Study by professor White proves Simon Wessely suffers from false illness beliefs

Toxic exposures caused illness in Gulf War veterans, new report says

Date:

January 26, 2016

Source:

Boston University Medical Center

Summary:

Twenty-five years after 700,000 U.S. troops fought and won the first Gulf War with remarkably low casualties, research "clearly and consistently" shows that exposure to pesticides and other toxins caused Gulf War Illness, a complex and debilitating disorder that affects as many as 250,000 of those deployed, according to a new report.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/160126130134.htm#  

Twenty-five years after 700,000 U.S. troops fought and won the first Gulf War with remarkably low casualties, research "clearly and consistently" shows that exposure to pesticides and other toxins caused Gulf War Illness, a complex and debilitating disorder that affects as many as 250,000 of those deployed, according to a new report led by a Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) researcher.

In a special issue of the journal Cortex that coincides with the 25th anniversary of the war, Roberta White, professor of environmental health at BUSPH, and colleagues from a dozen other institutions comprehensively review studies on Gulf War Illness (GWI), especially those since 2008. They conclude that exposure to pesticides and ingestion of pyridostigmine bromide (PB) -- prophylactic pills intended to protect troops against the effects of possible nerve gas -- are "causally associated with GWI and the neurological dysfunction in Gulf War veterans."

The research team also cites multiple studies showing a link between veterans' neurological problems and exposure to the nerve-gas agents sarin and cyclosarin, as well as to oil well fire emissions.

These "toxic wounds" resulted in damage to veterans' nervous systems and immune systems, including neuroendocrine and immune dysregulation, autonomic nervous system irregularities, and reduced white and gray matter in veterans' brains, the review says.

White and colleagues have been studying the health of troops deployed in the 1991 Gulf War for more than 20 years to determine why so many of them suffer from a multi-system disorder characterized by fatigue, joint and muscle pain, headaches, concentration and memory problems, gastrointestinal distress, and skin rashes. They note that effective treatments for the illness have been elusive, but that a recent treatment research effort has begun to produce promising leads.

"Further research into the mechanisms and etiology of the health problems of (Gulf War) veterans is critical to developing biomarkers of exposure and illness, and preventing similar problems for military personnel in future deployments. This information is also critical for developing new treatments for GWI and related neurological dysfunction," they write.

In 2008, a Congressionally mandated panel directed by White -- the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses -- issued a landmark report concluding that Gulf War Illness was a "real" disorder, distinct from stress-related syndromes, and urging a robust research effort into its causes and potential cures. Gulf War veterans have complained for years that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has not taken the illness seriously.

In terms of toxic exposures, the authors note, six out of seven research studies have found "significant associations between self-reported pesticide exposure and GWI." Similarly, ingestion of PB pills dispensed by the military has been "consistently linked to ill health in GW veteran populations."

James Binns, a co-author of the report and former chairman of the Research Advisory Committee, equated the main causes of GWI to "friendly fire."

"We did it to ourselves," Binns said. "Pesticides, PB, nerve gas released by destroying Iraqi facilities -- all are cases of friendly fire. That may explain why government and military leaders have been so reluctant to acknowledge what happened, just as they tried to cover up Agent Orange after Vietnam. Certainly, the government should have been facing the problem honestly and doing research from the start to identify diagnostic tests and treatments."

In the report, the research team notes that in addition to veterans suffering from GWI, other deployed troops from the first Gulf War report a variety of neurological disorders, either in conjunction with GWI or as separate ailments. Studies have found that deployed troops suffer a higher incidence of stroke, brain cancer and ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), compared to non-deployed veterans. The VA's own study, published in 2009, found that deployed veterans were diagnosed with seizures, stroke and neuralgia at higher rates than non-deployed service members. Other studies have found excess rates of brain structure alterations and brain cancer deaths among veterans who had the greatest exposure to nerve agents or oil fire smoke.

The report makes clear that psychiatric problems "have been ruled out" as a cause of Gulf War Illness, noting that Gulf War veterans have lower rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychiatric disorders than their counterparts who served in other wars.

The research team says that a number of studies using diagnostic imaging and EEG probes have identified "structural and electrical abnormalities" in the central nervous systems of deployed troops with GWI. Fourteen of 15 papers published since 2008 support that conclusion, the report says.

