allan

Stretch, I understand the process to get the remarks removed. Thanks for sharing that. If you wanted to make sure those involved were prosecuted for making false statements involving federal benefits, how would you proceed? As soon as I get a final denial from the BVA, Im headed for COVA. PS watched the hearing with Nicholson tonight. Bob Filner sure had some recomendations to make. He's what we need for a VA Sec.

cluster headaches? Thats a good term for it. It sure explains the feeling of having your head in a helmet clamp, while someone hits you in the head with a ballpean hammer.

Most Recently Added Questions Understanding and Diagnosing MS http://www.va.gov/ms/faq/afmfaqs.asp?topicid=6 Question : I am a Vietnem Veteran with multiple spinal cord injuries. I also have balance problem which has been increasisng in severity since I got out of the army. The severity is to my mind extreme, (passing out when I am dizzy). I also have numbness in both legs and hands from my spinal injuries. My question is, How does one know if he has MS and what can he do about it? Answer : The diagnosis of MS requires that no other explanation for the symptoms be found. In order to make a diagnosis of MS, they doctor has to address other possible conditions that might mimic MS. This is particularly difficult in the setting of spinal cord trauma. With spinal cord trauma, the spinal cord is often abnormal on both the clinical examination and on imaging with MRI. Furthermore, head injuries often occur at the same time as the spinal cord injury. This can result in spots on the brain MRI scan. Though there may be some difference in the locations of MRI changes in brain/spinal cord injuries and MS, it is often difficult to tell the two conditions apart. Involvement of the optic nerve can be evaluated with visual evoked potentials. Optic nerve involvment can occur with trauma, but it is more common in MS. Also, cerebrospinal fluid tests (spinal tap) are commonly abnormal in MS, but rarely abnormal in trauma. However, the most certain way to tell the two diseases apart is that new lesions develop over time in MS but not in trauma. This means that repeated MRI scans show increasing changes with the development of new spots in MS, whereas trauma usually remains stable. Addressing the many diseases that can mimic MS usually requires careful consideration by a physician. SOURCE: http://www.va.gov/ms/faq/afmviewfaq.asp?faqid=186

Posted on Wed, Apr. 28, 2004 Research finds link between military service, Lou Gehrig's disease BY JOHN FAUBER Milwaukee Journal Sentinel SAN FRANCISCO - (KRT) - A large new study has found a puzzling link between Lou Gehrig's disease and men who served in the U.S. military throughout most of the 20th century. The research, presented in San Francisco on Wednesday, is the second large study in the last year to find an unexplained connection between military service and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a rare but invariably fatal neurological disorder. In 2003, a large study of members of the military who were deployed in the Persian Gulf region during the Gulf War showed that they had a substantially higher risk of getting ALS than service members who were not deployed in the region. However, the new study focused on men who served in all settings throughout the 20th century, including World Wars I and II, Korea and Vietnam, but not the Gulf War. It was presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology. The study found that men who served in the military, overall, were 60 percent more likely to develop ALS than those who did not. Those who served in the Navy had somewhat higher risk than those who served in the Air Force, Army and National Guard. "This study shows that the increased risk of ALS among military personnel does not appear to be specific to service during the Gulf War," said lead author Marc Weisskopf, an epidemiologist with the Harvard School of Public Health. The whole issue of military service and ALS has become a controversial topic. Studies finding a heightened risk have been questioned about whether the link is real, but they continue to pile up. Part of the problem is that none of the studies, including the one presented Wednesday, offers any real insight into what about military service may be causing the risk. The cause of ALS has eluded neurologists for decades. Among military personnel, there has been speculation about a number of possibilities, including some chemical or environmental agent such as lead, vaccinations or viral infections, extreme physical exertion and stress. "It is very difficult with ALS," said Steven Albert, an ALS researcher and associate professor of clinical public health at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons. "Nobody has found any toxin or environmental exposure ... (that causes ALS)." About 20,000 Americans have the disease, according to the National Institutes of Health. Each year about 5,000 new cases are diagnosed. Men are about 1.5 times as likely to get the disease as women. The vast majority of cases are sporadic, but about 1 in 20 cases are caused by a gene mutation. In the general population, the risk of getting the disease is 1 to 2 per 100,000 people each year. It generally is diagnosed when patients reach their 40s and 50s. ALS is a motor neuron disease. It causes nerve cells in the brain stem and spinal cord to die, resulting in a progressive loss of voluntary muscle control, eventually leading to paralysis and death. The Harvard study looked at a vast database of about 1 million people originally devised to study cancer prevention. The study looked at 268,258 men who entered the military between 1906 and 1982 and compared their ALS rates to 126,414 men who did not serve in the military. A total of 274 ALS deaths between 1989 and 1998 were found. "There really does appear to be this increased risk among people who served in the military," Weisskopf said. "We can't say much further than that." However, Weisskopf acknowledged that while the link was strong, there may be another explanation. He said it is possible that veterans receive a type of medical care that makes it more likely for them to be properly diagnosed with ALS than the general public. Jasper Daube, a neurologist and ALS specialist with the Mayo Clinic, said the Harvard study is exciting and adds to what is known about the disease. However, he added: "We don't have the answers. Is it because of stress or exercise or things we haven't thought of? "I would not suggest to any of the patients and families I see that they have ALS because they were in the service." In another study, the same Harvard researchers found that regular vitamin E users had substantially lower risk of developing ALS. Men and women who were regular users, those who took the supplement at least 15 times a month, had 62 percent less chance of getting the disease if they took vitamin E for more than 10 years, compared with those who did not take vitamin E at all. Less frequent use also seemed to provide some protection. Oxidative stress is thought to contribute to ALS as well as many other diseases. "Vitamin E is probably good for a lot of things," Weisskopf said. Vitamin E is an anti-oxidant that may help stabilize free radicals, unstable oxygen-bearing molecules that contribute to oxidative stress. No significant protection was found among those who used vitamins A or C or multivitamins. © 2004, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Visit JSOnline, the Journal Sentinel's World Wide Web site, at http://www.jsonline.com Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

fwd Vietnam Vet Lost in Jungle of VA Red Tape This is from Larry Scott’s website at: http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/nfMAY07/nf050707-2.htm As one, Khe Sanh Marine said, if this does not make your blood boil then nothing will. As our senate in judicial matters and wrongdoings hears, hearings spend weeks and weeks on why 8 attorney generals were let go from their job while this Veteran and more like him go through a legal hellhole that is the VA with no one accountable. I guess then the eight that lost jobs are more important than the millions that give almost all they had so that the senate can sit up there in pompous pulpits and act like LA Law or something. Now I would expect Congressman Filner's Office or Senator Webb's Office to call out there to the damn VA in Colorado and demand this Marines Benefits be granted immediately without all this VA stalling and denying and trying to find someway, any way, to deny the Marine all or part of his benefits. This VA madness and out and out malfeasance (criminal activity) has got to be stopped with someone(s) being held accountable. Excuses are no longer acceptable! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vietnam vet lost in jungle of VA red tape By Diane Carman Denver Post Staff Columnist Robert E. Lee is 60 years old - "a young 60," he said - and grinning proof that a sense of humor is the last thing to go. The skinny Vietnam vet with an American flag on the wall in his southwest Denver house puts his thumb on the hole in his misshapen neck when he needs to speak. With each word huffed through the plastic voice box in his mouth he displays the scrawling, garish Marine Corps tattoo on his right forearm. Once a tough guy, now half an hour of conversation leaves him exhausted. For all those driving around with a decal on the SUV, this is your man. He's a walking, artificially talking testament to the brutality of war and its bitter aftermath. He illustrates what it really means to "support our troops." Or not. Lee was 17 when he joined the service. "My dad didn't like children so he forged the date on my birth certificate and took me to a recruitment office," he said. "When I should have been graduating from high school, I was killing people." He did two tours, mostly in the DMZ. He survived the Tet Offensive in 1968 and was honorably discharged in April 1969. "I saw things done no boy my age should ever see," he said, staring at the floor. Lee finished high school, trained to be a machinist, and moved to Colorado in the '70s. Over the years he managed a couple of McDonald's restaurants, a Wal-Mart store. He married, divorced, reared four daughters, paid his bills and minded his own business. "I was never right after I got back from Vietnam though," he said. His voice was always gruff. "When I went to doctors, they always said it was a cold." He also saw a VA psychiatrist for a while. "I had PTSD before anybody knew what to call it." Then in December 1999, he blacked out. "I was out for 11 minutes," he said. Undiagnosed tumors in his neck had blocked his windpipe. He was rushed into emergency surgery. "They cut me from ear to ear," he said. "They took everything out, my larynx, thyroid gland, lymph nodes," and he endured two rounds of chemotherapy and radiation to halt the spread of the disease. "In 2005, Wal-Mart let me go," he said. "I had too much sickness. I couldn't keep up with the hours. "They were kind and polite, but I was still out of work." He burned through his unemployment compensation and all of his savings. "Cancer ate that up real quick," he said. Now, for the first time in his life, he gets his clothes out of trash barrels, his groceries from food banks. He's broke. When he went to the VA office in Denver to apply for disability benefits, the outpatient social worker sent him to Catholic Charities. Lee said he first applied for help from the VA in the mid-'90s. "It never got processed. They said it was lost or maybe stolen. I don't know." He reapplied last January. When Mike Collins, another Vietnam vet with an artificial voice box, learned of Lee's troubles, he reacted with outrage. He told Lee, "You're being railroaded." Collins met with Lee and called two other Vietnam vets, Jim Hudson of Denver and Bill Holen, who handles constituent services in U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter's office. The three of them went to work to navigate the VA bureaucracy, a kind of DMZ all its own. "The major issue is that there's no real social work at the VA," said Hudson, who noted that the problems reported at Walter Reed Army Medical Center are rampant throughout the whole VA system. "It's kind of amazing," he said. "This guy is clearly eligible for disability benefits, health care, pension and they're sending him to Catholic Charities." Collins said cancer of the larynx and thyroid are considered "presumptive" outcomes of Agent Orange exposure - which Lee experienced throughout his time in the DMZ - so one look at Lee and his service record should confirm his eligibility. Rebecca Sawyer Smith, public affairs officer for the Denver regional VA office, said if a veteran is found to be 100 percent disabled, his benefits would be $2,500 a month or more. Holen said he called the VA office "and they indicated that an adjudication officer had processed the initial part of the claim and sent letters to the civilian hospitals around April 12 to get his medical records.” But when Holen contacted the hospitals, they said they'd never received the requests from the VA. "The whole adjudication system is in trouble," Holen said. "The VA has been woefully underfunded since this administration took office." (I disagree long before this office took over and it has been unchecked in power by our own congress since the 1950's) Smith said the backlog of applications for disability benefits at the Denver office, which averages 1,194 applications a month, is 116. But, she said, emergency cases often are expedited. Lee admits he's not exactly savvy about navigating the system. "But there are a lot of guys like me out there who don't know how the claims work. Nobody ever told me how to get help. When I got out of the (VA) hospital after my treatment, they didn't say anything. All they did was call me a cab." Collins is passing the hat for Lee at a local VFW hall and will accompany him to his eviction hearing Monday to see if he can buy him some time. Collins speculates that the bureaucratic delays at the VA are not entirely unintended. "They figure a guy like Robert is just another typical Vietnam-era jarhead," he said. "If they ignore him long enough and drag out the process, he'll go away." (Either go away or die VA does not seem to care which comes first.) Lee doesn't laugh off the prospect. "Here's the only benefit they promised me," he said, moving the thumb off the hole in his neck long enough to pull a sheet of paper from a thick file. "It's my burial benefit," he said. "It's a whole $300." Diane Carman's column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Reach her at 303-954-1580 or dcarman@denverpost.com. http://www.2ndbattalion94thartillery.com/Chas/vetleftout.htm

