Gulf War Chemicals Can Damage Testes
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War Chemicals Can Damage Testes
Date:
Sun, 19 Jan 2003 13:36:21 -0500
From:
Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization: Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)
To: Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov>
Director, State of California, Department of Pesticide
Regulation
cc: Christine Whitman whitman.christine@epa.gov
Gulf War Chemicals Can Damage Testes
DURHAM, North Carolina, January 14, 2003 (ENS) - A combination of chemicals given to protect Gulf War soldiers against diseases and nerve gas may have damaged their testes and sperm production, suggest animal experiments performed at Duke University Medical Center. The new study could explain why some veterans have experienced infertility, sexual dysfunction, and other genitourinary symptoms, said Dr. Mohamed Abou Donia, a Duke pharmacologist. Three chemicals were given to soldiers to protect them against insect borne diseases and nerve gas poisoning: the insect repellent DEET, the insecticide permethrin, and the anti-nerve gas agent pyridostigmine bromide. In a study designed to mimic those same conditions, Abou Donia and his colleagues gave rats equivalent doses to what the soldiers received. When given together, the chemicals caused extensive cell degeneration and cell death with various structures of the testes, he found. The damage was even more severe among rats that were exposed to stressful situations in addition to the chemicals. Results of the study, funded by the Department of Defense, appear in the January 10 issue of "The Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health." "It appears that moderate stress, combined with the three chemicals, caused the most severe deterioration in testicular structure and sperm production, and these conditions were likely experienced by some Gulf War soldiers in the combat environment," said Abou Donia, principal investigator of the study.
See further the article http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2003/2003-01-14-09.asp#anchor2
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