans. Veterans have been pushing for this since Jason Whitcomb Gulf War Veteran from Oklahoma died and the family was willing to donate but no resources had been set up. Also same thing happened when Fred Willoughby another gulf war veteran died and his family offerred to donate his brain since he had been in the Seabee group that Dr Hailey had studied.
It took the spark of Dr Paul Greengard making the statement of if we had one or two brains donated it would help the gulf war veterans to get answers and treatment potentials.
Dr Greengard is world reknown and nobel award nominee. This is a world class first of its kind ever brain depository. WE must congratulate the VA for finally hearing the veterans, DR Greengard's statement, the VA_RAC_GWI initiative to push this issue, and the VA Research and Mr. Nicholson,secretary of the VA for making this happen within a year! Quite a historical accomplishment.
WE also have this announcement to get out to any DRs or researchers!
This is critical to get to any doctors and researchers so all help in doing this! WE have a short deadline to get letters of intent from researchers to apply! Please spread to VA or Civilian doctors and researchers!
Funding Announcements Relevant to Research on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses
Department of Defense (DoD)Home <http://www.grants.gov/;jsessionid=FSLTd1ZlTRw4FZlXTLFhTJjFdZKNVdZhyLHyGJJ70HyryfNlY8B3!533580953> > Find Grant Opportunities <http://www.grants.gov/applicants/find_grant_opportunities.jsp> > Search Grant Opportunities <http://www.grants.gov/search/basic.do;jsessionid=FSLTd1ZlTRw4FZlXTLFhTJjFdZKNVdZhyLHyGJJ70HyryfNlY8B3!533580953> > Search Results <http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=FSLTd1ZlTRw4FZlXTLFhTJjFdZKNVdZhyLHyGJJ70HyryfNlY8B3!533580953?mode=SORTBYRELEVANCE> > Synopsis
New! Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses Research Program (GWVIRP) (Issued: October 30, 2006)
Department of Defense (DOD) Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses Research Program (GWVIRP)
Synopsis
Full Announcement
How to Apply
Document Type: Grants Notice Funding Opportunity Number: W81XWH-06-GWVIRP Opportunity Category: Discretionary Posted Date: Oct 30, 2006 Creation Date: Oct 30, 2006 Original Closing Date for Applications: Feb 02, 2007 Current Closing Date for Applications: Feb 02, 2007 Archive Date: Mar 04, 2007 Funding Instrument Type: Other
The synopsis for this grant opportunity is detailed below, following this paragraph. This synopsis contains all of the updates to this document that have been posted as of 10/30/2006. If updates have been made to the opportunity synopsis, update information is provided below the synopsis.
If you would like to receive notifications of changes to the grant opportunity click send me change notification emails <http://www.grants.gov/search/fundOppNumSubscriptionCheck.do;jsessionid=FSLTd1ZlTRw4FZlXTLFhTJjFdZKNVdZhyLHyGJJ70HyryfNlY8B3!533580953?oppNumber=W81XWH-06-GWVIRP&agencycode=DOD-AMRAA> . The only thing you need to provide for this service is your email address. No other information is requested.
Any inconsistency between the original printed document and the disk or electronic document shall be resolved by giving precedence to the printed document.
Grant
Cooperative Agreement
Category of Funding Activity: Science and Technology and other Research and Development
Category Explanation: Expected Number of Awards: 27 Estimated Total Program Funding: $5,000,000 Award Ceiling: Award Floor: CFDA Number: 12.420 -- Military Medical Research and Development Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement: No
Eligible ApplicantsUnrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility"
Additional Information on Eligibility:
Agency NameDept. of the Army -- USAMRAA
DescriptionThe primary objective of the GWVIRP was assigned to the USAMRMC CDMRP by Congress with a $5 million dollar budget. The intent of the Program is to fund research focused on chronic illnesses affecting veterans of the 1991 Gulf War.
Link to Full AnnouncementPam Fisher
If you have difficulty accessing the full announcement electronically, please contact:
Grants Officer
Phone 301-619-2805 pamela.l.fisher@...
Synopsis Modification History
There are currently no modifications for this opportunity.
