There were two recent Depleted Uranium Research Articles recently Published. The first from Quebec Estimating the lung burden from exposure to aerosols of depleted uranium. Is an excellent work. Again we are tied up with finding dose estimations and a method of testing. But at least this study appears to have used actual DU inhalation work. The bigest concern on DU should be on damage done in inhalation and ingestion! Very few soldiers actually had DU shrapnel wounds, the greater number of casualties would have been by inhalation and ingestion…ie the DOHA Fire in Desert Storm and the OIF incident where an ammo dump exploded.
WE need to look at Trachea, Esophageal, Lung, GI tract, renal damage, Thyroid, Spleen and other radiation sensitive organs. The second study results showed- Spleen hypomethylation occurred during DU-induced leukemogenesis (chronic internal DU exposure). Aberrant gene transcription was also detected.
Researchers should be using actual DU inhalation to study actual damage in animal studies that would affected the greater number of casualties.
The other digression here would be to state that Representative McDermott (D_WA) who served in US Navy 1968-70 and was a Psychiatrist, an alumni of University of Illinois was the only stand up guy in Congress that offered bills to research and get answers on DU and health issues that the Desert Storm Veterans have experienced. I salute him for his many attempts! On the other hand I have to say that he did not get support from others on the hill to get to the answers that Desert Storm Veterans deserve now not in the next decade.
Congress members we are keeping track of what you do and don’t do and in the future we will use that information on Introduction of bills, Cosponsorship, your actions that show productivity and actively getting legislative relief for Desert Storm Veterans, and Desert Storm Veterans that are your constituents grading of your assistance to them to produce a Grading Card for the next elections! Your attendance at hearings, your record of meeting personally with Gulf War veterans and our researchers and your encouragement for committees of jurisdiction to hold hearings and attendance at those hearings in support of your constituents will be recorded and tracked actively! This includes showing your active support for appropriations and authorizations
for Gulf War Illness Research through the DOD CDMRP and other independent agencies. Your support for changes at the VA that will impact Desert Storm Veterans will also be closely monitored.
Many Desert Storm Veterans are feeling that they have been forgotten and left on the battlefield and that simply will not be allowed!
PMID: 19453963 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]
1: Radiat Prot Dosimetry. 2009 Feb;134(1):23-9. Epub 2009 Apr 4. Links
Estimating the lung burden from exposure to aerosols of depleted uranium.Valdés M.
Uranium Medical Research Center, Shawville, Quebec, Canada.
Following exposure to aerosols of depleted uranium (DU), biological samples show the presence of a synthetic mixture of natural uranium and DU.
By partitioning the uranium in the 24-h urine sample along the isotopic fractions of natural uranium and DU, one can study the kinetics of these subpopulations independently.
A linear model is developed to estimate the lung burden of DU from measurements of DU in 24-h urine samples, years after inhalational exposure to aerosols of DU.
This model takes into account the intracellular dissolution of the retained particles and the precipitation of a significant fraction of the dissolved DU as insoluble uranyl phosphates.
PMID: 19346527 [PubMed – in process]
1: Biochimie. 2009 Mar 25. [Epub ahead of print] Links
DNA methylation during depleted uranium-induced leukemia.Miller AC, Stewart M, Rivas R.
Scientific Research Department, Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI), Uniformed Services University, 8901 Wisconsin Ave, Bethesda, MD 20889-5603, USA.
OBJECTIVES: The radioactive heavy metal depleted uranium (DU) is used in kinetic-energy penetrators in military applications. The objective of this study was to determine involvement of DNA methylation in DU-induced leukemia.
METHODS: Methylation was measured by direct analysis of 5-methylcytosine content of spleen DNA in DU leukemic mice.
RESULTS: Spleen hypomethylation occurred during DU-induced leukemogenesis (chronic internal DU exposure). Aberrant gene transcription was also detected.
CONCLUSIONS: Epigenetic mechanisms are implicated in DU-induced leukemia. These data are evidence of aberrant DNA hypomethylation being associated with DU leukemogenesis.
PMID: 19324073 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]
Related articles
Leukemic transformation of hematopoietic cells in mice internally exposed to depleted uranium. Mol Cell Biochem. 2005 Nov; 279(1-2):97-104.
[Mol Cell Biochem. 2005]
ReviewA review of the effects of uranium and depleted uranium exposure on reproduction and fetal development. Toxicol Ind Health. 2001 Jun; 17(5-10):180-91.
[Toxicol Ind Health. 2001]
Observation of radiation-specific damage in human cells exposed to depleted uranium: dicentric frequency and neoplastic transformation as endpoints. Radiat Prot Dosimetry. 2002; 99(1-4):275-8.
[Radiat Prot Dosimetry. 2002]
Physicochemical characterization of Capstone depleted uranium aerosols III: morphologic and chemical oxide analyses. Health Phys. 2009 Mar; 96(3):276-91.
[Health Phys. 2009]
ReviewTeratogenicity of depleted uranium aerosols: a review from an epidemiological perspective. Environ Health. 2005 Aug 26; 4:17. Epub 2005 Aug 26.
[Environ Health. 2005]
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