You are invited to voluntarily participate in a research study funded by the Department of Defense (DOD).
The purpose of the study is to investigate possible causes for Gulf War Syndrome. Gulf War syndrome is associated with increased incidences of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), pain syndromes, muscle complaints that include fatigue and myalgias (muscle pain), as well as other neurological symptoms. Abnormalities in the part of the cell known as mitochondria have been delineated in Gulf War Syndrome. Mitochondria are the “power plants” of the body. Mitochondria take the food you eat and break the food down into a form of energy that the body can use. We propose that Gulf War Syndrome is determined by a complex interaction of factors that interfere with mitochondrial function. This study will be the first investigation of mitochondrial function in Gulf War Syndrome. Our objective is to establish the cause for symptoms in affected veterans, develop testing that can more easily identify Gulf War Syndrome, and ultimately develop treatment protocols for Gulf War Syndrome.
DoD medical researchers have found that service members who suffered multiple combat exposures during a deployment, and especially those who had witnessed death as a result of war, were much more likely to report hypertension (chronic high blood pressure) compared to those who had not seen combat.
The study, a large population-based cohort conducted by researchers from the Millennium Cohort Study Team based out of the Department of Defense Center for Deployment Health Research at the Naval Health Research Center in San Diego, showed that 6.9 percent of service members surveyed were reporting hypertension within a three-year period. Out of that number, service members who deployed and reported multiple combat exposures were at significantly increased risk for reporting new cases of hypertension.
Epithelial Cell TRPV1-Mediated Airway Sensitivity as a Mechanism for Respiratory Symptoms Associated with Gulf War Illness
Principal Investigator:ZURAW, BRUCE Institution Receiving Award:VETERANS MEDICAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION OF SAN DIEGO Program:GWIRP Proposal Number:GW080156 Funding Mechanism:Investigator-Initiated Research Award Partnering Awards: Award Amount:$842,400.00
Veterans deployed to the Persian Gulf during the 1991 Gulf War have an unexplained high prevalence of multisymptom health problems compared to non-veterans or veterans not deployed to the Persian Gulf. Despite 17 years passing since the end of the war, veterans with Gulf War Illness continue to suffer from these symptoms. Frustratingly, neither the cause of Gulf War Illness nor the mechanisms responsible for continuing symptoms have been determined. The failure to understand the underlying mechanisms of this illness strongly contribute to the failure to develop effective therapy.
Trial of Naltrexone and Dextromethorphan for Gulf War Veterans' Illness
Principal Investigator:MEGGS, WILLIAM J Institution Receiving Award:EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY Program:GWIRP Proposal Number:GW080064 Funding Mechanism:Clinical Trial Award Partnering Awards: Award Amount:$1,063,641.00
PUBLIC ABSTRACT
Armed services personnel in the 1991 Gulf War were exposed to a complex mixture of chemicals, including organophosphate insecticides, smoke from oil well fires, fuel oil, sarin gas, DEET, pyrethrums, and pyridostigmine bromide. Approximately 15% became chronically ill with a variety of symptoms that did not add up to a known disease. Nervous system symptoms such as difficulties with memory, thinking, and mood are commonly reported. Conventional medical practice has little to offer the ill veterans of the Gulf War. Pharmaceuticals have demonstrated neuroprotective effects in animal models and might provide symptomatic relief to ill Gulf War veterans, and these include naltrexone and dextromethorphan. Naltrexone is a chemical in this class that is a readily available generic drug with few side effects. Naltrexone is used to reverse effects of heroin and other opioid drugs. This study will determine in a scientific fashion if naltrexone and dextromethorphan are effective in treating ill Gulf War veterans