Selected Grant Applications for Download
Download the application and its instructions by selecting the corresponding download link. Save these files to your computer for future reference and use. You do not need Internet access to read the instructions or to complete the application once you save them to your computer.
Before you can view and complete an application package, you must have the PureEdge viewer installed. Click Here <http://www.grants.gov/PEViewer/ICSViewer602_grants.exe> to download the PureEdge Viewer if you do not have it installed already.
Below is a list of the application(s) currently available for the CFDA and/or Funding Opportunity Number that you entered.
To download the application instructions or package, click the corresponding download link. You will then be able to save the files on your computer for future reference and use. CFDA Opportunity Number Competition ID Competition Title Agency Instructions and Application 12.420 W81XWH-06-GWVIRP Dept. of the Army -- USAMRAA download <http://apply.grants.gov/apply/UpdateOffer?id=6073>
http://www.grants.gov/search/downloadAtt.do?attId=7700
WE have had significant improvement in the compensation of gulf war veterans with gulf war illness but it is still a battle that each individual has to fight. WE have plans to go after legal presumptions next to include ALS, MS, other neurological diseases, Cancers including brain, acute and chronic leukemia, thyroid and testicular. So that means going back to the hill! We have to get sponsors to introduce, hearings, and the inevitable cosponsor drive, and forcing action on the floor for votes.
We also are pushing for a new advisory committee centering on the Health Care side of the VA to improve the care of gulf war veterans with illnesses since serving in Operation Desert Storm. This could be done through the action of the Secretary of the VA but may take another bill to get it done. The Clinical Guidelines for the VA physicians on Gulf War illness is out of date and we need outside medical experts and veterans to have full input to any revision! The advisory committee on Clinical Care of Gulf War Veterans would be set up similar to the current ongoing VA Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War illness but with more veterans that were medical care professionals that served in theater in the gulf war, civilian experts in the neuro field, oncology field, cfs, mcs, fibromyalgia, environmental medicine and toxicology, and VA clinicians that could offer cutting edge advice of what is currently done in the civilian medical field to diagnosis and care for these veterans of the first gulf war. This is the bridge we need to bring the VA up to speed and make lasting improvements for the gulf war veterans. Each day these are veterans reporting problems in getting care at any and all VA hospitals in the nation. It would also be a bridge to implement breaking research findings for Gulf War Veterans. WE also want to push for local VA hospitals to form Gulf War Veteran and medical advisory groups at each VA as initially started by the Whitcombs of Desert Storm Justice Foundation in Oklahoma. This would show commitment from the VA from the national headquarters down thru each local VA hospital/clinic to address the gulf war veterans needs finally! This would bring the clinicans and the veterans face to face to resolve the problems, to improve communications, and all flows of information. A good idea would be to have gulf war veterans serving as liasons at each VA and at the national VA headquarters.
The IOM reports have not been a surprise since they were basically literature reviews of published researched that had already been reported and analyzed. The problem has been that stress and psychological studies were funded from the start in 1992 and it has taken a long time and considerable work to turn that ship and sink it! We needed the work as is being reported in the early paragraphs of this report. WE also did not need the spin PR from the IOM reports that only hurt the gulf war veterans seeking care at the VA.
If you read the reports you will find over and over again that the veterans are ill at a greater rate. The answers were not there because the right direction had not been there since 1991. The right direction would be looking at the damage in the neurologic and immune systems. The hard science is finally getting the even battle field after 16 years.
WE need to focus on education and updates on research developments to VA doctors.
It is amazing that the VARACGWI met at the DALLAS VA on Monday and not one VA doctor or any nurses were seen taking in the ability to get this valuable update in the area of gulf war illness. I am thankful that we had a few more gulf war veteran attending in the audience were Kevin Smith of Florida, Connie G from Corpus Christi, and John P from Irving Tx with his sister and mother. Plus myself and Kirt Love the persistent gulf war veteran advocates as ever! We also thank Dr Ruth for being in attendance.
