New Evidence for the Gulf War Syndrome

For nearly two decades, the federal government of the United States has refused to even consider the fact that the Gulf War Syndrome may be an actual disease. Veterans returning from the first fight against Saddam Hussein's forces started complaining of a host of symptoms that became apparent as they retired from active duty. Now, at a recent scientific meeting, researchers have demonstrated that not one, but three subtypes of the GWS exist, which in their minds represent definitive proof that the condition is real. Their arguments were backed up by brain scans every step of the way, Wired reports.

On March 10, experts speaking at the annual meeting of the Society of Toxicology, in Salt Lake City, Utah, showed unambiguous evidence that GWS was indeed a legitimate illness. As proof, the teams that presented their findings at the conference brought brain-wave measurements and images taken from brain scans performed via functional Magnetic resonance Imaging (fMRI). University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center expert Robert Haley and his team raised the bar further, presenting three distinct subtypes of the disease, each with its own properties, and distinctive symptoms. Each of the three types of GWS was correlated with different abnormalities in the brains of patients.

Haley conducted his investigation with grant money secured from the Department of Defense, and also from the Department of Veterans Affairs. These institutions supported the investigation because a large number of the 175,000 troops that fought in the first Gulf War complained about various, unspecified symptoms. People suffering from GWS tend to exhibit sudden vertigo, uncontrollable mood swings, concentration impairments, confusion, numbness or intense pain throughout the body. Haley therefore put together a team of 140 scientists to investigate the phenomenon. Some conducted animal tests, whereas others developed genetic tests for the condition. With this army of experts, science on GWS has advanced more in the past 2 years than it did in the last 15, experts say.

“Our data now clearly show, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that there are brain abnormalities – physiological differences – between ill veterans and normal ones. […] We can tell the ill veterans from the well veterans. And we can distinguish syndromes one, two and three from each other,” the team leader said at the meeting. “We’re going to come up with tests whereby doctors can diagnose affected vets,” Haley also added, saying that continuing with brain imaging methods may in the near future provide science with the means necessary to treat the veterans.