fwd NEWS FROM THE RANKING MEMBER OF THE U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS CRAIG'S LEGISLATION IMPROVING WOUNDED WARRIOR BENEFIT PICKS UP SUPPORT AT HEARING <http://veterans.senate.gov/ranking_member_news.cfm?FuseAction=Home.Home &month=5&year=2007&release_id=1017> May 9, 2007 Media contact: Jeff Schrade (202) 224-9093 (Washington, DC) During a lengthy Senate hearing <http://veterans.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.CurrentHearing s&rID=1014> Wednesday regarding 26 bills affecting benefits for veterans, U.S. Senator Larry Craig received positive reactions to six bills he is sponsoring, including one (S. 225 <http://www.thomas.gov> ) that would amend the Wounded Warrior legislation he sponsored and Congress passed in 2005. Craig noted that Toshiro Carrington, a Navy Seal, (pictured with Sen. Craig below) is one of those who would benefit from a change the Idaho Republican is proposing. Carrington lost his left hand and the top of his right thumb during a training accident at Camp Pendleton in California on December 15, 2004, when an explosive charge was accidentally detonated by another sailor. "When we passed the original Wounded Warrior benefit, we provided payments to those servicemembers seriously injured and wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq from September 2001 onward. And from December 2005, we covered all U.S. servicemembers seriously injured anywhere in the world. My new legislation this year would extend coverage to all servicemembers, no matter where they were, from the start of the war on terror. Toshiro Carrington is with us today and is one of those who would benefit from the change I am speaking about," said Craig, the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Craig's original Wounded Warrior bill has since provided nearly $200 million to over 3,000 veterans seriously wounded and injured since the war on terror began in 2001. The payments range from $25,000 to $100,000, depending on the severity of the injury. The average payout is approximately $64,000. Coverage includes injuries such as the loss of limbs, hearing and sight <http://www.insurance.va.gov/sgliSite/TSGLI/TSGLI.htm> . Payments are generally made within eight weeks after the servicemember is hurt. But as the Idaho Republican talked about changes that are needed to improve the lives of veterans, he cautioned that if Congress passed all 26 bills now before the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, the total would come to nearly $100 billion dollars. "I am not pointing fingers. I have six bills among the twenty-six we are reviewing today. Our heart tells us to do everything we can for every person who ever wore a uniform, but our pocketbooks tell us we need to prioritize," said Craig. Spending on VA programs has grown from $48 billion in 2001 to over $80 billion this year. #### * See this release online at: http://veterans.senate.gov/ranking_member_...=Home.Home& month=5&year=2007&release_id=1017

FWD: S. 847 Current law provides a presumption that certain diseases manifesting in veterans entitled to the presumption were incurred in or aggravated by service, that is, that the diseases are service connected, even if there is no evidence of such diseases in service. A presumption is provided for certain chronic diseases if manifested to a degree of disability of 10-percent or more within one year of separation from service, for certain tropical diseases if manifested to a degree of disability of 10-percent or more (generally) within one year of separation from service, for active tuberculosis or Hansen’s disease if manifested to a degree of disability of 10-percent or more within three years of separation from service, and for multiple sclerosis if manifested to a degree of disability of 10-percent or more within seven years of separation from service. S. 847 would eliminate the requirement that the manifestation of multiple sclerosis occur within seven years of separation from service to trigger the presumption. VA does not support enactment of this bill. First, the current presumptive period of seven years is already the most generous one provided under 38 U.S.C. § 1112(a). Second, we are aware of no scientific or medical justification for presuming multiple sclerosis to be service connected, no matter how long after service it first manifests, in light of the medical literature indicating that there is genetic susceptibility to this disease of unknown cause. Even if a veteran cannot qualify for the current presumption, service connection is not precluded under current law if the veteran can establish that his current multiple sclerosis is in fact related to his or her service. Further liberalization would appear to undermine the purpose of providing compensation for disabilities incurred in or aggravated by active service. VA estimates that the benefit costs of this bill if enacted would be $185.5 million in the first year and $4.9 billion over ten years. We estimate administrative costs to be $4.7 million for 68 full-time employees the first year and $85.3 million for 96 full-time employees over 10 years. S. 848S. 847 This bill would eliminate the current seven-year window that allows a veteran to claim service connectedness for multiple sclerosis (MS) and extend that service connectedness window indefinitely. At this time, there is no known cause of MS. PVA cannot support this proposed legislation that would increase the presumptive period for MS beyond the current seven years as long as new medical evidence has not been presented to substantiate this change. PVA does, however, encourage this Committee and Congress to promote more research in the area of multiple sclerosis and related neurological conditions. We are aware that there may be higher rates of MS in certain groups of veterans attributable to environmental or other factors, and VA should examine this as they did for exposures for veterans of Southeast Asia. There appears to be some diseases and illnesses, to include multiple sclerosis, that have a higher reported incidence among the veteran population than non-veterans, but there is no clear medical evidence to support a service-connected condition at this time. AMVETS Service Officers have unofficially reported a higher percentage of multiple sclerosis diagnosis among Air Force veterans than any other group of veterans for claims that they process. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs has the authority to review certain illness and diseases for certain groups of veterans and make recommendations based on the findings. Despite this authority, it is a long and time-consuming process. In the past, Congress has mandated the presumption of certain conditions and AMVETS supports these efforts where applicable. S. 847, a bill would extend the period of time during which a veteran’s multiple sclerosis is to be considered to have been incurred in, or aggravated by, military service during a period of war VFW supports S. 847. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an idiopathic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system with subtle symptoms at onset and periods of remission. It is often very difficult to diagnosis. Consequently, many individuals may not seek medical care until months or years after the initial symptoms appear, as many of the symptoms come and go and often are not related to each other. Because the course of the disease is variable and uncertain, it may take years for a doctor to recognize the symptoms as those of MS. By allowing for an open extension of presumption of service, you will be including those veterans who may not have been correctly diagnosed with this debilitating disease before time under the law has run out. S. 847 This legislation would remove the time limit during which multiple sclerosis is to be considered to have been incurred in, or aggravated by, military service. Normally, to establish eligibility for service connected benefits, a veteran must provide evidence of a correlation between military service and the condition being claimed. Under presumption of service connection, VA presumes the service connected relationship exists based on the other qualifying criteria, such as statistical information indicating a higher than normal affliction rate among veterans. Multiple sclerosis is one of the insidious conditions that may appear years after a veteran leaves active duty. This bill recognizes that manifestation of multiple sclerosis may occur beyond the current seven year presumptive period. S. 847 would ensure that no veteran who contracts multiple sclerosis as a result of service is left without benefits, regardless of when the disease becomes manifest. The DAV supports this bill. S. 847, “to extend the period of time during which a veteran’s multiple sclerosis is to be considered to have been incurred in, or aggravated by, military service during a period of war” This bill would eliminate the current seven-year period after service in which a wartime veteran must develop multiple sclerosis, in order for it to be presumptively service-connected, and extend it indefinitely so such a veteran would qualify for service-connection on a presumptive basis if the disease developed anytime after the veteran’s separation from the military. Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease, the cause of which is unknown, affecting the central nervous system. The American Legion fully supports this legislation. Given the nature of this terrible disease, elimination of a delimiting period for the establishment of presumptive disability benefits is certainly warranted. _http://veterans.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.CurrentHearings&rID= 1014_ (http://veterans.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.CurrentHearings&rID=1014) Check that same site for live video from hearing on now! Denise _DSNurse@aol.com_ (mailto:DSNurse@aol.com)

congratulations Betrayed!!!! Did they go back to the date you expected to get? Allan

congratulations Betrayed!!!! Did they go back to the date you expected to get? Allan

Multiple Sclerosis, Vol. 11, No. 1, 33-40 (2005) DOI: 10.1191/1352458505ms1136oa © 2005 SAGE Publications Treatment patterns of multiple sclerosis patients: a comparison of veterans and non-veterans using the NARCOMS registry Albert C Lo Department of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine and VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA, albert.lo@yale.edu Olympia Hadjimichael Department of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine and VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA Timothy L Vollmer Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, AZ, USA Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic illness of the central nervous system, with a highly variable clinical course. Available therapies are only partially effective and as a consequence treatment patterns between patients can be varied. Longitudinal databases consisting of large cohorts where successive and sequential data is collected may reveal disease and treatment characteristics not apparent when data is gathered during clinical trials that consist usually of relatively homogeneous patients followed for short durations. We analysed data from the North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis registry, a self-reported database, to assess MS patient characteristics and treatment patterns, with a focus on veterans. We show that the Veteran Healthcare Administration (VHA) system of medical centres care for a greater number of patients with higher average disability but not necessarily patients who report primary progressive or actively worsening disease. We also show that the VHA medical centres appear to better provide multidisciplinary care, particularly in the areas of social work, physical therapy and urology. In general, treatment patterns for symptomatic therapies follow similar patterns across veterans and non-veterans groups. Treatment patterns for immunomodulatory agents suggest that VHA veterans use IMA less frequently than either non-VHA veterans or non-veterans. Key Words: databases • disease-modifying agents • healthcare delivery • multiple sclerosis • symptomatic treatment SOURCE: http://msj.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/11/1/33