White and colleagues say that overall, the research to date supports the conclusion that veterans are suffering from a "persistent pathology due to chemical intoxication." They say further research into GWI could benefit other occupational groups, such as farmers and insecticide applicators, who have similar exposures. White said she is hopeful that new research efforts will lead to effective treatments, especially as veterans age and are at increased risk of neuro-degenerative diseases.

---

Story Source:

The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Boston University Medical Center. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

---

Journal Reference:

1. Roberta F. White, Lea Steele, James P. O'Callaghan, Kimberly Sullivan, James H. Binns, Beatrice A. Golomb, Floyd E. Bloom, James A. Bunker, Fiona Crawford, Joel C. Graves, Anthony Hardie, Nancy Klimas, Marguerite Knox, William J. Meggs, Jack Melling, Martin A. Philbert, Rachel Grashow. Recent research on Gulf War illness and other health problems in veterans of the 1991 Gulf War: Effects of toxicant exposures during deployment. Cortex, 2016; 74: 449 DOI:10.1016/j.cortex.2015.08.022

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Boston University Medical Center. "Toxic exposures caused illness in Gulf War veterans, new report says." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 26 January 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/160126130134.htm>.

Simon Wessely in The Lancet: "being too stupid to know how stupid you are"

Quote from Wessely in The Lancet, 21st of march 2015 ..... (I wonder if he noticed the hysterical absurdity ...)

.... "to introduce something new to me. This is the Kruger-Dunning effect—the state of being too stupid to know how stupid you are being."

Simon Wessely in The Lancet: "being too stupid to know how stupid you are".pdf
Find by LYN.

Veterans with Gulf War Illness show brain changes linked to memory deficits

sciencedaily.com:

Oct. 15, 2013 — New research illuminates definitive brain alterations in troops with Gulf War Illness (GWI) thought to result from the exposure to neurotoxic chemicals, including sarin gas, during the first Persian Gulf War.

"More than 250,000 troops, or approximately 25% of those deployed during the first Persian Gulf War, have been diagnosed with Gulf War Illness (GWI). Although medical professionals have recognized the chronic and often disabling illness for almost two decades, brain changes that uniquely identify GWI have been elusive until now," explained researcher Bart Rypma, principal investigator at the Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas.

This study, published in Clinical Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, is novel in that it confirms GWI deficits in working memory, a critical cognitive function that enables short-term retention of information for higher-level thinking ability. In addition, brain alterations revealed in the study show a consistent pattern representing a neurobiological marker that could potentially be used to positively identify GWI. The research team assessed three aspects of working memory: accuracy, speed, and efficiency. Results showed that participants with GWI performed significantly slower and less accurately than matched healthy veterans, and their efficiency decreased with increasing task difficulty.

During these difficult conditions, the participants showed relatively lower levels of activity in prefrontal brain regions which may compromise their ability to implement effective, higher-level thinking strategies in cognitively demanding situations. "Our results revealed that at the root of cognitive issues in GWI patients are profound working memory deficits that correlate with a unique brain change visible in the fMRI scanner. These results support an empirical link between exposure to neurotoxic chemicals, specifically sarin nerve gas, and cognitive deficits and neurobiological changes in the brain," said Rypma. "Implementing interventions that improve working memory could have positive effects on many aspects of daily life from the ability to complete a shopping list, match names with faces, all the way to elevating mood."

"Difficulty remembering has been the most common, unexplained impairment resulting from service in the 1991 Persian Gulf War," said Robert Haley, co-investigator and Chief of Epidemiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. "This functional MRI study provides the first objective evidence showing the exact malfunctions in the brain's memory circuits that underlie these chemically induced memory problems."

The new findings may also have implications for the treatment of several disorders involving similar neural systems, including one Alzheimer's disease. "Both GWI and Alzheimer's disease result in profound cognitive impairment and share similar neurochemical underpinnings," explained the study's lead author Nicholas Hubbard. "The distinct neural markers associated with cognitive performance and GWI revealed in our study can be useful for future research to objectively measure the efficacy of treatments for GWI as well as other brain disorders related to the same neurotransmitter system, like Alzheimer's disease."

