Veterans blinded

Dorus and colleagues (1989) conducted a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in depressed and nondepressed alcoholic veterans. A total of 457 male alcoholic patients, of whom approximately one-third were depressed, were randomly assigned to receive either 600-1,200 mg/day of lithium or a comparable number of placebo capsules. No significant differ-... 

Irritable aggression and intrusive thoughts in post-traumatic stress disorder are reduced by low-dose risperidone as adjunctive therapy, according to the results of a double-blind, randomized trial in 16 male combat veterans, who took either risperidone (n = 7 mean age 49 years) or placebo (n = 8 mean age 54 years) for 6 weeks one subject taking risperidone dropped out because of urinary retention (45). Concurrent antidepressant medication and anxiolytic drugs were allowed in both groups. 

Shortly after World War I, blind veterans began to use dog guides as a means of mobility. Indeed, like the use of Braille, the dog guide has become another stereotype associated with the group as a whole. Sadly, the elderly... 

The life story of Canadian Lieutenant Eddie Baker demonstrates a heartwarming example of progress. Baker was blinded in WWI by sniper fire. After the war, he devoted himself to improving the fives of blinded veterans. He raised the funds used to start the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) and, later, was involved in the development of eye banks. The downstream effect of his efforts was the first cornea transplant in Canada, performed in 1956 on a WWI veteran, 40 years after he was blinded by gas (Wilton, 1996). While this is wonderfijl medical progress, it cannot undo the fact that there is still no antidote against SM. 

Compared to the amount of research that has been invested in the study of SM skin injury, the eye has received relatively little attention during the last 20-30 years. The eye is, however, a target tissue that has a high potential for successful intervention against SM. There has been some use of comeal transplantation after mustard gas injury however, there is a high risk for transplant rejection due to inflammation and vascularization of the cornea. Despite this, keratoplasty has been used successfully in some blinded Iraq-Iran conflict veterans (Richter et al., 2006). It is likely to be one of the more successful techniques to restore vision to severely exposed individuals, especially if the limbus is also transplanted. This is needed to provide an additional supply of comeal epithelial stem cells, which become depleted over the years of trying to heal the SM latent wounds. 

Wilton, P. (1996). First cornea transplants meant blind WWI veterans saw first sights in 40 years. Can. Med. Assoc. J. 155 1325-6. Wulf, H.C., Aasted, A., Darre, E. Niebuhr, E. (1985). Sister chromatid exchanges in fishermen exposed to leaking mustard gas shells. Lancet i 690-1. 

Haley R, Horn J, Roland, P et al. (1997a). Evaluation of neurologic function in Gulf War veterans a blinded case-control study. J Am Med Assoc, 277,223-230. 

Gryhoski J, Weinstein D, Ordway NK Toxic encephalopathy apparently related to the use of an insect repellent. N Engl J Med 264 289-291, 1961 Haley RW, Kurt TL Self-reported exposure to neurotoxic chemical combinations in the Gulf War a cross-sectional epidemiologic study. JAMA 277 231-237,1997 Haley RW, Horn J, Roland PS, et al Evaluation of neurologic function in Gulf War veterans a blinded case-control study. JAMA 277 223-230, 1997a... 

This survey would not be complete without mentioning the Veratrum alkaloids (whose use is limited because of their emetic effect) as well as hydralazine and reserpine. Both of these latter agents still hold a prominent place in the clinical management of patients with hypertension. The placebo-controlled double-blind studies carried out in the Veterans Administration Cooperative Study on Antihypertensive Agents (I) indicated that hydralazine... 

Haley, R.W., Horn, J., Roland, P.S., et al.. Evaluation of neurological function in Gulf War veterans A blinded case-control study, JAMA, 277, 223, 1997. 

Zohar j, Amital D, Miodownik C et al. Double-blind placebo-controlled pilot study of sertraline in military veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder, j Clin Psychopharmacol 2002 22 190-195. 

The Veterans Affairs High-Density Lipoprotein Intervention Trial (VAHIT) study (36), was a double-blind randomized controlled trial in 2531 men with CAD whose major lipid abnormality was a low HDL-C of 40 mg/dL or less, treated with gemfibrozil during aperiod of 5.1 years. There was a 22% reduction in the primary end points, the risk of death from CAD or nonfatal MI, with an absolute risk reduction of 4%. The 22% reduction in major CAD was associated with a 6% increase in HDL-C, 33% decrease in TG, and no change in LDL-C levels. 

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