|
Yushchenko poisoning diagnosis rock solid Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/12/12/yushchenko/http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/12/12/yushchenko/
Poisoning diagnosis 'rock solid'
(CNN) -- The doctor who has overseen the treatment in Vienna of Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko says the diagnosis of dioxin poisoning is "rock solid," but says more information must be obtained before medical authorities can determine the candidate's prognosis.
Dr. Michael Zimpfer told CNN Sunday that he based his conclusion on a physical examination of the patient and "various blood tests" carried out at Vienna's Rudolfinerhaus Clinic and elsewhere.
Zimpfer told reporters over the weekend that the concentration of dioxin in Yushchenko's body was "1,000 times above the normal levels" and that he suspected "third-party involvement."
The revelation prompted Ukraine's prosecutor-general to reopen a probe into the opposition leader's illness.
"We have sent samples to a lab within Europe and also to labs across the Atlantic Ocean that claim to have vast experience, and they came up with the results," Zimpfer told CNN late Sunday.
Yushchenko has "a tremendous amount of dioxin in the blood," Zimpfer said, so much that "it's beyond the scale."
Yushchenko has accused Ukrainian authorities of having tried to poison him in the run-up to November's fraudulent presidential election.
Ukraine's Supreme Court voided the outcome after Yushchenko lost to Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, and a rerun of the contest is slated to be held on December 26.
The 50-year-old, then-telegenic campaigner was taken to the Vienna hospital in September, when he first fell ill. He resumed campaigning later in the month but with a pockmarked and badly disfigured face.
Given what little medical information has been released publicly, Yushchenko could have been exposed to any of about 20 dioxins or dioxin-like chemicals, said Dr. Arnold Schecter, professor of medicine at the University Texas School of Public Health at Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
Absent a detailed analysis by an accredited laboratory, "I don't know if they're talking about one or all the dioxins," he said.
"Some persist for decades ... some of the others start leaving the body very rapidly and will be completely gone in a few years, not a few decades."
In addition, he said, it was not clear whether the test used to verify the presence of dioxin in Yushchenko's blood was carried out by one of the approximately 40 such laboratories certified by the World Health Organization to analyze dioxin in blood, he said.
"If they used that kind of lab, and did the definitive test -- not just the cheap-and-dirty screening test -- then we could say which dioxin is elevated and could make a prognosis as to how long Mr. Yushchenko would be likely to be sick."
But Zimpfer would not divulge the names of the laboratories that carried out the tests or the details of their findings, citing privacy concerns and sensitivity by some government agencies that they could be perceived to be taking sides in the political debate.
Dioxin exposure can cause a host of ills, including irritability, insomnia, headaches, cramps, lethargy, cancer, underactive thyroid and diabetes, said Schecter, who has written a reference book on dioxins and health used by medical professionals.
"You absolutely need to know what laboratory did the analysis and what those results were," he said. "Which dioxins were there?"
"That's absolutely correct," agreed Zimpfer, who trained as an anesthesiologist and is director of Vienna's Rudolfinerhaus Hospital, which discharged Yushchenko Sunday.
"With regard to the distribution and elimination from the body, the kinetics of the poison in the body and also the final prognosis, we still are lagging behind."
Yushchenko suffered not only liver damage but damage to his gastrointestinal tract, small and large bowel, stomach and pancreas, Zimpfer said.
Still, Zimpfer said Yushchenko was in good spirits and feels good, though he remained on pain medication, was taking topical medication for his facial lesions and a medication intended to block the re-uptake of dioxin by the liver.
"He's in perfect strength, planning to go skiing in the near future and, in case he gets elected, he certainly has the strength and the mental vigor to run (the country)," said Zimpfer, who added that he supports neither side in the political contest.
In the hospital's news conference Sunday, Yushchenko, his U.S.-born wife Kateryna Chumachenko translating his words into English, made no mention of the suspicions of Zimpfer that his illness was "triggered by a third party." (Full story)
"I'm going to be leaving this clinic now," Yushchenko said, thanking the doctors and their team. "I am very happy to be alive in this world today, and I thank these people for this."
In September, when the symptoms first emerged, doctors did not suspect dioxin exposure, and instead diagnosed the facial rashes to be rosacea, a common skin disorder, Zimpfer said.
But suspicions that something else was occurring grew after the rash deepened into pock marks and Yushchenko soon developed overwhelming back pain.
The cause of that pain remained a mystery, though it had largely subsided, Zimpfer said.
Stumped as to the cause, Zimpfer said he appealed in early October to international colleagues for help.
He recently sent blood samples to laboratories in the United States, elsewhere in Europe and Russia, he said.
Though the Russian government scientists never responded, others helped him make the diagnosis, he said.
Still, a diagnosis is not a prognosis, and a reliable one could be critical for voters who must decide this month whether to make Yushchenko their president.
"We have so little to go on that you can't make an intelligent prognosis," Schecter said.
"If it's a really small amount (of dioxin), there won't be all that much damage very long. If it's a very large amount, he could be very much under the weather for years."
While only rarely used as a poison, dioxin can be easily obtained from any chemical supply house or it can be synthesized in a fairly simple procedure by a chemist, Schecter said. "One drop will do it."
The development is political dynamite in what has been a turbulent political few weeks in Ukraine, an election process that has drawn international attention with the West-leaning Yushchenko vying with the Russian-backed Yanukovich, in what has been seen as almost a proxy cold-war dispute.
State Department spokeswoman Joanne Moore said the United States had "seen the reports" and "(we) are deeply concerned about these findings."
"We urge Ukrainian authorities to investigate this matter. We hope for Mr. Yushchenko's full recovery. We look forward to a free and fair election that reflects the will of the Ukrainian people on December 26th."
CNN Moscow Bureau Chief Jill Dougherty contributed to this report.
|
|