Brain, Vol. 123, No. 8, 1677-1687, August 2000 © 2000 Oxford University Press Epidemiology of multiple sclerosis in US veterans VIII. Long-term survival after onset of multiple sclerosis Mitchell T. Wallin1, William F. Page2 and John F. Kurtzke1 1 Neurology Service, Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Georgetown University Medical School, and 2 Medical Follow-up Agency, Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, District of Columbia, USA Correspondence to: Mitchell T. Wallin, MD, MPH, Neurology Service, VA Medical Center, #127, 50 Irving Street, NW, Washington, DC 20422, USA E-mail: mwallin@pol.net Survival to 1996 was analysed for nearly 2500 veterans of World War II who were rated as `service-connected' for multiple sclerosis as of 1956 by the then Veterans Administration. Survival from onset was defined for all white women and black men, and a random sample of white men. Median survival times from onset were 43 years (white females), 30 years (black males) and 34 years (white males). Crude 50-year survival rates were 31.5% (white females), 21.5% (black males) and 16.6% (white males), but only the white females and white males were significantly different. A proportional hazard analysis was used to identify risk factors for mortality from multiple sclerosis onset year. Significant risk factors included male sex (risk ratio: 1.57), older age at onset (risk ratio: 1.05 per year) and high socioeconomic status (risk ratio: 1.05 per socioeconomic status category). There were no statistically significant differences in survival following multiple sclerosis onset by race or latitude of place of entry into military service, both significant risk factors associated with the development of multiple sclerosis. Standardized mortality ratios utilizing national US data (for 1956–96) showed a marked excess for all three race–sex groups of multiple sclerosis cases, with little difference among them, but with a decreasing excess over time. Relative survival rates, used to compare the survival of multiple sclerosis cases with that of other military veterans, did not differ significantly by sex–race group, nor by latitude of place of entry into military service, but did differ significantly by socioeconomic class. The lack of difference in male and female relative survival rates suggests that the significant difference in survival between male and female multiple sclerosis cases is, at least in part, a result of sex per se and not the disease. SOURCE: http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/conten...ract/123/8/1677

Facts about Veterans ~ The Needs and The Solutions ALL VETERANS: There are approximately 26 million veterans in the United States (US Census Data, 2000). The number of veterans using the VA system has risen from 2.9 million in 1995 to 5 million in 2003 (USDVA). In 2005 and 2006, congress uncovered a $2.6 billion shortfall for meeting the growing healthcare needs of US Veterans. The VA's patient to doctor ratio has grown from 335 to 1, to 531 to 1, between 2000 and September 2004. The Backlog of Claims at the US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims was at 5,800 at the end of the last fiscal year. This is double the number of two years ago, and could hit 10,000 within the next 5 years (“Veterans' Battle for Benefits Can Take Years,” Lakeland, FL Ledger, August 13, 2006, Cory Weiss). According to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics 225,000 Veterans were incarcerated as of 1998. Substance abuse rates are higher among veterans than their non-veterans counterparts. A recent study of inpatients at VA facilities indicates that nearly 85% have annual incomes of less than $15,000. According to the USDVA, more than 200,000 veterans are homeless on any given night, and more than 500,000 will experience homelessness over the course of a year. Of all homeless veterans, 76% suffer from drug, alcohol, or mental health problems (National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients, 1999). One in three homeless men in America is a veteran (NSHAPC, 1999). There are more than 33,000 Homeless Veterans in the Los Angeles Metro Region on any given night (Weingart Center Study, 2004). According to the National Coalition of Homeless Veterans, by June 2005, the number of OIF and OEF veterans seeking assistance from community-based homeless services providers had already exceeded 400. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder remains an ongoing challenge for veterans of all eras, and their families. The images from the current war are causing many older veterans (WWII, Korea , Vietnam ) to experience recurring PTSD symptoms from their own combat experiences. The Mental Strain of War: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD The National Center for PTSD estimates that one of every 20 WW II veterans has suffered symptoms such as bad dreams, irritability, and flashbacks. A Korean Researcher has claimed that as many as 30% of US Troops who fought in Korea and are still alive today may have symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (Jack Epstein, San Francisco Chronicle, “US Wars and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,” 6/22/05). The National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Survey (1986-1988) found that more than 30% of Vietnam Veterans (more than 1 million) have suffered from symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Distorder (PTSD). The VA Reports that in 2005, only 215,871 Veterans received disability payments for PTSD. However statistics suggest that due to the stigmas and barriers associated with getting help, these numbers likely represent only a small fraction of the total number of vets with PTSD. The General Accounting Office (GAO) has reported that the VA does not know how many vets are currently being treated for PTSD. As a result, the VA is can not determine whether the services are adequate, or whether it will be able to handle the new influx of vets with PTSD. Inflation adjusted spending for VA mental health services has declined by 25 percent over the past seven years, and numerous experts have expressed concern about the system's capabilities to care for the full spectrum of readjustment needs (including mental health) of the newest generation of U.S. veterans. As a result, the VA depends increasingly on non-profit, veteran community organizations to care for the large population of veterans who need treatment. Iraq and Afghanistan As of January of 2007, more than 1.6 million U.S. Servicemen and women had serviced in Afghanistan and Iraq. In October of 2005, the VA reported that more than 430,000 U.S. Soldiers have discharged from the military following service in Afghanistan and Iraq . More than 119,000 have sought help for medical or mental health issues from the VA to date. In January of 2006 the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that 35% of Iraq Veterans have already sought help for mental health concerns. A 2003 New England Journal of Medicine Study found that more than 60% of OIF/OEF veterans showing symptoms of PTSD were unlikely to seek help due to fears of stigmatization or loss of career advancement opportunities. In 2005, the VA reported that 18% of Afghanistan Veterans, and 20% of Iraq Veterans in their care were suffering from some type of service connected psychological disorder. The VA has seen a tenfold increase in PTSD cases in the last year. According to the VA, more than 37,000 Vets of Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering from Mental Health disorders, and more than 16,000 have already been diagnosed with PTSD. According to an Army Post-Deployment Reassessment Study completed in July of 2005, alcohol misuse among soldiers rose from 13% among soldiers to 21% one year after returning from Afghanistan and Iraq . The same study saw soldiers with anger and aggression issues increase from 11% to 22% after deployment, and those planning to divorce their spouse rose from 9% to 15% after combat deployment. In November of 2005, The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that for the first three quarters of 2005, nearly 15 percent of veterans aged 20-24 were jobless -- three times the national average. According to the Pentagon, as of August 2005, more than 141,000 Guardsman and Reservists have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Currently, these forces make up more than 35% of all U.S. forces in Iraq—the largest deployment of citizen soldiers since WWII. When not on active duty, more than 20% of Guardsman lack healthcare, many more are unaware of what benefits they have access to, and many are suffering financial strain both during and after deployment. A 2004 US Army Mental Health Advisory Team Study showed that more than half of all soldiers in Iraq described their unit morale as low, with the National Guard and Reserve forces struggling the most. According to the California National Guard, more than 7,000 California National Guard Troops have served in Iraq and Afghanistan , yet these forces have significantly fewer resources available to aid in their post combat readjustment than active duty components. According to the Pentagon, the Policy of “Stop Loss,” where troops scheduled to be discharged from the military following completion of their duty commitment are retained in the service if their unit is scheduled for deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan has affected 40,000 soldiers as of March 2005. According to the Army, since March 2003, at least 45 US Soldiers and 9 Marines have committed suicide in Iraq . At least 20 soldiers and 23 Marines have committed suicide since returning home, though exact numbers are not available. Preliminary research by the DOD and USDVA’s Brain Injury center shows that about 10% of all troops in Iraq, and up to 20% of front line infantry troops, suffer concussions during combat tours due to the use of IEDs and other explosives. Many experience headaches, disturbed sleep, memory loss and behavior issues after coming home—a condition known as TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) which is often confused with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The Military has reported 1200 such injuries in the current war as of March 2006. The Miles Foundation reports that calls to their Domestic Violence Hotline for Military Spouses has increased from 50 to 500 per month since the start of the Iraq War. According to U.S. Army data, the number of active-duty soldiers getting divorced has been rising sharply with deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq . The trend is severest among officers. Last year, 3,325 Army officers' marriages ended in divorce -- up 78% from 2003, the year of the Iraq invasion, and more than 3 1/2 times the number in 2000, before the Afghan operation. For enlisted personnel, the 7,152 divorces last year were 28% more than in 2003 and up 53% from 2000 (USA Today, June 8, 2005). Gulf War I: Desert Shield and Desert Storm An estimated 697,000 veterans served in the Gulf War I (Desert Shield and Desert Storm). 292 U.S. Servicemen and Women were killed in battle/non battle related action during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Raw data from the VA suggests that more than 11,000 Gulf War Veterans have now died from various ailments and injuries . Over 256,000 have filed claims of service-related ailments, ranging from dizzy spells, chronic fatigue, and memory lapses, to cancer, Lou Gehrig's disease, Multiple Sclerosis and other degenerative illnesses. (“” First Gulf War Still Claims Lives,” Seattle Post Intelligencer, Mike Barber, 1/16/06) For over a decade, many of their claims were met with the same confusion and resistance encountered by those who first filed claims for the mysterious symptoms associated with Agent Orange exposure. Vietnam An estimated 3.4 million veterans served in Vietnam. Many sources estimate that between 75,000 and 110,000 have committed suicide since the end of that war. According to the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Survey (1986-1988), almost half of all male Vietnam Veterans suffering from PTSD had been arrested at least once, 34.2% more than once, and 11.5% had been convicted of a felony. Agent Orange exposure still haunts the lives of thousands of these veterans, their children, and their grandchildren. Of all Homeless Veterans, 47% are Vietnam veterans (NSHAPC, 1999). The Solution: Since 1987, the NVF has operated the only toll-free, live crisis management and information and referral hotline for ALL veterans and their families. The NVF's National Crisis Management, Information, and Referral Lifeline has received more than 275,000 calls to date, and more than 15,000 calls from veterans and family members during the past year (an increased of more than 30% from the previous year). SOURCE: http://www.nvf.org/facts.html

