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Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Monsanto hid Roundup’s Cancer Risk According to California Lawsuit
Not that it is a stranger to product liability considering it was the primary maker of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, but St. Louis-based chemical giant Monsanto may be facing a plethora of class-action lawsuits over one of its flagship products, Roundup weed killer. In March, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the herbicide in Roundup, glyphosate, a “probable human carcinogen.” The declaration was followed-up by several countries banning or severely restricting the use of glyphosate, including the Netherlands, Bermuda, and Sri Lanka, with France banning it for use in gardens in June. Glyphosate is the world’s most common herbicide, with the most recent data from the U.S. Geological Survey estimating that 280 million pounds of it was used in the U.S. in 2012. Out of the 130 countries that still permit the product; the U.S. is by far the Monsanto’s largest consumer with over 20 percent of global sales. That may change, however, as California has followed the WHO’s lead earlier in the month. The state’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) issued a “notice of intent” that it will also list glyphosate as a probable carcinogen, which is required by the state’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 for any product that the WHO’s cancer division lists as a carcinogen. The OEHHA classification requires companies with 10 or more employees in the state to provide a “clear and reasonable warning” of any product on the list of its dangers.
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Monday, September 28, 2015
Labor Day in PCB..... Summer's Last Blast
Cajun pal Vickie flew in for Labor Day. We had a lovely time. Hung out on the beach every day, did our Happy Hour at The Liq, Had dinners at Montego Bay, Los Rancheros, Saltwater Grill (my new favorite!) and of course, Dee's Hangout for the best food on the beach!
One night, Judy and Ray had us over to their place for a pizza/buffalo wing party. Great folks!
Dee's Hangout
Saltwater Grill
Dee's Hangout
Saltwater Grill
Montego Bay
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| Jim, Judy, Vickie, Ray |
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| Montego Bay |
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| Dee's Hangout |
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| Our Kevin |
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| Oysters Four Ways at Dee's Hangout |
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| Sunrise |
Thursday, September 3, 2015
More Evidence Agent Orange Causes Cancer
Researchers have found more evidence that Agent Orange causes cancer in Vietnam-era veterans who worked with it.
The study of 479 veterans who were involved in Agent Orange defoliation missions during the war shows they have more than twice the risk of developing a blood condition that can lead to cancer as similar veterans who didn't work with the chemical.
The condition is called monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance or MGUS for short. It's a precursor for multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer.
Agent Orange was used to strip Vietnamese and Cambodian jungles and fields by U.S. forces during the Vietnam war. It refers to several herbicides, nicknamed for the orange stripe on the barrels in which they were stored. They include 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid.
The worst effects are seen among the people living in the areas sprayed.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes that Agent Orange causes multiple myeloma as wells as several types of leukemia, other cancers, diabetes, heart disease and Parkinson's disease. Veterans who can show they were exposed to it are supposed to get medical care for such conditions and they can get disability compensation.
Dr. Ola Landgren of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and colleagues compared 479 Americans involved in Operation Ranch Hand spraying missions to 479 veterans who were not.
They found 7 percent of the Operation Ranch Hand vets had MGUS, compared to 3 percent of other veterans.
"Our findings of increased MGUS risk among Ranch Hand veterans supports an association between Agent Orange exposure and multiple myeloma," they wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association's JAMA Oncology.
JUMP for links
The study of 479 veterans who were involved in Agent Orange defoliation missions during the war shows they have more than twice the risk of developing a blood condition that can lead to cancer as similar veterans who didn't work with the chemical.
The condition is called monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance or MGUS for short. It's a precursor for multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer.
Agent Orange was used to strip Vietnamese and Cambodian jungles and fields by U.S. forces during the Vietnam war. It refers to several herbicides, nicknamed for the orange stripe on the barrels in which they were stored. They include 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid.
The worst effects are seen among the people living in the areas sprayed.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes that Agent Orange causes multiple myeloma as wells as several types of leukemia, other cancers, diabetes, heart disease and Parkinson's disease. Veterans who can show they were exposed to it are supposed to get medical care for such conditions and they can get disability compensation.
Dr. Ola Landgren of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and colleagues compared 479 Americans involved in Operation Ranch Hand spraying missions to 479 veterans who were not.
They found 7 percent of the Operation Ranch Hand vets had MGUS, compared to 3 percent of other veterans.
"Our findings of increased MGUS risk among Ranch Hand veterans supports an association between Agent Orange exposure and multiple myeloma," they wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association's JAMA Oncology.
JUMP for links
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
What is Multiple Myeloma?
Multiple myeloma is a hematological (blood) cancer that develops in the plasma cells found in the soft, spongy tissue at the center of your bones, called bone marrow. Plasma cells are a type of white blood cell responsible for producing antibodies (immunoglobulins) which are critical for maintaining the body’s immune system. Through a complex, multi-step process, healthy plasma cells transform in malignant myeloma cells.
Myeloma cells result in the production of abnormal antibodies, or M proteins. A high level of M protein in the blood is the hallmark characteristic of multiple myeloma. Additionally, all myeloma cells are identical to each other and produce large quantities of the same specific M protein (for example, IgG or IgA). The M proteins offer no benefit to the body, and as the amount of M protein increases, it crowds out normally functioning immunoglobulins. This ultimately causes multiple myeloma symptoms such as bone damage or kidney problems.
In healthy bone marrow, B-cells, a type of white blood cell, develop into antibody-producing plasma cells when foreign substances (antigens) enter the body. In multiple myeloma, DNA damage to a B-cell transforms the normal plasma cell into a multiple myeloma cell. The cancerous cell multiplies, leaving less space for normal blood cells in the bone marrow, and produces large quantities of M protein.
Multiple Myeloma typically occurs in bone marrow with the most activity, which is the marrow in the spine, pelvic bones, ribs, and area of the shoulders and hips. In addition, groups of myeloma cells cause other cells in the bone marrow to remove the solid part of the bone and cause osteolytic lesions, or soft spots in the bone, resulting in weakened bones and increasing the risk of fractures. Although common, these lesions or other signs of bone loss do not occur in all patients with myeloma.
In addition, groups of myeloma cells cause other cells in the bone marrow to remove the solid part of the bone and cause osteolytic lesions, or soft spots in the bone, resulting in weakened bones and increasing the risk of fractures. Although common, these lesions or other signs of bone loss do not occur in all patients with multiple myeloma.
Learn More about Multiple Myeloma Here
Myeloma cells result in the production of abnormal antibodies, or M proteins. A high level of M protein in the blood is the hallmark characteristic of multiple myeloma. Additionally, all myeloma cells are identical to each other and produce large quantities of the same specific M protein (for example, IgG or IgA). The M proteins offer no benefit to the body, and as the amount of M protein increases, it crowds out normally functioning immunoglobulins. This ultimately causes multiple myeloma symptoms such as bone damage or kidney problems.
Multiple Myeloma typically occurs in bone marrow with the most activity, which is the marrow in the spine, pelvic bones, ribs, and area of the shoulders and hips. In addition, groups of myeloma cells cause other cells in the bone marrow to remove the solid part of the bone and cause osteolytic lesions, or soft spots in the bone, resulting in weakened bones and increasing the risk of fractures. Although common, these lesions or other signs of bone loss do not occur in all patients with myeloma.
In addition, groups of myeloma cells cause other cells in the bone marrow to remove the solid part of the bone and cause osteolytic lesions, or soft spots in the bone, resulting in weakened bones and increasing the risk of fractures. Although common, these lesions or other signs of bone loss do not occur in all patients with multiple myeloma.
Learn More about Multiple Myeloma Here
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