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided byAssociation for Psychological Science.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. N. A. Hubbard, J. L. Hutchison, M. A. Motes, E. Shokri-Kojori, I. J. Bennett, R. M. Brigante, R. W. Haley, B. Rypma.Central Executive Dysfunction and Deferred Prefrontal Processing in Veterans With Gulf War Illness. Clinical Psychological Science, 2013; DOI:10.1177/2167702613506580

Need to cite this story in your essay, paper, or report? Use one of the following formats:

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Association for Psychological Science (2013, October 15). Veterans with Gulf War Illness show brain changes linked to memory deficits.ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 18, 2013, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­/releases/2013/10/131015191409.htm

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Georgetown University Researchers find physical proof that Gulf War illness is caused by damage to the brain

 

Kelly Kennedy, USA TODAY March 21, 2013:

WASHINGTON — Researchers say they have found physical proof that Gulf War illness is caused by damage to the brain — and that proof may ultimately help civilians who suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia.

Using fMRI machines, the Georgetown University researchers were able to see anomalies in the bundle of nerve fibers that interpret pain signals in the brain in 31 Gulf War veterans. The research will be published Wednesday in PLOS ONE journal.

The findings are "huge," because an fMRI allows doctors to diagnose a person with Gulf War illness quickly, said James Baraniuk, senior author and professor of medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center. The research, he said, also shows that Gulf War illness is not psychological.

An fMRI, or "functional" MRI, is a scan that measures activity by detecting how blood flows through the brain.

Many veterans have had difficulties getting benefits and treatment for a service-connected condition because doctors assumed they were either faking it or suffering from post-traumatic stress. "That's a problem with all physicians — VA, military or civilian," Baraniuk said. "If it doesn't fall within their small world of known diseases, then the patient is nuts."

Gulf War illness is a series of symptoms that has affected more than 250,000 veterans of the 1991 war against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.

Baraniuk said the correlation of anomalies in the brain's white matter with Gulf War illness has not been studied before. Researchers, he said, also found that fatigue and pain worsen congruently in the veterans.

Read more>>

New study indicates that Gulf War Syndrome may be an autoimmune syndrome induced by adjuvant (ASIA)

Israeli E:
 

Lupus. 2012;21(2):190-4.

Gulf War Syndrome as a part of the autoimmune (autoinflammatory) syndrome induced by adjuvant (ASIA).

Israeli E:.

Source

The Zabludowicz Center for Autoimmune Diseases, Tel-Hashomer, Israel.

Abstract

Gulf War syndrome (GWS) is a multi-symptom condition comprising a variety of signs and symptoms described in the literature, which not been fully resolved. The various symptoms of the condition include muscle fatigue and tiredness, malaise, myalgia, impaired cognition, ataxia, diarrhoea, bladder dysfunction, sweating disturbances, headaches, fever, arthralgia, skin rashes, and gastrointestinal and sleep disturbances. In addition, excessive chemical sensitivity and odour intolerance is reported. The aetiology of the condition is unclear, but many reviews and epidemiological analyses suggest association with pyridostigmine bromide (PB), certain vaccination regimes, a variety of possible chemical exposures, including smoke from oil-well fires or depleted uranium from shells, as well as physical and psychological stress. Recently, Shoenfeld et al. suggested that four conditions - siliconosis, macrophagic myofaciitis (MMF), GWS and post-vaccination phenomena - that share clinical and pathogenic resemblances, may be incorporated into common syndrome called 'Autoimmune (Autoinflammatory) Syndrome induced by Adjuvants' (ASIA). Symptoms and signs of the four conditions described by Shoenfeld et al. show that at least eight out of ten main symptoms are in correlation in all four conditions. Namely, myalgia, arthralgias, chronic fatigue, neurological cognitive impairment, gastrointestinal symptoms, respiratory symptoms, skin manifestations and appearance of autoantibodies. Regardless of the aetiology of GWS, be it exposure to environmental factors or chemical drugs, vaccinations or the adjuvants in them, GWS fits well with the definition of ASIA and is included as part of 'Shoenfeld's syndrome'.

PMID:

 

22235052

 

[PubMed - in process]

Mechanisms of Mitochondrial Defects in Gulf War Syndrome

clinicaltrials.gov:

This study is currently recruiting participants.

Verified on September 2011 by Medical Neurogenetics, LLC

First Received on December 17, 2010.   Last Updated on September 20, 2011   History of Changes

Sponsor:	Medical Neurogenetics, LLC
Collaborator:	Department of Defense
Information provided by (Responsible Party):	John M. Shoffner, Medical Neurogenetics, LLC
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT01264471

  Purpose

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. The investigators 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 inGulf War Syndrome. The investigators 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.

