Gulf War syndrome's chemical-origin theory upheld

[Celebration]

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-sci-gulf11mar11,1,6636697.story

A review of medical studies on Gulf War syndrome supports the theory that the still-hazy disorder was caused by a group of related chemicals found in pesticides used around military facilities and anti-nerve-gas pills given to soldiers, according to a study released Monday.

A similar chemical was also found in nerve gas that was inadvertently released when U.S. soldiers destroyed a munitions depot just after the 1991 war, according to the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The group of chemicals, known as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, has long been discussed as a possible cause of Gulf War syndrome.

The review "thoroughly, conclusively shows that this class of chemicals actually are a cause of illness in Gulf War veterans," said Dr. Beatrice Golomb, an associate professor of medicine at UC San Diego and the author of the latest paper.

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"The importance of this paper is that it brings together research from different realms, which are all parallel and point in the same direction," said Lea Steele, an epidemiologist who has served as scientific advisor to the Department of Veterans Affairs. She was not involved in the analysis.

Not surprisingly, they also publish statements from people who are "unconvinced."

[trotsky]

1. I'm sorry you feel the need to introduce snark

when there is legitimate scientific disagreement on even the symptoms, let alone causes of Gulf War Syndrome. Clearly thousands of vets were affected by something. But what? Was it all the same thing? How can we verify those exhibiting symptoms were exposed to the things they claim to have been?

But hey, let's bash the skeptics. Always a fun pasttime, because obviously they're the meanies who all work for big pharma and swallow everything the government tells us.

[Celebration]

2. More info here

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/03/goverment-chemi.html

Golomb's review focused on a class of chemicals known as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, or AChEIs. Acetylcholinesterase is an enzyme that regulates the activity of acetylcholine, a vital neurotransmitter.

Soldiers were exposed to AChEIs in pesticides, in pills given to blunt the effects of nerve gas, and in nerve gas released during the destruction of an Iraqi weapons depot. Researchers think that AChEI exposure may cause the overexpression of a rare but debilitating version of acetylcholinesterase previously associated with symptoms similar to those of afflicted soldiers.

Again and again, the studies reviewed by Golomb found that soldiers suffering from GWI had been exposed to AChEIs; the more they'd ingested -- especially when taking AChEI-containing pills -- the worse their symptoms were likely to be.

"Across studies, significant positive relationships of AChEi-related exposures to illness in GWV outnumber significant negative relationships more than chance would predict," wrote Golomb. "The studies show a high consistency, with most showing a significant (typically strong) positive association. Few nonsignificant findings are present and virtually no inverse associations."

Golomb also noted that the symptoms of GWI are much like those reported by agricultural workers exposed to AChEI-containing pesticides, and follow effects predicted by AChEI tests on brain cells and animals.