Sent: Friday, January 02, 2004 2:25 PM Subject: MS and the Military http://www.sonomacountyfreepress.com/react...oodsoldier.html "If, as some believe, the causative agent is a mycoplasma, vaccinations could conceivably be the mode of transmission." April 18, 2000 REACTIONS OF A KINDLY NATURE by Ed Gherman egehrman@p... A Good Soldier Questions about VA Disability and Multiple Sclerosis He fell suddenly, not a hundred feet from my moving car. It was a solid, bone breaking tumble and I was surprised when he got to his feet, brushed himself off and resumed walking hesitantly toward a car parked next to the curb from which he'd just fallen. I drove slowly alongside, then braked and asked if he were all right. He smiled when he saw me; I recognized him as one of my daughter's friends, Sam. I had known him for over ten years. We'd met just after his return from an enlistment with Army Rangers. It had come as a shock to all of us when we learned he had Multiple Sclerosis. He'd gone to a doctor because of numbness in his leg and blurred vision and after extended testing, was diagnosed with the disease. Over the years I'd hear bits and pieces of Sam's progress from my daughter. After I witnessed his fall, I asked her for an update and she told me that he'd had some problems walking and that he was using a cane most of the time. I asked her what he was doing for money and she said that he was getting paid by the Army, full disability and all medical benefits. I was dumbfounded and told her that she must be wrong and would she check as soon as possible. She did and confirmed that he was indeed receiving full benefits and that MS was considered a service connected disability. I found this so hard to believe that I contacted Sam myself and he agreed to an interview. He confirmed that he was on disability. He said that the VA will grant disability status if the condition becomes apparent to a degree of ten percent or more within seven years from the date of a veteran's separation from the service. Sam didn't realize he was eligible for these benefits until a friend, an ex-serviceman, told him, three years after his initial diagnosis. The VA confirmed Sam's disability and service connection. I'm glad that Sam's needs are being met by the VA. He was a good soldier. But it's difficult, if not impossible to understand the VA's reasoning and justification for granting disability status and a service connection for MS. There is no know cause for MS. If the cause is unknown, how can a connection be made between a person's stay in the service and MS? It doesn't make sense. A service-connected disability can be granted for any condition which is incurred or aggravated by a veteran's military service. The big questions are: What is it in the service environment that causes folks to become susceptible to MS and how did the VA make a connection between this environmental factor, service in the armed forces, and Multiple Sclerosis? Multiple Sclerosis is an unpredictable disease of the central nervous system. Myelin, which facilitates the high speed transmission of electrochemical impulses between the brain and the spinal cord, becomes scarred and hardened into what are known as plaques. These multiple plaques damage the myelin and cause the neurological transmissions to be slowed or blocked completely which leads to diminished and, sometimes, lost functioning. The symptoms, severity and duration of MS varies from person to person. Most patients experience muscle weakness and loss of muscular control, fatigue, vision problems and cognitive impairments such as poor memory and concentration. Other symptoms include pain, tremor, vertigo, bladder and bowel dysfunction, depression and euphoria. There are 350,000 Americans who have MS and about two hundred new cases are diagnosed each week. Most folks experience their first symptoms between the age of twenty and forty, rarely before fifteen and seldom after sixty. Caucasians are more than twice as likely to contract MS than other races; MS is five times more prevalent in temperate climates than in tropical. There does seem to be a genetic relationship or connection between those who are susceptible to MS. In the population at large, a person has a one-tenth of one percent chance of contracting MS but if one person in a family has MS then the other family members have a three percent chance of getting it also. The cause for MS is not known. Some think it's an auto immune disease that launches an attack on its own tissues. While this is certainly a clear possibility, nothing conclusive has ever been established. One plausible theory is that the causative agent could be a unique microorganism such as a mycoplasma. These poorly understood organisms are able to alter protein, and then sensitize the host against itself. For example it was found that mycoplasmas can cause the formation of the rheumatoid factor. A similar mechanism could apply to Lupus and many other auto immune disorders. Another interesting factor is that females, who are infected four times more frequently with mycoplasmas than males, are twice as likely to contract MS. But this is all only speculation because the truth is we simply don't know what causes MS. Then how did the VA decide that MS was connected to a person's stay in the Armed Forces? I wrote the Department Of Defense, through Barbara Boxer's office, and they refused to answer any questions. I also contacted the Veterans Administration. They did confirm that MS was a service connected disability and answered some of my inquiries. They seemed puzzled that I was skeptical of the MS disability designation and informed me that "congressional legislation would be required to change these provisions of the law". There are currently about eleven thousand veterans who have been granted a service connected disability for MS. The only condition is that the disease be confirmed within seven years of a veteran's separation from service. As any one familiar with the labyrinthian process of obtaining a service related disability can attest, it isn't easy getting money from the VA. The problems surrounding "Gulf War Illness" is a certain reminder of this fact The VA and the Department Of Defense must possess information that they're not sharing with the rest of us and certainly not with the new enlistees. I know the Sergeant isn't telling new recruits that they should look out for MS, as they do with AIDS or syphilis. If there is a chance that MS might be contracted or complicated by their time in military service, then why aren't enlistees told this? Would this complicate the recruitment process? Probably, but I have the sneaking suspicion that it would complicate something far more important to the modern Armed Forces: vaccinations. This is the one factor, aside from the traditional haircut, that all service folks have in common. If, as some believe, the causative agent is a mycoplasma, vaccinations could conceivably be the mode of transmission. What bothers me most is that I'm sure the VA and the DOD have research that justifies granting this disability to thousands of veterans. If they have information that connects MS to military service, then we should all know what that information is. Multiple Sclerosis is a serious and growing disorder that afflicts millions of persons. To purposefully withhold information that would better our understanding of this disease is unjustified.******

fwd from kelly ########################## Thanks Shelia! -----Original Message----- From: VVA Government Affairs Department [mailto:govtrelations@vva.org] Sent: Tuesday, May 08, 2007 19:05 Subject: Institute of Medicine releases new report on PTSD compensation <http://images.capwiz.com/img/news_flash.gif> Institute of Medicine releases new report on PTSD compensation VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA IMMEDIATE RELEASE Press Release May 8, 2007 No. 07-009 Contact: Mokie Porter 301-585-4000, Ext. 146 VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA LAUDS THE RELEASE OF IOM REPORT ON PTSD COMPENSATION AND MILITARY SERVICE "The Institute of Medicine/National Research Council of the National Academies of Sciences report on PTSD Compensation and Military Service, released today, validates what Vietnam Veterans of America has been alleging for some years. The VA needs to do a much better job of accurately diagnosing and properly adjudicating disability compensation claims for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD),." said VVA National President John Rowan. "This report reiterates the need for much better training and standardized certification of adjudicators at VA, better training for VA's examining clinicians, and adequate time and resources for examining clinicians to do their job properly at VA. Further, it notes that the onset of legitimate PTSD or a major relapse can occur at any time, sometimes decades after the experience, sparked by a variety of causes," Rowan continued. The report underscores the need for Congress to take urgent steps to ensure the VA implement the guidelines proffered by the Institute of Medicine regarding improved training, certification of raters, standardization of work products, adjusting workloads of clinicians to allow them enough time to do their job properly the first time, and accountability for quality of work by both clinicians and by the lay persons at every step in the process. VA has already developed many of the tools necessary to improve the process to which the report refers, such as the PTSD curriculum located at www.va.gov/vhi or the already existing VA- developed (in 2002) guide named the "Best Practice Manual for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Compensation & Pension Examinations" located at http://www.vva.org/Committees/PTSD/PTSDManualFinal6.pdf , which could serve as a basis for operating and training until the VA can test other standard operating procedures and examining instruments specifically for PTSD. Rowan noted, "VA has the tools, now they need to just pick them up and use them correctly and with discipline." VVA thanks the National Academies and the participating scientists for their careful work and for producing a report that the VA can start to implement before Memorial Day 2007. VVA calls on Secretary of Veterans Affairs Nicholson to embrace this report in the positive spirit in which it has been prepared and move to implement the highly practical recommendations without delay. "Our young men and women returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as veterans of previous generations who suffer from neuro-psychiatric wounds deserve no less than immediate implementation of the results of this fine work, "said John Rowan. Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) is the nation's only congressionally chartered veterans service organization dedicated to the needs of Vietnam-era veterans and their families. VVA's founding principle is "Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another." Kelley I talked with one psychologist at Atlanta VA about this issue as far as diagnostics versus claim support for the Veteran in the Benefits part of the VA. In his own words, he said that in 16 years no one from Benefits had every called him or come over and talked to him about a case or a claim. Therefore, who is deciding these mental issue claims if they are not talking with the VA doctors about the case. The VA file clerks and claims adjusters or the RO who is not qualified to address anything as to relativity or severity, or treatment, or the use of treatment drugs or whatever. In other words no one in VA gives a damn about "the facts" - just stamp it Claim Denied and get a gold star. http://www.2ndbattalion94thartillery.com/Chas/ptsdissues.htm