Read more>>

Study links Gulf War vets' illnesses to area of service

By Kelly Kennedy, USA TODAY:

WASHINGTON - New research to be released Monday shows that veterans with Gulf War illness faced different toxins depending on where they were served: anti-nerve-agent pills and Scud missiles for forward-deployed troops and pesticides for support personnel in the rear.

There's also no correlation between anthrax shots, depleted uranium and psychological issues and Gulf War illness, said the study by the Midwest Research Institute to appear in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal. That supports earlier research on those topics.

"Already, the evidence was mounting for these two exposures," said Lea Steele, lead author and director of Baylor University's Research Initiative on Complex Illness. "When you pull all the research together, you start to see patterns that are very consistent."

About one-fourth of the 700,000 veterans who served in the 1991 Gulf War developed symptoms that include chronic headaches, widespread pain, memory and concentration problems, persistent fatigue, gastrointestinal problems, skin abnormalities and mood disturbances."

Steele and her co-authors surveyed 144 veterans with Gulf War illness and 160 Gulf War veterans with no symptoms. But rather than ask them if they were exposed to depleted uranium or anthrax shots, which many troops did not know, they asked about their experiences: Did you receive an injection in the buttocks in theater? Did you have contact with destroyed enemy vehicles? Were you directly involved in ground combat?

Nerve agents, anti-nerve agents and insecticides come from the same chemical family and, therefore, affect the body in similar ways, Steele said. That's why people may have the same symptoms for different exposures, Steele said. But she said the research also does not discount other possible toxins, such as oil fires or fine particulate matter from dust storms.

"We could have solved this a long time ago if ...

Project Day Lily aka Project CBT: how various academic and government employees do everything in their power to keep the origin of these illnesses a secret

By:Garth L. Nicolson, Ph.D and Nancy L. Nicolson, Ph.D.
The Institute for Molecular Medicine www.immed.org

Project Day Lily chronicles the events surrounding the "Gulf War Syndrome” suffered by over 150,000 veterans (and tens of thousands dead) without proper acknowledgment or treatment to keep secret the origin of their illnesses. Were our Armed Forces exposed to chemical and biological toxins that were supplied, in part, by a sinister network of rogue bureaucrats, intelligence operatives and scientists? This is the story of how one of these biological agents was found by two American scientists as part of a massive testing program and how various academic and government employees did everything in their power to keep this information secret.

Project Day Lily is based on a true story. Read more>>

Central nervous system pathology in Gulf War Illness due to exposure to low levels of chemical warfare agents sarin (GB) and cyclosarin (GF)

Chao LL, Abadjian L, Hlavin J, Meyerhoff DJ, Weiner MW.:

Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, United States; Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States; Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States.

Abstract
BACKGROUND:
More than 100,000 US troops were potentially exposed to chemical warfare agents sarin (GB) and cyclosarin (GF) when an ammunition dump at Khamisiyah, Iraq was destroyed during the 1991 Persian Gulf War (GW). We previously found reduced total gray matter (GM) volume in 40 GW veterans with suspected GB/GF exposure relative to 40 matched, unexposed GW veterans on a 1.5T MR scanner. In this study, we reexamine the relationship between GB/GF exposure and volumetric measurements of gross neuroanatomical structures in a different cohort of GW veterans on a 4T MR scanner.

METHODS:
Neuropsychological and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from a cross sectional study on Gulf War Illness performed between 2005 and 2010 were used in this study. 4T MRI data were analyzed using automated image processing techniques that produced volumetric measurements of gray matter (GM), white matter (WM) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

RESULTS:
Binary comparisons of 64 GB/GF exposed veterans and 64 'matched', unexposed veterans revealed reduced GM (p=0.03) and WM (p=0.03) volumes in the exposed veterans. Behaviorally, exposed veterans committed more errors of omission (p=0.02) and tended to have slower responses (p=0.05) than unexposed veterans on the Continuous Performance Test (CPT), a measure sustained and selective attention. Regression analyses confirmed that GB/GF exposure status predicted GM (β=-0.11, p=0.02) and WM (β=-0.14, p=0.03) volumes, and number of CPT omission errors (β=0.22, p=0.02) over and above potentially confounding demographic, clinical, and psychosocial variables. There was no dose-response relationship between estimated levels of GB/GF exposure and brain volume. However, we did find an effect of Gulf War Illness/Chronic Mulitsymptom Illness on both GM and WM volume in the GB/GF exposed veterans.