Monday session had the full UTSW Medical team and associated Research survey group present in attendance and making presentations. On Tuesday we had excellent updates on research and an overview of the Gulf War illness RAC's work to the present from DR. Lea Steele from Kansas. WE had ample time for comments, questions and concerns to be addressed by the veterans and others in attendance. It is a shame that more local and Texas VSO service officers and regional benefits adjudicators
did not avail themselves of this first ever meeting of the VARACGWI outside of DC! It is also a shame that civilian medical practice and other researchers from other TX and OK research universities did not attend.
WE had Dr Joel Kuppersmith and Dr. Bill Goldberg VA office of Research and Development, Dr Louis Fiore(VA Boston) and Dr Anil Prasad(VA Tucson) (Gulf War Tissue Repository), Kathleen Considine and Vince Iannacchione from the Research Triangle Institue, and Dr Jeffrey Spence, Dr Patric Carmack, Dr Richard Briggs, Dr Christopher Sinton, Dr James Bibb, Dr George DeMartino, Dr Philip Thomas, Dr Ilya Bezprozvanny and Dr Robert Hailey of Univ of Texas Southwestern plus the full RAC GWI committee and we thank them all and regret that more individuals as mentioned above did not show but I am sure there is Interest in this issue despite the IOM reports and press releases.
Congressman Shays got reelected so we are hoping for hearings again soon to pick up from where we left off with his hearing from NOV 2005! Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson got reelected and that is much appreciated. WE will now have Democratic leadership, committee chairmanships and members of committees changed but let us hope we can bring them up to speed rapidly so we can deal with the Gulf War illness as quickly as is possible.
We need to continue to survey and communicate with our current troops of OIF and OEF
to see if they are experiencing symptoms of ill defined nature. So we need to continue to reach out to our newest groups as you the Vietnam veterans did for us when we returned in 1991 and since.
Please I am available refer them to me at DSNurse@... or 303-726-0738.
Our troops are still not getting the hands on DR physicals and blood and urine sampling etc pre and postdeployment that would document their health and comes from the lessons learned in Operation Desert Storm. WE fought to get a law that mandated those physicals but the DOD seems to ignore the full extent and spirit of that law.
The VARACGWI schedule for 2007 meetings in DC are April 24-25, July 18-19, Oct 22-23. That is the schedule for 2007 so plan now!
Also any clinical trials for gulf war illness can be found at www.clinical <http://www.clinical/> trials.gov
Information on Research Study Enrolling Veterans of the 1990-1991 Gulf War
The following federal research project is currently enrolling veterans who served in the 1990-1991 Gulf War. For more information contact the research team at the number below.
Study
³Patterns of Microarray Gene Expression in Gulf War Illness²
Location
Miami , FL, VA Medical Center
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to identify mechanisms that underlie Gulf War illnesses. The study will use recently-developed methods to identify markers potentially linked to these conditions.
Principal
Investigator
Nancy Klimas M.D.
Study
Eligibility
Compensation
- Gulf War veterans who served in theater between 8/8/90 and 7/31/91
- Healthy veterans, as well as veterans with chronic symptoms such as fatigue, cognitive problems, and muscle or joint pain
- Male or female
- Willing to comply with study protocol, including two visits to the Miami VA Medical Center
- Local to Miami area; no travel or lodging reimbursement is provided
Compensation provided for veterans¹ time
Contact
Lottie Cason, telephone: (305) 575-7000, ext. 6706
Also a reminder: http://www.dignitymemorial.com/DignityMemorial/HomelessVets.aspx?id=COR
This Dignity Memorial company should be utilized by veterans. They have preplanning folders for veterans that are the best I have seen for veterans and many veteran service organizations have teamed up with them.
http://www.dignitymemorial.com/DignityMemorial/CommunityOutreach.aspx?id=COR
That concludes my brief report for now.
Sincerely,
Denise Nichols
NEW YORK (Nov. 9) - Ed Bradley, the award-winning television journalist who broke racial barriers at CBS News and created a distinctive, powerful body of work during his 26 years on "60 Minutes," died Thursday. He was 65.
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 Watch Video: '60 Minutes' Bradley a Trailblazer From the Blog: A Salute to Bradley Talk About It: Post Thoughts |
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Bradley died of leukemia at Mount Sinai hospital, CBS News announced.
