Gulf War research

Three articles have been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on illness among US Gulf War veterans which may begin to help doctors identifying Gulf War syndrome.  
    A study(1) compares three groups of veterans: 23 with illnesses, and controls of ten unaffected Gulf War veterans and ten unaffected veterans who had not been in the Gulf. It concludes that there are three related illnesses or groups of symptoms (syndromes) that derive from a general injury to the nervous systems. The second study (2) also compares the risk factors between veterans who were ill and those who were not. It concludes that some veterans may have delayed chronic neurotoxic syndromes from wartime exposure to combinations of chemicals that inhibit cholinesterase -including anti-nerve gas agents and OP pesticides - and that these syndromes are best explained as variants of organophosphate-induced delayed polyneuropathy.
    One syndrome identified is 'impaired cognition' - characterised by distractibility, difficulty in remembering, depression, insomnia, fatigue, slurring of speech, confused thought processes, and migraine- like headaches- and is prevalent in younger cases. The second study reports that this seems to be associated with soldiers who wore a pet-type flea collar against insects and also with night time duty when the soldiers may have been exposed to insecticide sprays.
    A second syndrome -'confusion-ataxia'- was manifest by problems in thinking and reasoning, confusion and disorientation, problems with balance and impotence and high occupational disability. This syndrome seems to be associated with adverse effects following treatment with anti-nerve gas agents.
    The third syndrome -'neuro-myo-arthropathy' - was characterised by general joint and muscle pains, muscle weakness and tiredness and parasthaesia. This syndrome was associated with exposure to sprays containing the insecticide deet and to anti-nerve gas agents.
    The third paper compares illness in veterans with similar conditions among military personnel on active duty at the same time but not deployed in the Gulf(3) and concludes that from a survey of 3,695 subjects, soldiers in the Gulf had a higher self-reported incidence of medical and psychiatric conditions than those soldiers who were not.  

1. Haley, R.W., Hom, J., et al. Evaluation of Neurologic Function in Gulf War Veterans-A Blinded Case-Control Study, Journal of the American Medical Association, 1997, 277:3, 223-230.
2. Haley, R.W. & Kurt, T.L., Self-Reported Exposure to Neurotoxic Chemical Combinations in the Gulf War- A Cross-Sectional Epidemiologic Study, Journal of the American Medical Association, 1997, 277:3, 231-237.
3. The Iowa Persian Gulf Study Group. Self-Reported Illness and Health Status Among Gulf War Veterans, Journal of the American Medical Association, 1997, 277:3, 238-245.

[This article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 35, March 1997, page 7]