-Caveat Lector-
[Anyone know if N-acetyl-aspartate, the chemical found in the servicemen's
brains, is in anyway related to aspartame? Lucio]
MRIs Reveal Gulf War Scars
By Brenda C. Coleman
The Associated Press
C H I C A G O, Nov. 30 - Brain scans of soldiers who believe they suffer
from Gulf War illness indicate their brains were damaged by chemical
exposure during the 1991 conflict, researchers reported today.
"This is the first time ever we have proof of brain damage in sick Gulf
War veterans," said the lead researcher, Dr. James Fleckenstein, a professor
of radiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in
Dallas.
"There's hope, now that these guys have a disease," he said. "They can
be believed - they're not malingering, they're not depressed, they're not
stressed. There's a hope for treatment and there's hope for being able to
monitor the progress of the disease."
Many Reports, Few Details
As many as 30,000 veterans of the war have complained of mysterious
maladies, including fatigue, joint pain and memory loss, that they say are
related to their service in the Gulf.
A presidential panel looking into Gulf War illnesses said in August
that it can't pinpoint causes of the ailments and recommended further study
into whether there are potential genetic reasons.
In the new study, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, which uses radio
waves to measure body chemistry, found that veterans who believe they have
the illness have up to 25 percent lower levels of a certain brain chemical
than healthy Gulf War veterans.
Lower-than-normal levels of the chemical, N-acetyl-aspartate, in the
brain stem and basal ganglia suggest a loss of neurons in those areas, said
the researchers, who were to present their findings today at the 85th annual
meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.
Key Switches for Nerves
The brain stem controls some of the body's reflexes. The basal ganglia are
switching stations for nerve impulses controlling movement, memory and
emotion. The basal ganglia, for example, are where the malfunctioning occurs
that causes Parkinson's disease.
Fleckenstein said treatments are being explored by his colleague, Dr.
Robert Haley, an associate professor of internal medicine and chief of
epidemiology at UT Southwestern.
Haley helped define Gulf War syndromes and identify toxic exposures
associated with the likelihood of having them. He also revealed enzyme
abnormalities that may be linked to the disease.
Fleckenstein said brain scans of 22 sick veterans revealed levels of
N-acetyl-aspartate 10 percent to 25 percent lower than those in 18 healthy
veterans. The finding held up in an additional six sick Gulf War veterans
drawn from a different part of the military.
All Patients Treated the Same
The study was blinded, meaning radiologists interpreting the results did not
know which patients complained of symptoms and which were healthy.
Researchers believe soldiers who became ill were those who had a
genetic vulnerability to certain chemicals used in the war, including nerve
gas, the insecticide DEET, pet flea collars some wore to repel pests and the
drug pyridostigmine bromide. PB was administered to as many as 250,000
soldiers in the belief it would protect them from the toxic effects of nerve
gas.
Last month, the Pentagon raised the possibility for the first time of a
connection between Gulf War illness and PB. It said more scientific study is
needed before it can confirm or rule out a connection.
Lt. Col. Dian Lawhon, a spokeswoman for the Department of Defense's
office for Gulf War illnesses, which helped fund Fleckenstein's study, said
her office could not comment on the findings until it sees a complete
report. Only an abstract was available.
"This is part of our continuing effort to find out what might be making
Gulf War veterans sick," she said. "We haven't seen anything that would say
that they found the smoking gun, though."
The brain scan study was reported on the same day as the release of a
series of Pentagon-ordered reports that said focusing on the danger of
traditional weapons could mask less-obvious, long-term hazards to troops.
"Even in the absence of widespread acute casualties from battle, war
takes its toll on human health and well-being long after the shooting or
bombing stops," said one of the reports prepared by the National Academy of
Sciences' Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council.
The reports offered some criticism of past Pentagon strategies for
protecting troops, citing a natural tendency to focus attention on known
hazardous agents and saying that "too much attention on them may result in
other hazards being overlooked."
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