Gulf War Syndrome Report Released

I’m baaaaaaack…. been away from posting for too long… lots of reasons, a few excuses, and just too dang much in my life that has gone even further South than usual. Someday when it’s calmed down again I’ll post about it.

Maybe.

Onward.

The official recognition of Gulf War Syndrome as a biologically based illness has been a long time in coming. Too long. Finally, however, the official findings from the the U.S. Veteran Administration’s Congressionally mandated “Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses” were released on Monday, Nov. 17th, 2008.

My one-line version of the Executive summary: GWS sure ain’t psychsomatic or psychiatric in origin.

Well, duh!

It’s way past time for our medical community and citizens to quit misdiagnosing the victims of toxic exposures as slackers, malingerers and psychosomatic hypochondriacs.

Among the report’s conclusions:

“Evidence strongly and consistently indicates that two Gulf War neurotoxic exposures are causally associated with Gulf War illness: 1) use of pyridostigmine bromide (PB) pills, given to protect troops from effects of nerve agents, and 2) pesticide use during deployment.”

and

“Gulf War illness is associated with diverse biological alterations that most prominently affect the brain and nervous system. Research findings in veterans with Gulf War illness include significant differences in brain structure and function, autonomic nervous system function, neuroendocrine and immune measures, and measures associated with vulnerability to neurotoxic chemicals.”

and

“A question often asked about Gulf War illness is why some Gulf War military personnel developed chronic symptoms during and after deployment, while others who served along side them remained well. It is well established that some people are more vulnerable to adverse effects of certain chemicals than others, due to variability in biological processes that neutralize those chemicals, and clear them from the body. The enzyme paraoxonase (PON1) circulates in the blood and hydrolyzes organophosphate compounds such as pesticides and nerve agents, converting them to relatively harmless chemicals that are then excreted. Individuals who produce different types and amounts of PON1 differ, sometimes dramatically, in their ability to neutralize different organophosphate compounds.

In other words, if you are one of the unlucky 20 percent of the U.S. population who doesn’t have the form of the gene that tells your body to produce PON1, your body doesn’t have the ability to produce the enzyme that neutralizes chemicals like organophosphate pesticides - or at best has a severely reduced ability to neutralize these chemicals.

That means that vets who have Gulf War Syndrome – and individuals who have toxic injury, chemical injury and multiple chemical sensitivities – are literally missing the key enzyme that protects the rest of the population from the life-threatening effects of these substances.

It’s no wonder they’re ill – they’ve quite literally been poisoned.

For the full report in pdf format (it’s large – 450 pages, 7Mb), click here.

If you know a veteran who has GWS, or have a family member or friend that suffers from toxic injury, chemical injury, or multiple chemical sensitivies, tell them about this report. It’s a must-read.