>cervical degenerative disc disease. Hoppy, cervical spondylosis/stenosis, can mimic MS symptoms. I started treatment for my spine through the VAMC in 1993. In 2004 they took the first MRI of my spine & cervical. I requested an MRI in writing for a C&P of my spine in 1996. They took standard xray films. After the C&P examiner refused to review them or use them in the determination, I sent in a request for re-examination. Another exam was scheduled, the examiner viewed them & found all issues service connected. Two months after receiving the VA examiners opinion, the VARO stated they never received it, got one of their staff consultants to state the opposite & denied the claim three days later. The favorable exam was discovered by my SO a year later. A year after that, I found a copy of the favorable C&P, hidden in a closed packet inside my medical records folder at the VAMC. The packet was marked, "FOR ADMINISTRATIVE USE ONLY". I made an appointment with the DRO, had him read it into the record & gave him a copy. He stopped the recorder after he read it & said, You do know that the "VA" is the one that "chooses" what evidence is used, don't you? I said I had my suspicion, but I just had it confirmed, didn't I? Nothing will convince me that other than the work performed, theres very little difference in the agenda on the minds of the health care at the VA, some SO's or the claims adjusters at the VARO. It leaves me to believe they went to the same brain washing class as, Buyers & Nicholson, thats for sure. It's one sadistic mental game they play on us. By the time you figure out just how much they're playing you from the get go, it sure makes you feel like a fool thats lost in the TRIANGLE. They take TBI & neurological vets, give them toxic doses of meds, suddenly change meds & forget to tell you to taper off, suddenly withhold medications or look at you & grin, say they will do something & refuse to acknowledge the discussion ever took place. MRI, what MRI. Sorry, your in to good of shape to need to see an MD. How about, "lets see now, we can get you in to see this volenteer student for that mental disorder & neuromuscular disorder of unknown cause". Your lucky today, your appointment is only 9 months out! You have two appointments scheduled in the same week. One will be a 325 mile trip & the other will be across the state for a 600 mile trip. Their both at 7am, so don't be late. Sorry, it's not my problem your wife doesn't like driving a pickup or that it gets 10 mpg. I made the 325 mile trip to a VA er room due to brain lesions, seisures or cervical pain in a snow storm. I was given an EKG & sent home. If you need your feet looked at, they will examine your ears & ask you if you drink alot. If you need your ears looked at, they will spend the appointment discussing a weight loss plan. If you say you might be interested in physical theripy due to the atrophy, they hand out exercize sheets, call the appointment a success & schedule one for next year at the same time. Neurologists will say they see nothing neurological wrong to order an MRI, physical theripists state "deffinatly CNS envolvement". Finally get an MRI, the neurologist say it's normal. VAMC health records, are never present to discus with them, they refuse to look at your medical history & say your labs are normal. Anything may flow from their mouth in order to keep you in a constant state, resembling a mushroom. I often wonder how much bonus they get, if a vet takes their life or the life of another? Its so easy for them to feed off the misery of brain injuried vets & vets with neuromuscular disorders. There is a multitude of folks making a living painting us as nothing but drunks & drug addicts looking for a free ride. Had a patient in the hospital next to me say, they had to stop the operation on his neck because it was quiting time & the students had to leave. He said they gave him another sergury in a few days to finish the other side cutting back a few bone spurs.

Hello Pete, whats fraud to me is, when my provider wrote in my progress notes, that I "refused" long acting pain medication, than he refused to prescribe any pain meds for nearly six months. When another wrote, (after reviewing a great deal of smr's & information from the DOD website), concerning project shad & the USS Twining; the only thing my service meedical records,(SMR"s) showed I had wrong with me was jock itch. wHen the VARO stated they never recieved a favorable VAMC C&P examination & medical opinion, than denied the claim after getting what they wanted from a contract consultant. Also had a comment show up in one C&P examiners remarks, that really pissed me off. They denied my NSC pension claim over it. He supposedly remarked that he smelled alchohol on me & my clothing at this, 8am C&P examination, 150 miles from home, with two children & my wife in a 62 chevy 3/4 ton truck on icy roads. The examination was for "neuromuscular disorder of unknown cause"-probably multtiple sclerosis. They must have thought it was a good way to explain why & slurred my words, staggered & had vertigo. Didn't work, but they tried anyway. the list goes on & on..........

Hello Bob, It will be interesting to see how the court views these records. The VA, US Justice, etc. should be able to use undercover agents to investigate & prosecute NSO's, VA claims adjusters, contract adjusters, C&P examiners & VAMC health care staff, for fraudulent & unethical practices. Once they do the stake outs for six months or so, with out anyone being aware of it, they will end up saving the tax payers a load in retirement benefits for crooked federal employees. Who knows? Maybe they've been investigating for six months already & they're about to make the sting. Wishful thinking? Maybe.................

The Healing Touch http://www.msakc.org/Articles/HealingTouch.asp Reprinted with permission from The Multiple Sclerosis Assoc. of America "The Motivator", May/June 1998 Before acupuncture, Duane Perron of Dracut, MA couldn't walk even 100 yards without collapsing with exhaustion. Diagnosed with progressive-relapsing MS in 1978, the registered pharmacist was forced to quit his job in 1980 due to his severe symptoms. By the time he got in touch with an acupuncturist late last summer, he was literally a prisoner in his own home. The optic nerve in his left eye didn't function; he couldn't hear in his left ear; he had trigeminal neuralgia on the left side of his face; he dragged his left leg when he attempted to walk and he couldn't lift his left foot or wiggle his toes on his left foot. He also had terrible spasticity in both legs which made it difficult for him to do almost anything. Now after just seven months of treatment, Mr. Perron, at age 65, has a new lease on life. His symptoms have drastically improved to the point where he has "no fatigue" and he and his wife even have season tickets to a local major league baseball team, something he could never have considered when his symptoms were so bad. "I can also walk in the sand and ocean again. That's the most exhilarating thing because I have not been able to do it. I never would have even considered acupuncture, but I was going downhill to the point where I got desperate. My wife and I began to pray and we believe that God led us to my acupuncturist, Cynthia LaBruzzo," Mr. Perron marvels. "She is very, very caring. She agonizes over every single patient she has. She wants to make them better. She certainly has helped me. Acupuncture is not a cure, but at least it's allowing me to live like I did 20 years ago. All I ever asked God for was to stop the MS from getting worse. With acupuncture, it has, and I have never been happier." Like many medical doctors who reject acupuncture and other forms of alternative medicine as kooky and even dangerous, Mr. Perron's neurologist told him not to practice it. "I can't tell him what I am doing. He thinks I am getting better because of the medicine he is giving me," says Mr. Perron. "I may have needed medicine at one time. Now I have something better. I don't need his medication." Have you tried everything and your symptoms still haven't improved? Instead of reaching for yet another medication, you may want to give alternative therapy a try like Mr. Perron and thousands of other MS patients across the country and around the world. (Of course, never make any change to your daily medical routine until you have consulted your physician.) Since so many patients are finding great results with alternative therapy, MSAA hosted "The Search for Wellness Alternative Therapies Conference" in Pennsauken, NJ on May 16, 1998.Because the world of alternative therapy is vast and includes a variety of techniques and philosophies, this article will only discuss the methods involved in healing touch. What is alternative medicine? Dr. Jonas Salk, creator of the Salk polio vaccine, is one of the many who believed there were two approaches to fighting illness; from the outside, by attacking the symptom or infectious disease agent directly with external means, such as drugs or surgery, or from the inside, by triggering the remarkable healing power of the body's own system. This philosophical distinction is at the heart of the difference between mainstream medical treatment and alternative or complementary therapies. Mainstream medicine offers the best of a powerful arsenal of drugs to choose from, while alternative treatments seek effective "triggers" to stimulate the body's natural immune system responses. These "triggers" may be in the form of herbs, nutrients, mind/body/spirit relationships, and healing touch. The purpose of all forms of healing touch is to help restore the body's sense of balance. "In all of our work, we are trying to help the person come into a state of balance, which in medical terms is known as homeostasis, which is a state in which the body is able to readily respond to demands, whether inner or outer. But we believe it's more than a physical thing. The body, mind, and spirit must be in balance. This is something traditional medicine does not look at," explains Sister Em McGlone, BSN, and a member of Medical Mission Sisters. An educator and practitioner in the field of holistic health since 1978, she founded the Center for Human Integration in Philadelphia in 1981.Sister McGlone teaches others to heal themselves through therapeutic touch, touch for health, foot reflexology, and BASIC massage. "As of yet there is no scientific validity to this concept, but in a sense there is. You learn in high school chemistry that the universe is made of atoms which are electrically charged, implying that we are energy and therefore affect each other's energy," Sister McGlone explains. "If a person's energy is in balance, then the body is more capable of doing what it needs to do. Our bodies were created to heal themselves. When we are out of balance, the body becomes less and less able to heal itself. The more you bring the body into balance, the healthier you become." To give you an idea of what types of alternative therapies employ healing touch, here's an overview of the various methods. Acupuncture The World Health Organization recognizes at least 40 medical problems, ranging from allergies to MS, that can be helped by acupuncture treatment. A highly popular form of alternative therapy, acupuncture is an ancient Chinese healing art which rebalances "chi" disturbance in the patient to restore health. The premise of acupuncture, like all Chinese medicine, is that all life and the entire universe came from a single source called Tao, which was created by two opposing forces - yin and yang. To be healthy, there must be a balance of yin and yang in the body. This balance is found in the flow of an energy called "chi" (chee), or the "life force". Flowing in exact patterns called meridians, this chi energy nourishes every part of the body. If one or more of the 14 meridians becomes blocked or immobile, it causes an imbalance in the chi flow. Toxins then accumulate in the various systems of the body and the immune system weakens. To restore health, an acupuncturist uses little needles as antennas to direct chi to the various organs or functions of the body. The needles also are used to drain chi where it is excessive, to heat up parts of the body that are too cool or stagnant, to decrease or increase moisture, and to reduce heat. A painless procedure, the needles penetrate just below the epidermis and do not draw blood or cause discomfort. As Mr. Perron reported, acupuncture can help relieve a whole host of MS symptoms, including pain, fatigue, and spasticity. Also growing in popularity due to its ability to relieve MS symptoms is acupressure. A form of acupuncture, acupressure uses fingers and thumbs instead of needles to press chi points on the surface of the body. Like acupuncture, it relieves muscular tension which helps trigger the release of endorphins, the neurochemicals that relieve pain. Shiatsu The ancient Oriental diagnostic and healing art, shiatsu (shee-AH-Tzoo) is derived from the Japanese word "shi," meaning finger, and "atsu," meaning pressure. Also known as "Japanese Finger Pressure Massage," shiatsu originated in China thousands of years ago. It is an acupressure-massage technique in which the shiatsu practitioner's fingers, palms, knees, and even legs are used to promote energy flow throughout the body. Because of this, shiatsu does not only treat symptoms, but the body as a whole. To correct energy imbalances and to make the body healthy and strong, the shiatsu practitioner works on relieving energy blockages to promote energy flow through the meridians. When energy is blocked, it flows to the "tsubo" or acupressure points. Shiatsu's goal is to remove these blockages and to restore the flow and balance of energy to make you feel your best. Simply put, the ancient Chinese and many people today believe that touch heals, explains Eiko Fischer, a Shiatsu practitioner at Our Lady of Lourdes Wellness Center in Collingswood, NJ. "All parts of the body are related. We live off each other's energy," she says. Born in Kyusho, Japan, Eiko came to the U.S. when she was 29 but didn't start practicing shiatsu until she reached 50.Like many who practice alternative therapy, Eiko believes that helping others feel better is her calling. "Some people have the technique, but they need the caring to really make it work," she explains. Because it is important to keep harmony with the subject's body and respiratory rhythm, Eiko breathes with the person and controls his or her breathing. Each shiatsu session, which is never hurried, usually takes about an hour and covers the entire body. BASIC Massage According to the Center for Human Integration in Philadelphia, BASIC (Body And Spirit Integrated Consciously) is neuromuscular integration which facilitates change. By structurally realigning the physical body, the musculoskeletal and nervous systems in particular - more healthy body integration is achieved. The BASIC neuromuscular work is performed in 10 progressive sessions. Changes in structure are achieved through muscle manipulation and myofascial release. Fascia is the connective tissue in and around muscles, which encourage movement. Sometimes this tissue adheres to one another due to stress or trauma. By helping to break up the fascial layers, the sessions help to improve a person's movement, and to decrease pain and fatigue. Another part of BASIC neuromuscular integration is neurological which may use emotional stress defusion or the craniosacral system. Discovered by William G. Sutherland, an osteopathic physician at the turn of the century, craniosacral therapy is based on the premise that the 29 bones of the skull can move. By massaging the head, craniosacral therapists attempt to revitalize the central nervous system by facilitating the flow of cerebrospinal fluid within and around the brain and spinal cord. By doing so, this therapy can help remove the blockages and restore the harmonious flow of body fluids. Lack of symmetry of the craniosacral rhythmical motion throughout the body is used to determine pathological problems. Experienced practitioners are able to encourage the motion by touching various points all over the patient's body. If craniosacral therapy is successful, the body will correct the imbalance itself. Once people finish BASIC neuromuscular integration, then they are ready for BASIC massage, a deep-muscle, full-body massage which offers muscle tension release. Almost anyone will benefit from BASIC massage, says Sister McGlone, even if they have not gone through BASIC neuromuscular integration. "The BASIC massage practitioner is trained in the art and skill of 'listening with the hands' to work with the body at the rate and depth the body allows," she explains. "We are consciously attempting to integrate the body, spirit, and mind. Touch enables you to get in touch with yourself. We lose touch with ourselves when we lose touch with each other. We don't see ourselves as healers or medical therapists. We see ourselves as facilitators and educators. Our goal is to help the person heal him or herself." Spinal Touch The goal of spinal touch treatment is to bring your spine into balance through muscle relaxation, and in turn, relieve pain and improve mobility and fatigue. Based on the premise that so many toxins are stored in some muscles that they cannot relax, spinal touch therapists lightly touch key areas of the spine to re-direct the inner energies of your body. By re-directing this energy, your muscles can again relax and gently pull the spine into its more natural position. Reflexology Reflexology is the ancient healing art of massaging the hands and feet to reduce stress and pain. Practiced by early Egyptians, reflexology is based on the understanding that reflexes in the hands and feet correspond to all the organs, glands, and parts of the body. By massaging specific pressure points on the hands and feet, an impulse or "reflex" is sent to the corresponding problem area. The massaging of these pressure points releases endorphins, the body's natural pain relievers and mood elevators, sending them through the system. The benefits reported from reflexology include stress and tension relief, increased energy, improved circulation and balance, and pain reduction. Therapeutic Touch Developed in the early 1970's by nurse-researchers Dolores Krieger and Dora Kunz, therapeutic touch (TT) is a scientifically proven, research-based nursing intervention. TT practitioners suggest that in a healthy state, the energy field surrounding a person will be "balanced" and that another person - correctly attuned to the positive and negative charges of a fellow human - can physically feel the other's energy. By moving his or her hands within the energy field around a person in a four-step process that usually lasts 10 to 20 minutes, the TT practitioner helps the body to normalize itself and therefore improves the flow of blood and nerve conduction. TT can also help patients think clearer, reduce body pain and spasms and help reduce other symptoms. Sessions are usually conducted with the patient fully clothed and lying down on a bed. Chiropractic Invented by the ancient Greeks and practiced as early as 1250 B.C., chiropractic medicine is the most popular form of alternative therapy in this country. Meaning "done by hand," chiropractic is a method of restoring wellness through adjustments of the spine. Based on the theory that health and disease are life processes related to the function of the nervous system, chiropractors treat subluxations (partial dislocations of the spine) in an effort to restore normal nerve flow. Traditional chiropractors focus on the physical stress and trauma to the spine, while "network" chiropractors like Gary Noseworthy, D.C., of Mt. Laurel, NJ, also treat the emotional, mental, and chemical factors that create tension in the spinal system and soft tissues. "We are not treating a condition, we are allowing the body to express optimum health by treating the subluxations, the interference on the nervous system that can cause weakness," explains Dr. Noseworthy, who has been treating people with MS for 10 years."Most alternative therapy does the same thing. We are taught from the beginning in medical school that healing comes from inside out. You need to remove the interference to allow the body to heal and then offer diet and other lifestyle suggestions to prevent the body from going back to the same stressful condition." Since stress can greatly increase a person's MS symptoms, Dr. Noseworthy's "whole Body" approach helps to reduce it. "I have seen a big change in my MS patients when they come regularly for therapy and start to reduce stress in their lives. Their fatigue is reduced, their spasms are reduced, and their strength returns," he says. "Alternative therapy allows the patient to take more responsibility for his or her health, whereas traditional medicine depends on the 'man in white' to fix people's ills," says Dr. Noseworthy. "Traditional medicine does great with acute care, but it has failed miserably in helping people to stay healthy. Alternative therapies are filling in that gap." Joyce Billings, age 39, is a patient who believes wholeheartedly in chiropractic. A patient of Dr. Noseworthy's for the past few months, the divorced mother of a teenage son can already report a dramatic improvement in her symptoms. Diagnosed with MS in 1985, Ms. Billings hasn't been able to work since, although she has volunteered as a counselor at MSAA headquarters. She initially experienced extreme numbness and fatigue and lost sight in both of her eyes. Eventually she regained her sight in one eye, and she can drive and do low-impact aerobics for exercise, but her fatigue keeps her from returning to work. Now with the combination of using the Enermed, non-invasive, pulsed electromagnetic therapy, exercising regularly and using chiropractic, she feels better than she has in a long, long time. "Dr. Noseworthy has helped me more than any other doctor. All these years no one has been able to help me feel better. After I leave his office, I feel more energetic, and I can think clearer. When I first went to his office I was feeling tired, and I came out feeling energetic. That convinced me to continue," she marvels. "For years I have wanted to get out of the rut I have been in, but I didn't have the energy. Now I am determined to live the best way I can despite the MS. I am so glad that I found alternative therapy. I wish I had tried it years ago." Reprinted with permission from The Multiple Sclerosis Assoc. of America "The Motivator", May/June 1998

