My grandfather died last November. He had severe dementia, organ failure, type 2 diabetes, and severe PTSD. All of this was caused from his time in the Vietnam war and swimming around in Agent Orange (AO). Agent Orange is a herbicide that was used to clear foliage during the war in Vietnam and it is still used today by farmers on their crops. This toxic chemical has led to the destruction of the environment, individual lives, families, and countries.
During the Vietnam war, the United States sprayed around 11 million gallons of AO over 20 million acres of Vietnam land. During this times, around 3 million American soldiers may have been exposed to his chemical, and the amount of people living in Vietnam impacted by AO is unknown due to the amount used.
AO contains the chemical Dioxin that attacks the mitochondria which can result in life threatening diseases such as cancer. The cellular machinery and cellular function is damaged by the chemical and promotes tumor progression. The most harmful of the Dioxin's is the Tetracholorodibenxosioxin (TCDD) and this targets the subunits of the mitochondria that converts oxygen and nutrients into cell fuel. TCDD induces the mitochondria-to-nucleus stress signaling which results in the expression of tumor promotion and metastasis.
Arylhydrocarbon (AhR) receptors play an important role in this as TCDD can directly bind to the protein subunit. This beings transcription activation and impacts fatty acid metabolism, cell cycle regulation, and immune response. By directly targeting the mitochondria, TCDD impacts the power house of the cell making it difficult to preform regulation.
Agent Orange has been linked to many life altering diseases such as:
- AL Amyloidosis
- Bladder Cancer
- Chronic B-cell Leukemias
- Chronic Lymphocytic leukemia
- Chloracne
- Diabetes Mellitus Type 2
- Hypertension
- Hodgkin's Disease
- Hypothyroidism
- Ischemic Heart Disease
- Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance (MGUS)
- Multiple Myeloma
- Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
- Parkinsonism
- Parkinson's Disease
- Peripheral Neuropathy
- Early Onset
- Acute
- Subacute
- Porphyria Cutanea Tarda
- Prostate Cancer
- Respiratory Cancers
- Soft Tissue Sarcomas
- Birth Defects of Offspring
Agent Orange chemical, Dioxin, attacks the Mitochondria to cause cancer, says Penn research team. (2007). Penn Today. https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/agent-orange-chemical-dioxin-attacks-mitochondria-cause-cancer-says-penn-research-team.
Cleveland Clinic. (2023). Agent orange effects & symptoms. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/24689-agent-orange-effects.
Committee to Review the Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans of Exposure to Herbicides (Tenth Biennial Update); Board on the Health of Select Populations; Institute of Medicine; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2014. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2016 Mar 29. 10, Effects on Veterans' Descendants. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK356077/.
Agent Orange has had detrimental affects on individuals who served in the military but also the generations and children of these veterans. My grandfather was also exposed to agent orange from his service in the air force. From his time around agent orange he gained many health issues and primarily heart complications. He was perfectly healthy before his service but died early due to his many heart and health issues. But one aspect of agent orange that is less known or "hidden" is the generational health issues that arose due to exposure to agent orange. My mother and aunt (his biological children) and my brother and I have unique health complications that can be tied to his exposure. A study looking at generational health issues due to agent orange exposure would be interesting and help define its real impact as it is often brushed under the rug.
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