Personal Injury Law

Federal Report: Gulf War Illness Is Real

By Chrissie Cole

Gulf War syndrome, dismissed by many as a psychosomatic disorder, is a very real illness that still afflicts at least 25 percent of the 700,000 U.S. veterans who took part in the 1991 Gulf War.

Gulf War Illness is best described as a group of symptoms, including central nervous system symptoms, which have occurred in veterans of the first Gulf War. "Gulf War Syndrome," as the illnesses are commonly known, is a non-scientific label that has frequently been used to describe those veterans with unexplained illnesses often characterized by fatigue, joint pain, skin rash, memory loss and/or diarrhea.

Many experts agree that this group of veterans is probably not suffering from a single, common ailment, but rather from a variety of illnesses with overlapping symptoms.

A new report by a federal panel of scientific experts has concluded that exposure to two chemicals are likely direct causes of Gulf War Illness: pyridostigmine bromide, a drug given to troops to protect against nerve gas, and pesticides used [and overused] to protect against different types of pests including sand flies.

“Extensive scientific research has consistently shown that Gulf War illness is a real and true result of neurotoxic exposures during the Gulf War and few veterans have recovered or substantially improved over time,” according to an in depth report titled, "Gulf War Illness and the Health of Gulf War Veterans," presented to the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Peake.

Currently, no effective treatments have been devised for the disorder.

The report boosts hopes of hundreds of thousands of U.S. veterans who have fought over the last seventeen years to have their varying neurological symptoms recognized by the government.

“Vets have been turned away from [Veterans Affairs] countless times with the explanation that this illness is something that simply does not exist,” said John Schwertfager, vice president of the advocacy group, the National Gulf War Resource Center.

The latest report, conducted by the congressionally mandated Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses, contracted by Congress, because several members felt veterans were not receiving acceptable medical care. The committee, assembled in 2002 is made up of 15-members, consisting of scientists and veterans.

Many previous reports released by the Institute of Medicine, a branch of the National Academy of Sciences, have blamed stress and unknown causes for the soldiers’ various symptoms.

"Gulf War illness isn't a psychosomatic disorder," said Ken Robinson, the senior intelligence officer for the Department of Defense investigation into Gulf War illness in 1996-97.

"This is a real illness that has had devastating effects on thousands of families. Now is the time to restore funding cuts that have been made in the Veterans Administration. Our mission has to be to ensure that these veterans get help and become whole again." #

Full post as published by InjuryBoard on November 18, 2008 (boomark / email).