DECISION ASSESSMENT DOCUMENT DOCKET NUMBER: 93-419 ACTIVITY: Rating NAME: Traut v. Brown ISSUE: Weighing Evidence; Reasons or bases ACTION BY COURT: Reversal Date: 6/2/94 BEFORE JUDGES: Farley, Holdaway, Steinberg Significant points: . Reversal is appropriate where all of the evidence supports the claim. Facts: The veteran (4/53-4/55) was hospitalized in 1954 for anemia. Clinical records indicated a number of symptoms before and during hospitalization which could have reflected multiple sclerosis in retrospect. There were also two medical opinions that the veteran had prodromal symptoms within the presumptive period based on review of credible testimony and historical medical records. While the veteran had also been treated for rheumatoid arthritis after service, there was no medical evidence which tied relevant manifestations to that diagnosis rather than to multiple sclerosis. The Board of Veterans' Appeals cited two medical texts which actually indicated that some of the symptoms reported in service may be early symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Court Analysis: Based on its own review of the record, the Court found that there was no unfavorable evidence to support a denial of service connection. The case was distinguished from the remand in Talley v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 72, 74 (1993), because the favorable medical opinions in Traut unequivocally supported an allowance and there was no evidence that another cause was plausible. The denial was reversed under Willis v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 66, 70 (1991), since the evidence was wholly favorable. Service Analysis: The claim was clearly well-grounded and should have led to a VA examination with review of the file to determine onset of multiple sclerosis. Current procedural instructions call for a VA examination when there is reasonable probability of a valid claim (M21-1, Part VI, Paragraph 1.01c,f), and the February 1994 Judicial Review summary of court cases reminded regional office personnel of the Court's specific duty-to-assist exam requirements. RECOMMENDED VBA ACTION: None. This decision is consistent with prior precedents and no revision of current guidance is necessary. APPROVED J. Gary Hickman, Director Compensation and Pension Service

Gherardi, R. K. (2003). "[Lessons from macrophagic myofasciitis: towards definition of a vaccine adjuvant-related syndrome]." Rev Neurol (Paris) 159(2): 162-4. Macrophagic myofasciitis is a condition first reported in 1998, which cause remained obscure until 2001. Over 200 definite cases have been identified in France, and isolated cases have been recorded in other countries. The condition manifests by diffuse myalgias and chronic fatigue, forming a syndrome that meets both Center for Disease Control and Oxford criteria for the so-called chronic fatigue syndrome in about half of patients. One third of patients develop an autoimmune disease, such as multiple sclerosis. Even in the absence of overt autoimmune disease they commonly show subtle signs of chronic immune stimulation, and most of them are of the HLADRB1*01 group, a phenotype at risk to develop polymyalgia rheumatica and rheumatoid arthritis. Macrophagic myofasciitis is characterized by a stereotyped and immunologically active lesion at deltoid muscle biopsy. Electron microscopy, microanalytical studies, experimental procedures, and an epidemiological study recently demonstrated that the lesion is due to persistence for years at site of injection of an aluminum adjuvant used in vaccines against hepatitis B virus, hepatitis A virus, and tetanus toxoid. Aluminum hydroxide is known to potently stimulate the immune system and to shift immune responses towards a Th-2 profile. It is plausible that persistent systemic immune activation that fails to switch off represents the pathophysiologic basis of chronic fatigue syndrome associated with macrophagic myofasciitis, similarly to what happens in patients with post-infectious chronic fatigue and possibly idiopathic chronic fatigue syndrome. Therefore, the WHO recommended an epidemiological survey, currently conducted by the French agency AFSSAPS, aimed at substantiating the possible link between the focal macrophagic myofasciitis lesion (or previous immunization with aluminium-containing vaccines) and systemic symptoms. Interestingly, special emphasis has been put on Th-2 biased immune responses as a possible explanation of chronic fatigue and associated manifestations known as the Gulf war syndrome. Results concerning macrophagic myofasciitis may well open new avenues for etiologic investigation of this syndrome. Indeed, both type and structure of symptoms are strikingly similar in Gulf war veterans and patients with macrophagic myofasciitis. Multiple vaccinations performed over a short period of time in the Persian gulf area have been recognized as the main risk factor for Gulf War syndrome. Moreover, the war vaccine against anthrax, which is administered in a 6-shot regimen and seems to be crucially involved, is adjuvanted by aluminium hydroxide and, possibly, squalene, another Th-2 adjuvant. If safety concerns about long-term effects of aluminium hydroxide are confirmed it will become mandatory to propose novel and alternative vaccine adjuvants to rescue vaccine-based strategies and the enormous benefit for public health they provide worldwide. http://lansbury.bwh.harvard.edu/ms_references_2003.htm