"He was a great journalist who did the most serious work without ever seeming to take himself seriously," Barbara Walters said in a statement.
Bradley's consummate skills were recognized with numerous awards, including 19 Emmys, the latest for a segment on the reopening of the 50-year-old racial murder case of Emmett Till.
Three of his Emmys came at the 2003 awards: for lifetime achievement; a 2002 "60 Minutes" report on brain cancer patients; and a "60 Minutes II" report about sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church. He also won a lifetime achievement award from the National Association of Black Journalists.
With his signature earring, Bradley was "considered intelligent, smooth, cool, a great reporter, beloved and respected by all his colleagues here at CBS News," Katie Couric said in a special report.
"He certainly was a reporter's reporter," fellow "60 Minutes" correspondent Mike Wallace told CBS News Radio.
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Bradley grew up in a tough section of Philadelphia, where he once recalled that his parents worked 20-hour days at two jobs apiece. "I was told, `You can be anything you want, kid,'" he once told an interviewer. "When you hear that often enough, you believe it."
After graduating from Cheney State College, he launched his career as a DJ and news reporter for a Philadelphia radio station in 1963, moving to New York's WCBS radio four years later.
He joined CBS News as a stringer in the Paris bureau in 1971, transferring a year later to the Saigon bureau during the Vietnam War; he was wounded while on assignment in Cambodia.
After Southeast Asia, Bradley returned to the United States and covered Jimmy Carter's successful campaign for the White House. He followed Carter to Washington, in 1976 becoming CBS' first black White House correspondent -- a prestigious position that Bradley didn't enjoy.
He jumped from Washington to doing pieces for "CBS Reports," traveling to Cambodia, China, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. It was his Emmy-winning 1979 work on a story about Vietnamese boat people, refugees from the war-torn nation, that eventually landed his work on "60 Minutes." He officially joined the show in 1981.
"60 Minutes" producer Don Hewitt, in his book "Minute by Minute," was quick to appreciate Bradley's work. "He's so good and so savvy and so lights up the tube every time he's on it that I wonder what took us so long," Hewitt wrote.
In 1993, Bradley responded to rumors that he might be lured to ABC News by commenting: "I happen to be on the No. 1 show on television. That's a pretty strong incentive. Besides, CBS is home. There are people here I grew up with."
Accepting his lifetime achievement award from the black journalists association, Bradley remembered being present at some of the organization's first meetings in New York.
"I look around this room tonight and I can see how much our profession has changed and our numbers have grown," he said. "I also see it every day as I travel the country reporting stories for '60 Minutes.' All I have to do is turn on the TV and I can see the progress that has been made."
11/9/2006 13:45:54
Denise,
I wanted to provide you additional information on the new $5 million research funding announcement (RFA) for pilot studies of treatments for Gulf War illnesses discussed at the RAC meeting. Please bring it to the attention of any doctor with a treatment that may be beneficial for Gulf War illnesses. It is specifically designed for small pilot trials of innovative treatments, both conventional and complementary. It is open to any researcher, inside or outside of the government.
As you know, only two treatments have been tested in the entire history of Gulf War illnesses research, neither with very impressive results, so this RFA is an extraordinary opportunity. Preliminary responses are due December 1.
The RFA is posted at http://cdmrp.army.mil/funding/gwvirp.htm.
The RFA is being managed by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program at DoD, the same program that manages DoD breast and prostate cancer research. It is a very professional, apolitial, patient-oriented program geared toward small pilot studies where the evidence is still early, but which can form the basis for future full-scale trials -- just what we have needed for many years in Gulf War illnesses. The RFA is the result of legislation passed in 2005 sponsored by Congressman Dennis Kuchinich, Congressman Christopher Shays, and Congressman Bernard Sanders.
Please help get the word out. This RFA is the best opportunity we have ever had to research something that could actually make a difference to the health of ill Gulf veterans.
