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Thread: Why does the Veterans Association Pay Benefits to Lou Gehrig's Widows?

  1. #1

    Why does the Veterans Association Pay Benefits to Lou Gehrig's Widows?




    VA presumes Lou Gehrig's Disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS) diagnosed in all Veterans who had 90 days or more continuous active military service is related to their service - See more at: http://www.publichealth.va.gov/expos...x.asp#veterans
    http://www.publichealth.va.gov/expos...x.asp#veterans

    Existing evidence supports the conclusion that people who have served in the military are at a greater risk of developing ALS and dying from the disease than those with no history of military service. As outlined in this paper, study after study continues to demonstrate this to be true: If you serve in the military, regardless of the branch of service, regardless of whether you served in the Persian Gulf War, Vietnam, Korea, or World War II, and regardless of whether you served during a time of peace or a time of war, you are at a greater risk of dying from ALS than if you had not served in the military. The questions we are asking today are these: Why is there a greater risk of ALS with military service? And what are we, as a nation, going to do about it?
    http://www.alsa.org/als-care/veteran...ite-paper.html

    Established risk factors for ALS include:

    • Heredity. Five to 10 percent of the people with ALS inherited it (familial ALS). In most people with familial ALS, their children have a 50-50 chance of developing the disease.
    • Age. ALS most commonly occurs in people between the ages of 40 and 60.
    • Sex. Before the age of 65, slightly more men than women develop ALS. This sex difference disappears after age 70.

    It may be that in some people ALS, is triggered by certain environmental factors.
    Also, some studies examining the entire human genome (genome-wide association studies) found numerous genetic variations that people with familial ALS and some people with noninherited ALS had in common. These genetic variations might make people more susceptible to ALS.
    Environmental factors under study that may modify a person's individual risk of ALS include:

    • Smoking. Smoking cigarettes appears to increase a person's risk of ALS to almost twice that of a nonsmoker. The more years spent smoking, the greater the risk. However, quitting smoking can eventually lower the increased risk.
    • Lead exposure. Some evidence suggests that exposure to lead in the workplace may be associated with the development of ALS.

    Military service. Recent studies indicate that people who have served in the military are at higher risk of ALS. Exactly what about military service may trigger the development of ALS is uncertain, but it may include exposure to certain metals or chemicals, traumatic injuries, viral infections and intense exertion.
    http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-c...s/con-20024397

    military veterans, particularly those deployed during the Gulf War, are approximately twice as likely to develop ALS.
    http://www.alsa.org/about-als/who-gets-als.html


    Last edited by presence; 12-04-2014 at 09:51 PM.

    'We endorse the idea of voluntarism; self-responsibility: Family, friends, and churches to solve problems, rather than saying that some monolithic government is going to make you take care of yourself and be a better person. It's a preposterous notion: It never worked, it never will. The government can't make you a better person; it can't make you follow good habits.' - Ron Paul 1988

    Awareness is the Root of Liberation Revolution is Action upon Revelation

    'Resistance and Disobedience in Economic Activity is the Most Moral Human Action Possible' - SEK3

    Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo.

    ...the familiar ritual of institutional self-absolution...
    ...for protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment...




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  3. #2
    I have to wonder if it has anything to do with the series of injections one gets when entering the military.

  4. #3
    From one of their reports:
    Research conducted on ALS through the years has
    yielded some clues as to potential causes of the
    disease. For example, we know that about 10% of
    ALS cases are hereditary, known as familial ALS
    (fALS), in which a person develops the disease as
    a result of their family’s genetic predisposition to
    the disease. The other 90% of cases, known as
    sporadic ALS, occur in people who have no
    family history of the disease. While a number of
    risk factors may possibly be associated with the
    disease, including lifestyle factors like tobacco
    use, diet, and excessive physical activity, no clear
    associations have been established. Environmental
    factors, such as exposure to toxins, also are
    believed to play a role in the disease. However, it
    is not clear how great that role may be or what
    toxins may cause ALS.
    In Gulf War Veterans being deployed made a difference.

    Because of these concerns,
    two further studies were conducted, both of which
    concluded that those deployed to the Southwest
    Asian theater of operations during the Gulf War
    are at an increased risk of ALS — that Gulf War
    veterans are approximately twice as likely to
    develop ALS as those not deployed to the Gulf
    .
    http://www.alsa.org/assets/pdfs/advo...n_military.pdf

    The Harvard Study did not notice a difference between those who were deployed and those who were not- but they did not separate out those who were deployed from those who were not deployed.

    Another important aspect of the Harvard studies is
    that researchers did not have data on deployment
    during wartime, which was the primary focus of
    the two Gulf War studies. Therefore, it is possible
    that the risk of ALS could have been found to be
    greater for men who served during wartime had
    the study not mixed those who served during a
    period of war and those who did not
    . The lower
    risk of ALS, 1.6 times versus 2 times in the Gulf
    War studies, is consistent with this explanation.
    CONCLUSIONS
    Although many questions remain unanswered, the preponderance of the evidence strongly demonstrates that
    something about military service increases a person’s risk of ALS. The extensive research conducted on Gulf
    War veterans support that conclusion as do the Harvard studies showing a link between ALS and any
    military service. And the work of the IOM, also helps to demonstrate that those who have served in the
    military are at a greater risk of ALS than those with no history of military service.
    However, it is important to note that ALS is a rare disease, with an incidence in the general population of
    about two per 100,000. Although the risk of ALS may be higher for military veterans, ALS remains a rare
    disease among the veteran population as well.

  5. #4
    Stress and duress with no rest causes this in a higher percentage .Look at the bright side , you are more likely to die of heart disease etc,



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