fwd.... PRE-PROGRAMMED “FALSE STATEMENTS” ON VETERANS’ VA “MEDICAL RECORD PROGRESS NOTES” ARE OR COULD BE USED TO “DENY” THEIR VA CLAIMS “PRE-PROGRAMMED FALSE STATEMENTS” on Veterans computerized “Medical Record Progress Notes” that are intentionally or unintentionally not corrected to describe the Veteran-patient’s true medical condition or its “residuals,” are or could be used as a “bases to deny” Veterans’ service-connected and non-service connected disability claims, federal tort claims, and social security disability insurance claims, among other things. “FALSE STATEMENTS” ARE A VIOLATION OF: TITLE 18> PART 1 > CHAPTER 47 > SECTION 1035, ET SEQ., AMONG OTHER THINGS. Below are samples of “Pre-Programmed” statements that you will find on your “Medical Record Progress Notes” that may or may not be accurate. The ones highlighted, if not accurate, are the ones most likely to cause your claims to be “denied.” So after reading the information below, whether you have a pending VA or other Government Disability claim or not, be sure to check all of your current and future VA medical records for accuracy… You can get a copy of any of your VA medical records from the “Release of Information” Office at the VA Medical Center where you receive treatment. • This patient denies any other new medical problems. • “The patient ‘DENIES’ both short-term and long term exercise intolerances. • “The patient ‘DENIES’ profound muscle weakness, which unable him to raise his arm to comb hair, stand up from a chair or lift his head from a pillow, fascial rash, Gottron sign, v-sign, and shwal sign.” • “The patient ‘DENIES’ LE claudication and foot drop. • “The patient ‘DENIES’ symmetric polyarticular arthralgia/arthritis, malar rash, oral ulcer, discoid lesion, photosensitivity, nephritis, serositis, dry eyes and dry mouth, Raynaud’s phenomenon and sclerodactyly. • There has been no persistent nausea, emesis, or diarrhea, no persistent fever or chills, no acute sino-bronchitic symptoms, no acute dyspnea, no hemoptsis, no recurrent GI or GU bleeding, no significant chest pain or unstable anginal episodes of concern to the patient, no persistent weight loss, no UTI symptoms, no synscope, no TIA episodes, no persistent irregular bowel movements, no persistent anorexia, and no unusual palpitations. • The tests were reviewed with the patient. • Otherwise the patient has no further medical complaints. • Also the patient relays no new significant signs of symptoms referable to the ENT, Constitutional, pulmonary, cv, GI/GU or Neurological areas occurring since the last clinic visit. Also Visit the following other Pre-Programmed Categories on your VA “Medical Record Progress Notes” and check them for accuracy: • Vital Signs, Reason for Visit, Pain Score, Allergies, Active Problems, Active Medications, Selected Medical History, Chief Complaint, History of Present Illness, Exam, Assessment, Mental Health Status, General appearance, Head/Neck, Eyes, Ears/Nose, Mouth, Chest/Breast, Lungs, Cardiac, Abdomen, Genitalia/Hernia, Rectal/Prostate, Back, Feet, Extremities, Skin, Lymphatics, Neurological/Psychiatric, Mobility, Activity Intolerance, Activity of daily living, Nutrition, Evidence of abuse or neglect, potential barriers, tobacco use, exercise, Contraindication to vigorous exercise, alcohol screening, PTSD Screen, PTSD Score, Mood Screen, Mood Score, Colorectal Screening, Vaccinations, Sun Protection, Hypertension, COPD, Diabetic Foot Examination, Plan, Active Medications. TO READ TITLE 18> PART 1 > CHAPTER 47 > SECTION 1035, ET SEQ., AMONG OTHER THINGS CLICK ONTO THE URL’S BELOW: http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/us...35----000-.html http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/us...----000-.html#b

FWD FROM Colonel Dan Note this has been noted for soldiers serving & training in the US SW desert, AZ, NM, CA, TX, NTC Spread of disease tied to US combat deployments Stateside doctors are left grappling By John Donnelly, Globe Staff | May 7, 2007 <http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/05/07/spread_of_disease_tie d_to_us_combat_deployments/> http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles...of_disease_tied _to_us_combat_deployments/ WASHINGTON -- A parasitic disease rarely seen in United States but common in the Middle East has infected an estimated 2,500 US troops in the last four years because of massive deployments to remote combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, military officials said. Leishmaniasis , which is transmitted through the bite of the tiny sand fly, usually shows up in the form of reddish skin ulcers on the face, hands, arms, or legs. But a more virulent form of the disease also attacks organs and can be fatal if left untreated. In some US hospitals in Iraq, the disease has become so commonplace that troops call it the "Baghdad boil." But in the United States, the appearance of it among civilian contractors who went to Iraq or among tourists who were infected in other parts of the world has caused great fear because family doctors have had difficulty figuring out the cause. The spread of leishmaniasis (pronounced LEASH-ma-NYE-a-sis) is part of a trend of emerging infectious diseases in the United States in recent years as a result of military deployments, as well as the pursuit of adventure travel and far-flung business opportunities in the developing world, health officials say. Among those diseases appearing more frequently in the United States are three transmitted by mosquitoes: malaria, which was contracted by 122 troops last year in Afghanistan; dengue fever; and chikungunya fever. Nathan Yang , 42, a civilian from Dorchester, contracted visceral leishmaniasis -- the most serious form of the disease -- most likely during a vacation to Greece last September. Yang, who works for an Internet travel company, said it took Boston doctors more than three months to determine what was causing his night sweats, chills, and low-grade fevers. Fortunately, prodding by Yang's sister, an infectious disease doctor practicing in Annapolis, Md., led to a test at a US military laboratory, which found that he had the disease. Until then, a doctor had suggested removing Yang's spleen, which was enlarged because of the illness. "It was kind of worrying not knowing what it was," said Yang, who said he feels much better after taking medications. Leishmaniasis has long hounded the US military in its past deployments to the Middle East. During World War II, troops in the Persian Gulf region reported high incidences of the disease; during the deployment for the first Gulf War, in 1990-91, just 31 cases were reported -- which received large headlines in the United States because it was unusual. But military officials interpreted the numbers as an improvement, reflecting good preventive techniques as well as troops spending more time in urban areas. But the increasing cases in the last few years, which has gone almost completely unnoticed, has been due in part to a breakdown of efforts aimed at protecting troops from getting bitten by sand flies, military officials acknowledged. About 80 percent of the cases are from Iraq and most of the others are from Afghanistan. When Army Colonel Peter J. Weina , director of the leishmania diagnostics laboratory at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Silver Spring, Md., spent months traveling around Iraq in 2003, he found that some commanders had taken no precautions to guard against infection. The military recommends making sure troops have bed nets and uniforms treated with the insect repellant permethrin , applying the chemical DEET to exposed areas of skin, and wearing long pants, socks, and long-sleeved shirts while outside. "In some areas, every one had heard about bed nets and about leishmaniasis, but other military units were totally oblivious," Weina said. He said the lack of attention to leishmaniasis is understandable, though: "From the perspective of the person on the ground, they are bombarded with so many concerns. The way the war is going now, getting a little sore that may or may not go away is minor compared to losing your leg" in a roadside bomb attack. The sand flies, which are a third the size of a mosquito, don't actually fly, but hop, giving them a limited range. Weina took sand fly samples from several parts of Iraq and found parasites from Basra to Mosul. He also found scores of cases of Iraqi children hospitalized with leishmaniasis. The World Health Organization estimates 2 million new cases of leishmaniasis each year in 88 countries, ranging from rain forests in Costa Rica to the deserts of Iraq and Iran. In the United States, infections are very rare. On average, about 100 American tourists or business travelers have contracted the disease in recent years, more than in past years because of more frequent travel to areas where the parasite flourishes, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The sharp increase in cases in the US military has also raised concerns about transmission of leishmaniasis from person to person. While scientists found little evidence suggesting that the disease can be transmitted through blood transfusions, the US Food and Drug Administration, not wanting to take a risk, advised in late 2003 that US citizens traveling to Iraq should not be allowed to donate blood for a year upon their return -- and Americans diagnosed with leishmaniasis should be banned from donating blood over their lifetime. Weina, the Army medical researcher, said there is less reason to believe that the disease could be transmitted through casual or sexual contact. While some cases suggest that leishmaniasis might have occurred between couples, Weina said, no scientific study has proven it. But the wife of a civilian contractor who returned from Iraq with leishmaniasis said she fears she may have already been exposed to the disease. "If you consider it can be transmitted sexually, and my husband has it, and I could have it as well, I'm furious," said Marcie Hascall Clark of Satellite Beach, Fla., whose husband, Merlin, spent two months clearing minefields in Iraq. Clark said she was also concerned because symptoms of leishmaniasis sometimes do not show for months or even years in some cases. "I worry that a lot of soldiers are coming back and they don't even know they have it," she said. Beverly Rorrer of Zanesfield, Ohio, said her husband, Ken, served seven months in a National Guard unit in Iraq and returned home last fall with a large sore on his left leg. After waiting months for a correct diagnosis, Rorrer said, they learned about leishmaniasis only after she happened to watch a PBS documentary. "I've told more than a few people that it's amazing what is out there in this world," Rorrer said. "We are fortunate and blessed not to come in contact with it every day." John Donnelly can be reached at <mailto:donnelly@globe.com> donnelly@globe.com. <http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/File-Based_Image_Resource/dingbat_story_ end_icon.gif>

