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11A
LIFESTYLES / The Charlotte Post
Thursday, January 16,1997
HEALTHY BODY/ HEALTHY MIND
Study shows gulf vets gassed
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -
Ailing veterans of a Seabee
unit from Alabama say a
study on Desert Storm dis
eases supports their claims
that they were gassed in the
1991 Persian Gulf War.
“I know we were exposed,”
Jack Mitchell of Northport, a
former master chief petty offi
cer with the 24th Naval
Reserve Construction
Battalion, told The
Birmingham News in story
published Sunday. “It hap
pened.”
Mitchell’s Seabee battalion,
headquartered in Huntsville
with members throughout the
Southeast, was the focus of a
medical study that confirmed
the existence of a gulf war
syndrome. Study results
released Wednesday in
Washington showed that 179
of 249 Seabee veterans report
ed they are now ill.
Researchers from the
University of Texas
Southwestern Medical Center
said many of the veterans
were suffering from damage to
their nervous systems caused
by exposures to combinations
of chemicals, including nerve
agents, insecticides and anti
nerve gas pills given to
250,000 U.S. troops.
As a result, there are several
forms of gulf war syndrome
Eiffecting veterans. S3miptoms
include rashes, diarrhea, achy
joints, fatigue and memory
loss. Three articles and an edi
torial on the study are being
published in the Journal of
the American Medical
Association.
“I agree with the study,” said
John Gonzales, a Seabee vet
eran who had to be evacuated
by air ambulance from the
gulf and has had health prob
lems ever since. “I believe we
got gassed.”
Mitchell said many members
of the battalion knew they
were contaminated by chemi
cal warfare agents shortly
after the air war began on
Jan. 17, 1991. Some veterans
believe the gas was released
by coalition bombing of Iraq's
chemical arsenal, but others
believe they were victims of
an Iraqi attack.
No matter, Mitchell said, the
gas was there.
“Animals were dropping
dead,” Mitchell said. “That
was the thing that convinced
me.
Mitchell said he saw black
sheep choke to death for no
apparent reason other than
exposure to chemical or bio
logical warfare agents.
Mitchell, 51, suffers from
asthma and other health prob
lems he believes were caused
by the gulf war. He applied for
disability benefits through the
federal Department of
Veterans Affairs two years
ago.
“I haven’t heard from them
yet,” he said.
Mitchell' said he really
doesn’t need the money, but
there are plenty of sick veter
ans who do.
Congress has loosened stan
dards for granting disability
compensation to gulf war vet
erans suffering from undiag
nosed illnesses. But only a few
hundred veterans have been
granted the benefits, and the
Clinton administration has
vowed to break a bureaucratic
bottleneck causing the prob
lem.
Pentagon officials have
repeatedly said there was no
coverup of exposures to chemi
cal warfare agents.
New hope for leukemia patients
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PORTLAND, Ore. - Blood
from her infant brother’s
umbilical cord could help save
a 5-year-old girl suffering
from leukemia.
In the first procedure of its
type in Oregon, Amanda
Ayala received about a cup of
cord blood cells from her 7-
week-old brother, Juan,
Friday at University Hospital.
Umbilical cords, normally
discarded after a baby is bom,
are proving useful in treating
life-threatening cancers,
immune system disorders and
anemia.
“It’s neat they can do this,”
said Laurie Vanover of Hood
River, Amanda’s mother. “I
think more women should be
saving cords for kids.”
Several years ago, medical
research revealed that cord
blood contains the same dis
ease-fighting cells as bone
marrow. Blood from the
umbilical cord and placenta
contains a rich population of
stem cells - the cells that nor
mally create several billion
new red blood cells, white cells
and platelets every hour.
Several hundred cord blood
transplants have been per
formed worldwide, mainly in
children.
Dr. Ted B. Moore, a pediatric
oncologist, said such trans
plants usually are not avail
able to adults because of the
small volume of blood the cord
yields.
Amanda was diagnosed with
acute myelogenous leukemia
in October 1995 and was
treated with chemotherapy.
Although the cancer went
into remission for a time, it
returned and doctors deter
mined her best chance was a
bone marrow transplant.
However, neither her parents
Healthy Eating
nor her two siblings were a
compatible match.
“It was great that at the end
of November, she delivers, we
have wonderful cooperation
from her physician, and
Amanda is fortunate that she
has a sibling
that match
es,” Moore
said.
In prepara
tion for
Friday's
transplant,
Amanda had
two days of
chemothera
py and three
days of total
body irradia
tion to
destroy her
diseased bone
meirrow.
In Friday's
15-minute
procedure.
Amanda received her broth
er's thawed cord blood cells,
much as one would get a blood
transfusion.
“The nice thing about this is,
it means we didn’t have to
take the brother to the operat
ing room,” Moore said.
SPECIAL TO THE POST
According to a recent nation
wide survey, more Americans
are resolving to take better care
of themselves this year than last
year. More than two-thirds (69
percent) are determined to eat
more fiuits and vegetables next
year, up finm 56 percent a year
ago.
For those people, there may be
no better way to usher in the
new year than with the National
Cancer Institute's (NCI) recom
mendation to eat "5 A Day."
Eating five or more daily serv
ings of fiuits and vegeta bles can
better your overall health and
may reduce the risk of cancer.
Unlike many resolutions, 5 A
Day is easy. NCI has developed
15 tips for eating 5 A Day this
winter that can help Americans
meet many of their resolutions
because it is a great step toward
maintain ing a healthy diet and
feeling more energetic.
With meals...
• Add 1/4 cup chopped dried
fi*uit to a bowl of hot cereal. To
plump up and soften the fhiit,
cook it with the cereal.
• Cook sliced apples and pears
and sprinkle with cinnamon.
Serve warm, at room tempera
ture or chiUed.
• Add frozen mixed vegetables
when you heat canned or pack
aged soup.
• For a new sandwich twist,
fill a pita or rolled tortilla with
an assortment of chopped veg
etables, along with sliced turkey,
lean roast beef, tuna or cheese.
• Serve a vegetable platter
with dip as a way to start a
meal.
For snacks...
• Keep a stash of dried finit in
your briefcase, purse or locker.
They make a great 5 A Day
snack, and they don't spoil.
• Serve hot cider after skating
or sledding.
• Make your own trail mix
with dried chopped fruits,
raisins, breakfast cereal and
pretzels.
• Have a glass of vegetable or
tomato juice as a mid-moming
snack
• Bake a white or sweet potato
in the microwave and eat as is or
top with grated cheese, chopped
broccoli, or emother favorite top
ping.
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'O f c/* t '3
o1997 Resolutions
> A.r^nt survey shows moieAnericans
; totake better cafeofSieniseives ■.;
in'97, With the bluest }uti^ among /
'z'- people vowing to eat more fmits
and vegetables; The National Ganeef;
I Instituta recommends eating five or ■
ftioreeawings of fruitsa'''*
a day Ibr better health, i
Source: National Cancer Institute
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Memory Loss in an
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Difficulty remembering things is often just a normal part of
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worse can be a sign of something more serious. Alzheimer’s
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Participants will receive expert medical care and study
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imer s
CALL THE CLINICAL STUDY HOTLINE
1 (800) 57-STUDY ext. 22