"Veterans and Agent Orange Update 1996: Summary and Research Highlights" by the US National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine

In March 1996, the National Academy of Sciences [6] of the United States released "Veterans and Agent Orange Update 1996: Summary and Research Highlights," which summarized research on the health effects of Agent Orange and other herbicides used in the Vietnam War. In their 1996 report, the National Academy connects Agent Orange exposure with two health conditions: spina bifida [7], a birth defect that occurs when the spinal cord develops improperly, and peripheral neuropathy, a nervous system condition in which the peripheral nerves are damaged. Spina bifida was the first birth defect to linked to Agent Orange exposure. The resulting disability compensation for affected children, as a result of the conclusions in the 1996 report, marked the first time that the US Veterans Administration addressed the health outcomes of veterans' families, and not exclusively veterans themselves.