ALS registry is there for vets

Combat Operations are over in Iraq, declared President Obama earlier this year. So the Iraq war has ended. Our troops have returned home. But what the American public doesn't know is that for some veterans, the war has just begun.

That's because they are returning home only to be diagnosed with and die from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. The disease strikes veterans at twice the rate as the general public. It has no treatment, no cure; only death in two to five years.

And it doesn't matter if vets served in World War II, Iraq or never even left the United States. They are at greater risk of ALS.

Why? Is it head trauma, which recent headlines also suggest is the reason why more and more NFL players seem to be developing ALS? Is it physical activity, exposure to chemicals? We just don't know.

But the government is doing something about it.

Just a few weeks ago, the Centers for Disease Control launched a national registry of ALS patients, www.cdc.gov/ALS. The registry is the first comprehensive, nationwide effort to identify not only who gets ALS, but why.

Indeed, the registry may help us learn why our veterans are developing ALS. It may tell us why NFL players are developing the disease and why your neighbor has ALS. And it will help us find a treatment.

But not enough people know about the registry. It was forgotten by the press. As the daughter, granddaughter, and niece of ALS patients and proud wife of a U.S. Marine, I hope the media will remember that our veterans and thousands of other Americans are fighting a war against ALS.

And that the ALS Registry is there to help them fight back.

Lindsey Borjas

Round Lake