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Graves’ Disease Found To Be Caused By Agent Orange

Vietnam Veterans exposed to Agent Orange appear to have a significant increase in Graves’ disease. Graves’ Disease is a thyroid disorder which causes an autoimmune condition. "The autoimmune disorder was three times more prevalent among veterans who encountered the dioxin-containing chemical. We also looked at other thyroid diagnoses, but we didn’t find any significant differences in thyroid cancer or nodules." says Ajay Varasi, an endocrinologist who presented the study for the AACE in April.

Agent Orange is a defoliant that was used in Vietnam to remove leaves from jungle trees to make fighting easier, and to destroy crops to weaken enemy troops supply of food.

Because Agent Orange contains Dioxin, a chemical that can behave much like the hormones the thyroid produces, it was suspected that it might increase the risk of thyroid cancer.  The study found however that thyroid cancer was no more prevalent in people exposed to agent orange, but Graves’ Disease was three times as likely in the group which had been exposed to agent orange.

Additional authors on the study are Toufic Abdo, MD, David Kasinski, Amy O’Donnell, MD, and Stephen Spaulding, MD, all associated with UB.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB’s more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.

-- Brandon Wirtz

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