Fw: OPENING UP THE DEBATE

[Guest guest]

From: " Livsey (by way of ilena rose) "

<BRENDA@...>

Sent: Sunday, June 03, 2001 6:11 PM

Subject: OPENING UP THE DEBATE (Please post)

> We have been given permission to share the following letter, written to

the

> Independent Review Group in the UK, by the Chief Scientific Adviser to the

> GULF WAR VETERANS' ASSOCIATION. Please use it as you will.

> ---------------------------------------------------------------------

> From Malcolm Hooper PH.D., B.Pharm.,C.Chem.,MRIC,

> Emeritus Professor of Medicinal Chemistry,

> School Sciences,

> Fleming Building,

> Wharncliffe Street,

> University of Sunderland,

> SUNDERLAND , SR2 3SD

> UNITED KINGDOM.

>

> Phone +44 191-515-2501. Fax +44 191-515-2502.

> Public Relations Office +44 191-515-2691

>

> Dear Dr. Austin,

> My apologises for this late reply to your letter which is due to many

> absences from home over the past few months. Thank you for your patience.

>

> 1. My association with ACTION AGAINST SILICONE GEL-UK(AASG) came about

> through my involvement with the Gulf War Veterans (GWV's), in this country

> and the USA. A number of common issues are shared by AASG, the GWVs and

> many other groups campaigning for the same ends, such as responsible

> science, open justice, access to information, and full participation in

the

> debate with unconstrained agendas.

>

> 2. As a result of a number of very public failures in the mechanics of

> Central Government - notably Organophosphate pesticides,( OPs),

> B.S.E.,Radiation Associated Illnesses, the use of Depleted Uranium, Gene

> Modified Crops and Food, the current Foot & Mouth Outbreak, it has become

> evident that there is a growing distrust of official assurances and the

> science

> presented to support the establishments/official stance. The recent

> Conference on May 2nd 2001 on this subject. All too often the open and

> disinterested inquiry and integrity of science is found/thought to be

> compromised by Commercial, Political and Military interests that pre-empt

> any independent investigation. All too often bland assurances are given

> which turn out to be quite unsubstantiated - see BSE Inquiry. Sometimes

> people and organisations are sacrificed to maintain and protect those at

the

> heart of some of these events who have made serious and damaging

> decisions -see the Maxtrix Churchill Fiasco (Arms to Iraq)

>

> 3. What is clear from these diverse fields of interest is the control of

> Advisory Committee Membership, the limiting of agendas and terms of

> reference of any Inquiries, the obvious association of vested interests in

> these different areas involve huge commercial and political stakes. It

was

> this awareness that led me to write to ROSE IRWIN in the letter that you

> kindly copied to me with your letter.

>

> An example is the issue of OPs and the reports from the Ministry of

Defence

> and Minstry of Agriculture, Food & Fisheries. Initally there was denial

of

> any involvement of OPs in the GULF WAR and gradually there emerged

evidence

> of very extensive use and little or no conformity with all the established

> safety procedures. Subsequently, Soames (Minister) had to

> apologise to the House of Commons for these deceptions and failures. The

> Official Inquiry makes salutary reading - see Hooper 2000a. After this

> there were a number of official inquiries to which evidence was invited.

The

> Committee on Toxic Substances, (COTS) published a major report which

> deliberately excluded any consideration of the well known and extensively

> documented effects of OPs on the Immune System - COTS report 1999. A

> further report from the Institute of Medicine, Edinburgh, concluded that

> only the handling of the pesticide concentrates were associated with any

> chronic long term effects of these compounds. Unfortunately the study

was

> only concerned with the farmers who were still working and there was no

> consideration of the farmers who had become too ill to work. The study

> groups and committees had many members drawn from the industry and/or

people

> who received extensive funding from the industry.

>

> 4. The purpose of the above illustration is to make it obligatory for all

> members of the IRG to have all the necessary information about their

current

> and previous links with industry, government and medicine made absolutely

> transparent and for the IRG to include among its regular membership people

> drawn from campaigning groups. Obviously they too will have to be

utterly

> transparent in their membership declaration.

>

> 5. It is impossible to emphasise this point too much. Science and

public

> service are falling into disrepute among the public and there is a growing

> cynicism that all involved in these issues cannot be trusted. Only money

> and influence count, not the truth.

>

> 6. I do not regard myself as an expert in this field but the concerns

> about breast implants and serious adverse clinical effects has been well

> expressed by the AASG-UK group supported by some clinicians, such as Dr.

> Myhill and others.

>

> 7. The immunotoxicity and antigenicity of silicone implants have been

> identified in the literature in many publications and cannot be new to

your

> committee. See for example, Asa et al 1999; Brautber et al 1995; Bridges

et

> al 1993; Naim et al 1997; Nicholson et al 1996; Sergott et al 1986;

Tenebaum

> et al 1997; Yoshida et al 1994.

>

> 8. The signs and symptoms found in these cases show considerable

overflow

> with those found in " Syndromes of Uncertain Origin " , Merck Manual 1999.

> These syndromes commonly show no significant changes in routine

biochemical

> tests, leading to the sufferers being dismissed and ignored.

>

> 9. Recently, considerable overlap between the symptoms of many of these

> syndromes has been proposed with a shared biochemical dysfunction

involving

> extensive disturbances of the Neuro-Endocrine-Immune Axis which provides a

> consistent and coherent paradigm for investigating these syndromes, Hooper

> 2000, this paradigm is widely used in the practice of holistic medicine

> exemplified by the British Society for Allergy, Environmental and

> Nutritional Medicine - see www.bsaenm.org and the Institute of Functional

> Medicine - see www.fxmed.org

>

> I trust that you will give this brief response your careful consideration

> and involve members of AASG-UK in the full committee and not simply as

> witnesses who give evidence but have no say in the writing of the final

> report. I am copying this letter to Rose Irwin and Dr. Myhill for

> information and as an appropriate courtesy.

>

> Yours sincerely

> MALCOLM HOOPER.

>

> ____________________________________

>

> Our thanks to Malcolm for this terrific letter. References can be

> supplied by us on request.

> Sincerely.

> Rose Irwin

> Action Against Silicone Gel - UK

>

>