Spina bifida is a spinal cord birth defect. A baby develops spina bifida while still in the womb. In some cases, a parent's past contact with specific chemicals causes this birth defect.
Achondroplasia. Cleft lip and cleft palate. Congenital heart disease. Congenital talipes equinovarus (clubfoot)
There is currently no definitive evidence that a father's exposure to Agent Orange causes birth defects. However, an analysis of Agent Orange registry data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) suggests a link between males' exposure to Agent Orange and having children with certain birth defects.
No association was found with percentage of abnormal sperm or low sperm count. No Ranch Hands in the low-or high-exposure categories had a high percentage of abnormal sperm. The odds ratio for low sperm count was 0.9 (CI 0.7-1.2) among men in the high dioxin category.
The investigators further evaluated the association between Agent Orange exposure and risk of miscarriage by performing an analysis of variance. They found that mean levels of Agent Orange exposure were higher in pregnancies that ended in miscarriage, after adjusting for mother's age and smoking during pregnancy.
Spina bifida (except spina bifida occulta), a defect in the developing fetus that results in incomplete closing of the spine, is associated with Veterans' exposure to Agent Orange or other herbicides during qualifying service in Vietnam or Korea.
U.S. animal tests show that genetic damage from dioxin in Agent Orange can be passed on to offspring, but species vary widely in how susceptible they are.
Conclusion. Agent Orange not only affected Veterans directly exposed to it, but it also affected generations of offspring after them.
Agent Orange has not only affected those with direct contact, but it has affected their families as well. Future generations are left to fight the residual effects of a war that ended nearly five decades ago.
These include slow movements, trouble speaking, stiff muscles, or tremors. A nervous system condition that causes numbness, tingling, and motor weakness. Under VA's rating regulations, it must be at least 10 percent disabling within one year of herbicide exposure.
Spina bifida is a spinal cord birth defect. A baby develops spina bifida while still in the womb. In some cases, a parent's past contact with specific chemicals causes this birth defect.
Common Birth Defects Caused by Agent Orange
Common birth defects include Spina bifida, Cleft lip, Congenital heart defects, limb defects such as missing or malformed fingers or toes, neural tube defects that cause problems to the brain or spinal cord, hernias, down syndrome, and other chromosomal disorders.
It has also been noticed that the adult children of Veterans who served in Vietnam and were exposed to Agent Orange also seem prone to autoimmune disorders. Autoimmune disease is only one of the illnesses caused by Agent Orange.
VA presumes that spina bifida in biological children of certain Vietnam-era Veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange was caused by the Veterans' military service. Eligible children may receive VA benefits.
In addition to studying how the environment was affected by the herbicides, the committee noted that local reports of stillbirths and birth defects might be linked to the dioxin contaminant in Agent Orange.
There is no evidence that dioxins can mutate DNA sequences; thus, genetic changes in sperm genes—as has been shown in connection with irradiation or the anticancer drug cyclophosphamide (Codrington et al., 2004)—due to preconception exposures to TCDD are not likely.
Agent Orange was extremely deadly because the U.S. sprayed 20 times more than the manufacturer recommended in the environment. The effects of Agent Orange use are still present today among Vietnam veterans and Vietnamese people living in central and southern Vietnam.
Symptoms of peripheral neuropathy can include numbness, tingling, and weakness in the hands and feet. Agent Orange exposure has also been associated with other neurological conditions, such as Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
For sons and daughters of Australian Vietnam veterans accepted into the programme, VVSDP will pay a range of medical costs related to treatment of the condition for which they were accepted. Costs may be paid in relation to: medical and dental assistance. public or private hospital costs.
Neurobehavioral difficulties involve two primary categories: cognitive decline, including memory problems and dementia; and neuropsychiatric disorders, including neurasthenia (a collection of symptoms including difficulty concentrating, headache, insomnia, and fatigue), depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), ...
| Original Story by Lauren Quinn for the University of Illinois College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. US aircraft sprayed 20 million gallons of herbicides across Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Dioxin, a contaminant in Agent Orange, persists today.
Unfortunately, there's no medical test or biological feature that can show that someone was exposed to Agent Orange or other herbicides, so the health exam cannot confirm that you were (or were not) exposed.
Answer and Explanation: The dioxin TCDD, the harmful contaminant of Agent Orange, can stay in the human body for decades. It is believed to have a chemical half-life of seven to 11 years.
Chloracne is a well established, long-term effect of exposure to TCDD or dioxin, a contaminant in Agent Orange. It is the only skin disorder consistently reported to be associated specifically with Agent Orange and other herbicides.