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PAN Urges VA to Provide Disability Benefits to Vietnam Veterans Living with Parkinson’s Disease New IOM report suggests association between Agent Orange exposure and Parkinson’s disease WASHINGTON, DC—The release of a report by the National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine (IOM) suggesting a link between exposure to Agent Orange and Parkinson’s disease in Vietnam veterans reinforces the Parkinson’s Action Network’s (PAN) position that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) should provide wartime disability compensation for Vietnam veterans with Parkinson's disease. In March, PAN endorsed H.R. 1428, a bill introduced by Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA), that will create a presumption of service connection for disabled veterans living with Parkinson’s disease who were exposed to Agent Orange while serving in Vietnam. While making the potential link between Agent Orange and Parkinson’s disease, the report also demonstrates the need for further study, including the creation of a national Parkinson’s disease registry. The report, sponsored by the VA, cited evidence taken from 16 different studies in its conclusion that Parkinson’s disease should be promoted from the “inadequate or insufficient evidence” category into the “limited or suggestive evidence” category. A finding of "limited or suggestive evidence of an association" means that the evidence indicates there could be a link between exposure to a chemical and increased risk for a particular health effect, though conflicting results from studies, problems with how the studies were conducted, or other confounding factors limit the certainty of the evidence. “While PAN strongly encourages continued study in this area to help improve diagnosis, prevention, and treatment methods, the IOM report further strengthens the argument that there is sufficient data to conclude that the VA should presume a service connection for these veterans disabled by Parkinson’s disease,” said PAN CEO, Amy Comstock Rick. “Creating a presumption of service connection will lift the burden from the shoulders of individual veterans who, to date, have had to become experts in the science regarding Agent Orange exposure in order to apply for the benefits to which they are entitled.” While the IOM clearly stated that the preponderance of epidemiological evidence now supports an association between herbicide exposure and Parkinson’s disease, it also expressed deep concern regarding the lack of data on Parkinson’s disease. The report stated, “the lack of data relating Parkinson’s disease incidence to exposure in the Vietnam veteran population is of concern to the committee, and we recommend strongly that such studies be performed. We are also concerned that a biological mechanism by which compounds of interest may cause Parkinson’s disease has not been demonstrated.” This concern reaffirms the need for a nationwide Parkinson’s disease registry that would help provide accurate data on incidence and prevalence of Parkinson’s disease. Such a registry would strengthen the ability of researchers to determine possible causes of Parkinson’s and identify the communities disproportionately affected, leading to better access to care. In that vein, PAN strongly supports legislation introduced in both the House and Senate that would create national Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson’s disease registries at the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The National MS and Parkinson’s Disease Registries Act, H.R. 1362/S. 1273 was introduced in both the House and Senate by the Co-Chairs of the Bicameral Congressional Caucus on Parkinson’s Disease and the Congressional MS Caucus. PAN represents the entire Parkinson’s community on public policy issues, including the more than 1 million Americans currently fighting Parkinson’s disease, the estimated 60,000 newly diagnosed every year, and nearly 80,000 American veterans living with Parkinson’s disease and their families, as well as the national Parkinson’s organizations. Through education and interaction with the Parkinson’s community, scientists, policy and opinion leaders, as well as the public at large, PAN advocates for an increased and accelerated investment of public resources to ease the burden and find a cure for Parkinson’s disease. To learn more about PAN, please visit out Web site at www.parkinsonsaction.org. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn