Agent Orange can increase blood pressure

According to the Institute of Medicine (USA), recent studies show that hypertension has increased markedly in US veterans exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam.

On July 27, the Board of Experts of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published the latest report in a series of reports made every 2 years to assess how human health is affected by substance. Agent Orange (Agent Orange - AO) and other herbicide chemicals used by the US military during the Vietnam War.

Since the early 1990s, IOM, under the US National Academy of Sciences, has studied the effects of AO (used as herbicides) on its veterans.

According to the IOM Expert Council, recent studies of US veterans who used AO and other herbicides directly in Vietnam provided evidence that these people had high blood pressure.

The report states: 'In two newly published studies, hypertension increased markedly in US veterans exposed to AO at the highest level in Vietnam.'

An American helicopter is spraying defoliants in a dense area in the Mekong Delta, July 26, 1969 (Image taken from: wikipedia.org)

At the same time, after examining 350 animal and epidemiological studies, the Council also provides evidence that these chemicals are also linked to amyloidosis - a disease of starches, manifestations of in protein agglomeration in and around internal organs.

These findings added both high blood pressure and amyloidosis to the list of diseases related to Agent Orange - now including some rare cancers, type 2 diabetes and birth defects. Children of US veterans have been exposed to AO.

Mr. Hollie Swanson, of the University of Kentucky, and other members of the Council said that the relevance of AO to these two diseases 'is still limited but still convincing'.

Agent Orange (CDDC), (English: Agent Orange - Agent Orange), is the name of a herbicide and defoliant used by the US military in Vietnam during the War Vietnam paintings.

This substance was used in the years 1961-1971 and many believed that it hurt the health of ordinary people as well as Vietnamese soldiers, American soldiers as well as Australian, Korean, Canadian and New Zealand soldiers. like American allies who have contact with this substance, as well as their descendants.

CDDC is a clear liquid;Its name is taken from the color of the stripes drawn on the drums used to transport it.The US military also has a number of other names to refer to substances used during this period: " green matter " (Agent Blue, cacodylic acid), " white matter " (Agent White, a mixture of 4: 1 of 2 , 4-D and picloram), " purple " (Agent Purple) and "pink" (Agent Pink).By 1971, CDDC was no longer used to defoliate;2,4-D is still used to kill grass.2,4,5-T has been banned in the United States and many other countries.

(Extract from http://en.wikipedia.org)

In a press interview, Richard Fenske, of the University of Washington, said: 'Identifying AO-related illnesses is a very important job. Many people who were exposed to this poison are now in their late 50s and early 60s.

He emphasized: 'Their life is entering a stage where some diseases have a chance - diseases that have not occurred at a healthy youth'.

According to Swanson, the team is still trying to understand exactly the pathogenesis of the herbicides used in Vietnam, especially TCDD chemicals, the most toxic in the Dioxin type, can be considered as a human carcinogen.

Jerry Manar, an official from the Overseas Veterans Group, said: 'The US Department of Veterans Affairs must decide on whether or not they officially acknowledge the link between AO infection and diseases. has arisen or not '.

He continued: 'If they admit, this report will help hundreds of thousands of veterans have the right to treat high blood pressure and heart disease or stroke related to high blood pressure in health centers for ex-war. soldiers'.

Meanwhile, according to Web Media, if the government decides that AO is the cause of high blood pressure, there may be up to 3 million US veterans entitled to additional health benefits they have not yet received. enjoy.

Previously, US veterans had medical care related to some AO diseases, but there was no high blood pressure.

Quang Thinh