CONCLUSIONS:
These findings confirm previous reports by our group and others of central nervous system pathology in GW veterans with suspected exposure to low levels of GB/GF two decades after the exposure.

Iraq veterans diagnosed with extremely rare disease that 'shows Gulf War Syndrome exists'

by Mike Hamilton, Sunday Mirror 10/07/2011:

A GROUP of Gulf War veterans has been diagnosed with an extremely rare illness that would normally affect just one man in the entire European population.

The vets have been told they are ­suffering from a “systemic disease” that stops them producing testosterone and affects their glands, brains, hearts and other organs. It also leads to early-onset of osteoporosis.

Prof Stephen Atkin studied 11 vets over two years in Hull. His findings reveal eight are suffering from lymphocytic ­hypophysitis – which usually affects just one in 500million men. His findings also link the illness to the multiple vaccinations soldiers were given against chemical and biological agents in 1990.

Former Army medic Shaun Rusling, 52 – who now has to inject testosterone into his stomach twice a day – said: “This is a dramatic finding which gives physical proof that Gulf War Syndrome exists.”

But the MoD said: “Extensive research has ­indicated there is no one illness ­specific to these veterans.”

NONDEPLOYED VETERANS with Gulf War (related) Illnesses

NonDeployedGWI:

Please read and take this survey if you are a veteran of the armed forces and nondeployed to any theater of war. We are seeking to gather basic data to ground our results and make them useful to researchers, We encourage you to SHARE this survey with other nondeployed veterans.

Read more>>

University of California: Those with Gulf War illness have the same symptoms as those with genetic mitochondrial disorders

By Kelly Kennedy, USA TODAY, June 26, 2011:

Golomb found that those with Gulf War illness had the same list of symptoms as those with genetic mitochondrial disorders. Mitochondria convert oxygen and glucose into cell energy. The brain and the muscles use more energy than other parts of the body, so those organs are affected first by the disorder.

"Oxidated stress can come from a lot of bad things in the environment," Golomb said, explaining that causes the problems in the mitochondria. Her past research has involved chemical exposures in the Persian Gulf, such as sarin gas, pesticides and anti-nerve-agent pills.

The unpublished results will be released at a committee meeting at the VA .
The research was funded by the Defense Department through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs. Read more>>

Anti-oxidants ease Gulf War Syndrome, study finds

By Kelly Kennedy, USA TODAY, June 26, 2011:

WASHINGTON — Anti-oxidant supplements can significantly reduce the symptoms of Gulf War Syndrome, suffered by tens of thousands of veterans, according to research to be presented Monday to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The study by Beatrice Golomb of the medical school at the University of California-San Diego tested the value of giving doses of the coenzyme Q10 to veterans of the Persian Gulf War. "Every single one of them … improved," Golomb said, adding that there was improvement for all 20 symptoms. "For it to have been chance alone is under one in a million."

More than 20 years after the end of the Gulf War, the 1990-91 conflict that liberated Kuwait after an invasion by Iraq, Golomb's study is the first research that offers potential relief for sufferers of Gulf War Syndrome, said Jim Binns, chairman of the federal panel investigating the condition.
Roughly one in four of the 697,000 veterans of the war has Gulf War illness, according to the federal Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses. Symptoms include memory and concentration problems, chronic headaches, widespread pain, gastrointestinal problems and chronic fatigue.
"It is the first medication study to show a significant improvement of a major symptom of Gulf War illness in the history of Gulf War illness research," said Binns, the committee chairman. Although it's not a cure, Binns said, and requires further research, "it is extremely encouraging."
Golomb said the treatments helped veterans with headaches, inability to focus and fatigue after exertion. There were also unexpected benefits, she said, such as fewer symptoms for participants suffering from chronic diarrhea and improved blood pressure levels. She worked with 46 veterans.
Golomb found that those with Gulf War illness had the same list of symptoms as those with genetic mitochondrial disorders. Mitochondria convert oxygen and glucose into cell energy. The brain and the muscles use more energy than other parts of the body, so those organs are affected first by the disorder.
"Oxidated stress can come from a lot of bad things in the environment," Golomb said, explaining that causes the problems in the mitochondria. Her past research has involved chemical exposures in the Persian Gulf, such as sarin gas, pesticides and anti-nerve-agent pills.

