What a mouthful!
We won't address all of it in this post, but we might get around to it one day.
A written note on a page of my VA disability claim reads "Polycystic Kidney Disease is hereditary".
The statement is only partly true. Read the following two paragraphs from the PKD Foundation:
How does PKD spread?
Because PKD is an inherited disorder, the dominant form of the disease
(ADPKD) is passed from one generation to the next by an affected
parent. Each child of an ADPKD parent has a 50 percent chance of
inheriting the disease. Scientists have also discovered that
approximately 10% of the PKD patient community became affected through
spontaneous mutation, and not through inheritance. ADPKD equally
affects men and women, regardless of age, race, or ethnic origin.
In ADPKD there is also approximately a 10 percent rate of spontaneous
mutation. This means that instead of inheriting the ADPKD gene from a
parent with the disease, the gene mutates by itself for no known
reason. It is important to know that even with a true spontaneous
mutation, a newly affected person will still pass the mutated gene on
to his/her children.
Say it again! 10% of the PKD patient community became affected through
spontaneous mutation, and not through inheritance.
None of my relatives have ever had kidney disease.
Read two more paragraphs from PKD.CURE:
What are the symptoms of PKD?
Early in the disease there generally are no symptoms at all. In fact,
many people are never diagnosed with ADPKD because they have so few or
no symptoms. Often the first sign of ADPKD is high blood pressure,
blood in the urine or a feeling of heaviness/pain in the back, sides
or abdomen. Sometimes the first sign is urinary tract infection and/or
kidney stones.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, affects about 60 percent to 70
percent of people with ADPKD. High blood pressure begins early in the
course of ADPKD. In ADPKD it seems that the most likely reason for
high blood pressure is the constricting of blood vessels. In ADPKD,
cysts can press on blood vessels in the kidney, resulting in decreased
blood flow to some parts of the kidney. Sensors in the nephron react
as though the blood pressure in the kidney was low; renin is then
secreted, which in turn generates angiotensin, constricting the blood
vessels, and causing high blood pressure. If not treated, hypertension
damages the kidneys, enlarges the heart and can cause strokes.
High blood pressure was present in me before I learned that I also had PKD.
PKD either caused or contributed to my various cardovascular problems - heart attach, triple bypass, strokes, headaches, dizziness, low ejection rate, blood clots, and more.
To read the entire Q&A, used the URL below
http://www.pkdcure.org/site/PageServer?pagename=adpkd_faq
Environmental conditions can cause spontaneous mutation.
Some veterans are submitting claims based on Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam. Others' claims are based on exposure to ionizing radiation. My claim is based on both.
Pressure is mounting to include cardiovascular diseases as presumptiveforAgent Orange.
Read the paragraph below:
Data Suggest A Possible Association Between Agent Orange Exposure And
Hypertension, But The Evidence Is Limited, USA
A new report from the Institute of Medicine finds suggestive but
limited evidence that exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides
used during the Vietnam War is associated with an increased chance of
developing high blood pressure in some veterans...
To read the full article, please go to:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/78201.php
Many types of cancer are already presumptive with Agent Orange or Ionizing Radiation. Since cancers are genetic and other diseases, such as PKD, are genetic, why does the VA handle them differently. As far as I've been able to determine from internet articles is that the VA requested that studies be done on the cancers, but they did not ask for studies on other genetic diseases.
Posted by Bill Ricks of Soperton
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