U.S. Vetrans Face Much Higher Risk for Lou Gehrig's Disease - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

ALS, commonly known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease" is a vicious, diabolical disease which attacks the victim's nervous system, causing paralysis and typically, a slow death by suffocation.

Finally, the U.S. Government has made public, Mainstream public, what has been known for years within the ALS community and the families that support them.


www.nbcnews.com...

U.S. veterans carry a nearly 60 percent greater risk of contracting ALS than civilians, according to a white paper published in 2013 by the ALS Association, citing Harvard University research that tracked ex-service members back to 1910.

The researchers in the referenced article suspect that this increased risk might have something to do with the effects of strenuous physical exertion, typical in military training, affecting some kind of genetic "flaw" in the victims.

I am not trained in either medicine or genetics, but I have to call "Bulls***" on this theory.

My step-father and my sister-in-law's father both died of this scourge, and both served in the military, different branches.

The finding is based on service members going back to 1910. It seems inconceivable to me that such a rare disease would strike with so much greater frequency within such a defined population due to a genetic trigger, when the genetic make-up of that population was virtually as varied as the population in general.

Why are we not seeing similarly higher rates of ALS among professional athletes, for example?

Surely professional athletes are not strangers to strenuous physical exercise, represent a decent genetic cross-section of the general population, and even have careers dependent upon strenuous exertion that extend, in many cases, far beyond the in-service enlistment of most veterans.

Huzzah to the military for finally bringing this threat to light, but this approach, based on MY experience of this issue, to cause/cure smells vaguely of "cover-up" to this ATS-weaned nose.

My father fell victim to this pernicious disease. A research team at the University of Manitoba in Canada has made some recent important discoveries in trying to find a cure. This disease is relatively rare and as such big pharma are not that interested in researching it. As for it being related to vigorous exercise, I remain unconvinced until someone shows me the stats that prove veterans are more prone to this than the general population. If such a study does exist it might be related to other environmental factors. a reply to: Bhadhidar

At first glance - with out researching it - my money is on the vaccinations they give upon entry.

I'm a vet & find this very scary.

a reply to: Bhadhidar

A colleague of mine was miss diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease and later died. It turned out he had Lyme disease which by that time if was too late. I've been told a lot of Lyme disease is miss-diagnosed as Lou Gehrig's disease. I wonder if Lyme disease has always been Lou Gehrig's disease, they just didn't realize the Lyme disease lays dormant for years.

I look at it this way. I retired earlier than I would have liked, thanks to Multiple Sclerosis. I am a Desert Storm vet, and I know a few other Desert Storm vets that have M.S. as well. I gotta think that there is a connection there...

originally posted by: madmac5150
I look at it this way. I retired earlier than I would have liked, thanks to Multiple Sclerosis. I am a Desert Storm vet, and I know a few other Desert Storm vets that have M.S. as well. I gotta think that there is a connection there...

I have Multiple Sclerosis as well. I didn't serve in the military but wanted to say stay strong and ask the doc about 50,000 unit's vitamin D/week. Don't want to derail the thread. Just wanted to wish you well.

a reply to: Bachrk

Thanks I take my 50000 IU of D vitamins and it has helped keep the relapses manageable. I also seem to be able to go longer between relapses with the vit D.

The government has proven that they have no qualms with using the military for medical testing; Lord knows what's been done to us...

I knew a Korean war navy veteran that passed from Lou Gehrig's disease.

Strenuous physical exertion is not something you see over time in the navy. unless your a navy seal.

He did not last long .
From DX to passing was about 2 months.

There are many veterans that have autoimmune disorders but as there are many autoimmune disorders they have fallen through the cracks in the VA system.
There are higher numbers then normal in Vietnam veterans and gulf war vets.

Many Vietnam era and later veterans believe that the jet injector immunizations used during that time are the cause of many of the disorders we got.
In 1997 The USA Department of Defense, the jet injector's biggest user, announced that it would stop using it for mass vaccinations due to concerns about infection.
pdf.usaid.gov...

originally posted by: Bachrk

originally posted by: madmac5150
I look at it this way. I retired earlier than I would have liked, thanks to Multiple Sclerosis. I am a Desert Storm vet, and I know a few other Desert Storm vets that have M.S. as well. I gotta think that there is a connection there...

I have Multiple Sclerosis as well. I didn't serve in the military but wanted to say stay strong and ask the doc about 50,000 unit's vitamin D/week. Don't want to derail the thread. Just wanted to wish you well.

I find this interesting (for lack of a better word) of the vets chiming in here w/autoimmune disorders. I too have an autoimmune disorder that is in "remission" right now.

Makes me wonder what the percentage of vets w/autoimmune disorders is compared to the general public.

I have castleman's and sarcoidosis.
The sarcoidosis is rare and there is a cluster of cases among US navy sailors.
www.hadit.com...

The Hyaline vascular Castleman disease (HV-CD) is a very very rare autoimmune disorder.

a reply to: Bhadhidar

It seems inconceivable to me that such a rare disease would strike with so much greater frequency within such a defined population due to a genetic trigger, when the genetic make-up of that population was virtually as varied as the population in general. - See more at: www.abovetopsecret.com...

I agree. Obviously the trigger is epigenetic - and likely has to do with epigenetic responses to things like vaccine exposures.

Interesting to note as well.... my disabilty with the VA states that they will not pay for the symptoms of M.S... if you look at my rating, however, it is for all of the symptoms of M.S.... they do not want M.S. tied with active service in any way, shape or form...

originally posted by: Bhadhidar


The researchers in the referenced article suspect that this increased risk might have something to do with the effects of strenuous physical exertion, typical in military training, affecting some kind of genetic "flaw" in the victims.

I am not trained in either medicine or genetics, but I have to call "Bulls***" on this theory.

Bravo. It has nothing to do with the genetics of soldiers. But it does have to do with diet or food shared by soldiers.

I figured out the food-prion cause of ALS. For years there have been articles about the prion-cause of ALS, but most articles compare it to Mad Cow. The way the disease unfolds is similar to Mad Cow, but the cow is not the cause of ALS.

The region of the world with the highest rates of ALS is the Faroe Islands and the Shetland Islands. They don't eat much beef there, but rather the primary diet in the Faroe Islands is LAMB!!!!

ALS global patterns coincide-correlate with ground lamb consumption.

On the Faroe Islands and Shetland Islands, they eat their own sheep. And they don't waste nor throw away any part. That includes sheep brains and head cheese from lamb... One of the quickest ways to consume prions is to eat the brains of the infected animal.

Those countries and regions of the world that eat sheep brains or make head cheese from lamb have even higher ALS rates than the rest of the world.

As for soldiers in the Armed Forces, ground lamb stew enters into their diet with basic training.

Ever hear about that Italian soccer team where every member of the team got ALS? Well, the whole team probably ate a ground lamb meal together and got infected by the same bad batch of ground lamb.

Sheep brains are the culprit.


NOT the genetics of soldiers.