Thanks,
Jim
IMPORTANT Agent Orange Update
Agent Orange exposure tied to ills in
Thu Nov 9, 10:49 AM ET
Vietnam veterans who sprayed the herbicides like Agent Orange decades ago in Vietnam are at an increased risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and chronic breathing problems, a new study shows.
Agent Orange, a weed killer containing dioxin, was widely used during the Vietnam War, Dr. Han K. Kang of the Department of Veterans Affairs in
To understand the long-term effects of exposure to the chemicals, Kang and his team compared 1,499 members of the US Army Chemical Corps to 1,428 vets who had worked in chemical operations jobs but did not serve in
Study participants were surveyed by telephone in 1999 and 2000.
Tests of a subset of the study participants, including 795
The researchers analyzed the effects of
However, exposure to herbicides among
An increased cancer risk also was seen among the Chemical Corps members, but this was not significant from a statistical standpoint.
"Almost three decades after
SOURCE: American Journal of Industrial Medicine, November 2006.
Pyridostigmine, diethyltoluamide, permethrin, and stress: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial to assess safety.
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report, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in Veterans: A Review of the
Scientific Literature, on Friday, November 10, 2006. If you would like a
copy of this report, please send your address to
gulfwarandhealth@.... Thank you.
http://www.joelgraves.com/gulfwar/gulfwar.htm
VETERANS
At the beginning of September 2006, I was approached by the landlord of my
local pub. He had heard that I involved with the debate over Gulf War
illnesses and was seeking advice. He had been in the Black Watch, the
Scottish infantry battalion, for 19 years, and had retired during the summer
of 2006. He had served for three years on counterterrorist duties in
Northern Ireland, and despite witnessing some horrific sights had enjoyed
the soldiering in the province. He had served with the Black Watch during
the 2003 invasion of Iraq and had taken Pyridostigmine bromide (NAPs
tablets) for at least four weeks. Since then, he has suffered a range of
complaints and has seen numerous medical physicians. His symptoms include
depression, anxiety, personality change, the right side of his face drops
when he is tired, numbness down one side of his body, tingling in his
fingers, and pain. Since then, I have written to Ricky Hampton's general
practitioner who I believe has finally referred him to the Gulf War
illnesses Medical Assessment Programme at St Thomas's hospital
Since then, I have had several conversations with Ricky and members of his
family. He describes a good friend as well as his brother-in-law, both
members of the Black Watch during 2003 suffering similar symptoms. If the
remarks of his wife are more than rumour and gossip, then many members of
the Black Watch are suffering Gulf War illness. It was evident from the
conversations that the family have no clear idea about what is happening to
him and his mates. It is inexcusable that soldiers suffering Gulf War
illness are being treated by psychiatrists for an illness which is
neurological in nature. During the summer of 2006, the then Minister for
veterans told me that everything possible was being done to care for
sufferers of Gulf War illness; this is not Ricky Hampton's experience.
The info and input has been flying in and trying to keep the veterans updated.
11/9/2006 13:45:54
Denise,
I wanted to provide you additional information on the new $5 million research funding announcement (RFA) for pilot studies of treatments for Gulf War illnesses discussed at the RAC meeting. Please bring it to the attention of any doctor with a treatment that may be beneficial for Gulf War illnesses. It is specifically designed for small pilot trials of innovative treatments, both conventional and complementary. It is open to any researcher, inside or outside of the government.
As you know, only two treatments have been tested in the entire history of Gulf War illnesses research, neither with very impressive results, so this RFA is an extraordinary opportunity. Preliminary responses are due December 1.
The RFA is posted at http://cdmrp.army.mil/funding/gwvirp.htm.
The RFA is being managed by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program at DoD, the same program that manages DoD breast and prostate cancer research. It is a very professional, apolitial, patient-oriented program geared toward small pilot studies where the evidence is still early, but which can form the basis for future full-scale trials -- just what we have needed for many years in Gulf War illnesses. The RFA is the result of legislation passed in 2005 sponsored by Congressman Dennis Kuchinich, Congressman Christopher Shays, and Congressman Bernard Sanders.
Please help get the word out. This RFA is the best opportunity we have ever had to research something that could actually make a difference to the health of ill Gulf veterans.
Thanks,
Jim
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