§1.580 Administrative review. (a) Upon denial or a request under 38 CFR 1.577 or 1.579, the responsible Department of Veterans Affairs official or designated employee will inform the requester in writing of the denial, cite the reason or reasons and the Department of Veterans Affairs regulations upon which the denial is based, and advise that the denial may be appealed to the General Counsel. (b) The final agency decision in such appeals will be made by the General counsel or the Deputy General Counsel. (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501(a)) [40 FR 33944, Aug. 12, 1975, as amended at 47 FR 16324, Apr. 16, 1982; 55 FR 21546, May 25, 1990] §1.581 [Removed] Source: http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/regs/38CFR/BOO...ART1/S1_580.DOC

§1.577 Access to records. (a) Except as otherwise provided by law or regulation any individual upon request may gain access to his or her record or to any information pertaining to him or her which is contained in any system of records maintained by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The individual will be permitted, and upon his or her request, a person of his or her own choosing permitted to accompany him or her, to review the record and have a copy made of all or any portion thereof in a form comprehensible to him or her. The Department of Veterans Affairs will require, however, a written statement from the individual authorizing discussion of that individual’s record in the accompanying person’s presence. (b) Any individual will be notified, upon request, if any Department of Veterans Affairs system of records named contains a record pertaining to him or her. Such request must be in writing, over the signature of the requester. The request must contain a reasonable description of the Department of Veterans Affairs system or systems of records involved, as described at least annually by notice published in the Federal Register describing the existence and character of the Department of Veterans Affairs system or systems of records pursuant to §1.578(d). The request should be made to the office concerned (having jurisdiction over the system or systems of records involved) or, if not known, to the Director or Department of Veterans Affairs Officer in the nearest Department of Veterans Affairs regional office, or to the Department of Veterans Affairs Central Office, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20420. Personal contact should normally be made during the regular duty hours of the office concerned, which are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday for Department of Veterans Affairs Central Office and most field facilities. Identification of the individual requesting the information will be required and will consist of the requester’s name, signature, address, and claim, insurance or other identifying file number, if any, as a minimum. Additional identifying data or documents may be required in specified categories as determined by operating requirements and established and publicized by the promulgation of Department of Veterans Affairs regulations. (5 U.S.C. 552a(f)(1)) © The department or staff office having jurisdiction over the records involved will establish appropriate disclosure procedures and will notify the individual requesting disclosure of his or her record or information pertaining to him or her of the time, place and conditions under which the Department of Veterans Affairs will comply to the extent permitted by law and Department of Veterans Affairs regulation. (5 U.S.C. 552a(f)(2)) (d) Access to sensitive material in records, including medical and psychological records, is subject to the following special procedures. When an individual requests access to his or her records, the Department of Veterans Affairs official responsible for administering those records will review them and identify the presence of any sensitive records. Sensitive records are those that contain information which may have a serious adverse effect on the individual’s mental or physical health if they are disclosed to him or her. If, on review of the records, the Department of Veterans Affairs official concludes that there are sensitive records involved, the official will refer the records to a Department of Veterans Affairs physician, other than a rating board physician, for further review. If the physician who reviews the records believes that disclosure of the information directly to the individual could have an adverse effect on the physical or mental health of the individual, the responsible Department of Veterans Affairs official will then advise the requesting individual: (1) That the Department of Veterans Affairs will disclose the sensitive records to a physician or other professional person selected by the requesting individual for such redisclosure as the professional person may believe is indicated, and (2) In indicated cases, that the Department of Veterans Affairs will arrange for the individual to report to a Department of Veterans Affairs facility for a discussion of his or her records with a designated Department of Veterans Affairs physician and for an explanation of what is included in the records. Following such discussion, the records should be disclosed to the individual; however, in those extraordinary cases where a careful and conscientious explanation of the information considered harmful in the record has been made by a Department of Veterans Affairs physician and where it is still the physician’s professional medical opinion that physical access to the information could be physically or mentally harmful to the patient, physical access may be denied. Such a denial situation should be an unusual, very infrequent occurrence. When denial of a request for direct physical access is made, the responsible Department of Veterans Affairs official will: (1) Promptly advise the individual making the request of the denial; (2) state the reasons for the denial of the request (e.g., 5 U.S.C. 552a(f)(3) 38 U.S.C. 5701(b)(1)); and (3) advise the requester that the denial may be appealed to the General Counsel and of the procedure for such an appeal. (Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552a(f)(3)) (e) Nothing in 5 U.S.C. 552a, however, allows an individual access to any information compiled in reasonable anticipation of civil action or proceeding. (5 U.S.C. 552a(d)(5)) (f) Fees to be charged, if any, to any individual for making copies of his or her record shall not include the cost of any search for and review of the record, and will be as follows: Activity Fees (1) Duplication of documents by any type of $0.15 per page after first reproduction process to produce plain 100 one-sided pages. one-sided paper copies of a standard size (8-1/2” x 11”; 8-1/2” x 14”; 11” x 14”). Activity Fees (2) Duplication of non-paper records, such as Actual direct cost to the microforms, audiovisual materials (motion Agency as defined in pictures, slides, laser optical disks, video tapes, §1.555(a)(2) of this part to audiotapes, etc.) computer tapes and disks, the extent that it pertains to diskettes for personal computers, and any the cost of duplication. other automated media output. (3) Duplication of documents by any type of Actual direct cost to the reproduction process not covered by Agency as defined in paragraphs (f)(1) and (2) of this section §1.555(a)(2) of this part to to produce a copy in a form reasonably the extent that it pertains to usable by a requester. the cost of duplication. Note: Fees for any activities other than duplication by any type of reproducing process will be assessed under the provisions of §1.526(i) or (j) of this part of any other applicable law.) (g) When VA benefit records, which are retrievable by name or individual identifier of a VA beneficiary or applicant for VA benefits, are requested by the individual to whom the record pertains, the duplication fee for one complete set of such records will be waived. (Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552a(f)(5)) (38 U.S.C. 501(a)) [40 FR 33944, Aug, 12, 1975, as amended at 47 FR 16323, Apr. 16, 1982; 53 FR 10380, Mar, 31, 1988; 55 FR 21546, May 25, 1990] http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/regs/38CFR/BOO...ART1/S1_577.DOC

Forwarded, courtesy of Kelly Franklin…. VIETNAM VETS TO LAUNCH $5B LAWSUIT By KRISTIAN SOUTH - Sunday News | Sunday, 6 May 2007 Prime Minister Helen Clark and every other living prime minister, governor general, minister of health and minister of defence since New Zealand entered the Vietnam war will be targeted in the incredible $5 billion lawsuit planned by vets. {So should our nation’s Veterans – Every President, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Health, and every Secretary of Veterans Affairs, for the Malfeasance described below.} {Should it make a difference that a federal agency or elected officials was part of knowingly allowing this malfeasance, a nice way to say criminal activity, to continue? Only our government and our elected officials think so.} The Vietnam Veteran's Action Group has launched the sensational bid to sue the government and key political figures because they blame them for lack of action over their poisoning by Agent Orange. {As it should be!} The veterans have engaged giant Australian law firm Slater & Gordon -which won a $1.5b lawsuit against industrial corporation James Hardie - to handle the case. Sunday News understands Slater & Gordon bosses will meet in the next few days to discuss tactics. "Slater & Gordon has been approached by a group of veterans and we are investigating the situation," a firm spokesman last night told Sunday News. But Sunday News understands the law firm is serious about taking the case and this week's talks will drill into the specifics of the vets' claims. The proposed lawsuit will allege consecutive governments and officials since 1962 were guilty of "malfeasance" and failed to provide duty of care to veterans. Malfeasance is a term used when public officials break the law and bring harm to others while in office. In some cases, it can result in criminal charges. Clark last night declined to comment on the pending lawsuit and referred all questions to defence minister Phil Goff, who said the Government had addressed the needs of veterans in a recent $30m Agent Orange compensation package. "You can't say, `We'll take what we were given in the settlement and then we'll go for everything else as well'," Goff told Sunday News. "That's not how these things work." News of the pending lawsuit comes as Goff and veterans affairs minister Rick Barker are due to decide on how to administer Agent Orange payouts. But only veterans who suffer from five recognized symptoms of Agent Orange exposure are covered - leaving hundreds of others to battle illnesses like cancer and heart disease without government compensation. Under the scheme, fewer than 100 vets will get around $40,000 if they are suffering from four specific cancers and a skin condition, chloracne. Children of vets are eligible for $25,000, subject to them suffering from conditions limited to spina bifida, cleft lip, cleft palate and two types of cancer. {Thanks to the excellent malfeasance work of our Veterans Affairs and our NAS/IOM our veteran’s children with paternal exposures only qualify for spinda bifida.} Vietnam Veterans' Action Group spokesman Bruce Weir said more than 1300 former soldiers and war widows were expected to be represented in the class action. "We are bringing this lawsuit against the government to ensure all veterans and their families are adequately looked after by the New Zealand government," Weir told Sunday News. "The current package covers less than five percent of the veterans and that is not good enough. "We feel we have been betrayed and we are taking this issue to court to ensure it is sorted out properly. "We are hoping to expose the deceit, lies and cover-up in the High Court so the New Zealand public can see exactly what the Vietnam veterans have had to battle against." {Same as in this nation.} Last year, Sunday News revealed how genetic tests on Vietnam vets had shown being exposed to Agent Orange was worse than experiencing a nuclear explosion - with up to seven generations of significant DNA damage found. Weir said the lawsuit would be seeking about $4 million for every veteran registered in the class action. “You're looking at punitive damages for 40 years of lies, cover-up and deceit and if it went to court I would imagine we would be seeking $4 million per veteran," he said. {Yes, the same in our nation – 40 years of government collaboration and deceit to deny Veterans compensations in death and disability, as well as widows, and orphans and of course protect the all important chemical company lobby money.} "So with 1300 plaintiffs, you're talking about a lot of money. But when you're looking at several generations of damaged DNA, the veteran community needs to know that everyone is covered. "Of the 3200-odd persons who served in Vietnam, approximately 550 have died since the war finished and these days more are dying every week. Many of these deaths could have been prevented had the Government's key personnel done their job properly." Weir said the class action lawsuit was open to veterans and the families of deceased veterans. Indications were about 1300 veterans, war widows and families of veterans would register. I wish them all well in this endeavor of Justice and Government Accountability. As one that defends the nation that should be a given, not an assumption. Kelley