December 16, 2008
by Stacey Hopwood
An extensive federal report released in November concludes that roughly one in four of the 697,000 U.S. veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf War suffer from Gulf War illness.
GWI is a condition now identified as the likely consequence of exposure to toxic chemicals, including pesticides and a drug administered by the military to protect troops against nerve gas.
The 452-page report states that "scientific evidence leaves no question that Gulf War illness is a real condition with real causes and serious consequences for affected veterans."
The report, compiled by a panel of scientific experts and veterans serving on the congressionally mandated Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses, fails to identify any cure for the malady. It also notes that few veterans afflicted with GWI have recovered over time.
Noting that overall funding for research into GWI has declined dramatically since 2001, it calls for a "renewed federal research commitment" to "identify effective treatments for Gulf War illness and address other priority Gulf War health issues."
According to the report, GWI is a "complex of multiple concurrent symptoms" that typically includes persistent memory and concentration problems, chronic headaches, widespread pain, gastrointestinal problems and other chronic abnormalities.
The illness also may be potentially tied to higher rates of ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease — among Gulf War veterans than veterans of other conflicts.
The illness is identified as the consequence of multiple "biological alterations" affecting the brain and nervous system. While it is sometimes difficult to give a specific diagnosis of the disease, it is, according to the report, no longer difficult to identify a cause.
The report identifies two Gulf War "neurotoxic" exposures that "are causally associated with GWI."
The first is the ingestion of pyridostigmine bromide pills, given to protect troops from effects of nerve agents. The second is exposure to dangerous pesticides used during the conflict.
The report does not rule out other possible contributors to GWI — including low-level exposure to nerve agents and close proximity to oil well fires — though it fails to establish any clear link.
The report does conclude there is no clear link between GWI and a veteran's exposure to substances such as depleted uranium or an anthrax vaccine administered at the time.
It also is noted that soldiers in the field today are not at risk for GWI, because the military is no longer using the PB pills or pesticides that led to the illness during 1990 and 1991.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has referred the report to the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine for review and recommendations. Because VA has traditionally and by law relied upon IOM for independent and credible reviews of the science behind veterans' health issues, no official VA response to the report's conclusions will be issued until the review is completed.
In other words, we still don't know if these findings will make the process of obtaining a service-connected disability easier or not. But, we do now have legitimate causes identified, and this should ease the burden of proving exposure for those Gulf War veterans who suffer from these chronic, multi-symptom conditions.
I certainly hope the VA does the right thing and designates certain conditions to be presumptively recognized for service-connection for Gulf War I veterans based on their in-country service, much like Vietnam veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange.
It's the least they can do for the men and women whose health has been irrevocably changed by their military service. They deserve no less.
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