The unpublished results will be released at a committee meeting at the VA .
The research was funded by the Defense Department through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs.

CDMRP awards funding for research on XMRV in Gulf War Illness

91outcomes.com:

The following twelve proposals were recommended for full funding by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) integration panel in December. They were publicly announced at last week’s Research Advisory Committee (RAC-GWVI) meetings in Washington, DC.

While these twelve represent among the best of those proposed, our panel had a very challenging time selecting from among the many excellent proposals submitted.
Simply put, the panel could have funded quite a few additional and important treatment-focused studies had there been more funding available.

Future funding for the program will be especially important given that three “consortium” proposals were funded – essentially infrastructure building to enhance the collective efforts of a virtual “Who’s Who” of clinical and scientific researchers actively engaged in unlocking the keys to understanding and treating Gulf War Illness.

--Anthony Hardie

Detection of Xenotropic Murine Leukemia Virus- Related Virus (XMRV) in Gulf War Illness: Role in Pathogenesis or Biomarker? Whittemore Peterson Institute, Judy Mikovits

XMRV and GWI: Is There an Association? Yale University, Richard Sutton
Read more>>

More Gulf War Veterans have died than Vietnam Veterans

by Clive Boustred, veteranstoday.com:

The Department of Veterans Affairs, May 2007, Gulf War Veterans Information System reports the following:
Total U.S. Military Gulf War Deaths: 73,846
– Deaths amongst Deployed: 17,847
– Deaths amongst Non-Deployed: 55,999
Total “Undiagnosed Illness” (UDX) claims: 14,874
Total number of disability claims filed: 1,620,906
- Disability Claims amongst Deployed: 407,911
- Disability Claims amongst Non-Deployed: 1,212,995
Percentage of combat troops that filed Disability Claims 36%

-Source: http://www1.va.gov/rac-gwvi/docs/GWVIS_May2007.pdf

Soldiers, by nature, typically don’t complain. In other words, the real impact of those who are disabled from the US invasions in Iraq, Afghanistan and other Nations, is not fully reflected in the official Veterans Affairs numbers. When soldiers are sent to murder women and children they tend to never be able to live normal lives there after…

How come the government numbers of 3,777 as of 9/7/7 are so low? The answer is simple, the government does not want the 73,000 dead to be compared to the 55,000 U.S. soldiers killed in Vietnam Iraq = Vietnam. What the government is doing is only counting the soldiers that die in action before they can get them into a helicopter or ambulance. Any soldier who is shot but they get into a helicopter before he dies is not counted.

73,000 dead amongst the U.S. soldiers for this scale operation using weapons of mass destruction is not high – we expect the great majority of U.S. soldiers who took part in the invasion of Iraq to die of uranium poisoning, which can take decades to kill. Read more>>

There's a Light at the end of the tunnel for sick Gulf War Veterans

DIARY OF A DESERT STORM VETERAN, SATURDAY, MARCH 26, 2011:

Today i attended a conference at the Miami VA hospital entitled:"GWI and CFS/ME Research Update". It was held to give an update on all the research completed and to inform the audience of future research plans.

The principal player for Miami is Drl. Nancy Klimas, Director of the Center for Multidisciplinary Research on Gulf War illness and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. A video was filmed and will later be presented at www.cfsknowledgecenter.com.

I did notice there were very few regular VA doctors there. I was disappointed because i feel the primary care doctors and other doctors on my team or anyone else's team should have been there to learn more about it.

In introductory remarks, Dr. Nancy Klimas said that anyone suffereing from Gulf War Illness or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome needs an immunologist on their team. Gulf war Illness involves many body mechanisms and affects the following areas or necessities: ... Read more>>

Are the current epidemics of ME/CFS, autism and GWI related to vaccines?

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.:

I've been spending a good deal of time recently on chronic fatigue syndrome/ME websites. I don't know if you're aware of this, but lately they've been striking some pretty good blows for the autism community. There has been preliminary data linking both autism and chronic fatigue syndrome/ME to the XMRV retrovirus and it has some of the traditional opponents of the autism community concerned. I've mentioned it before, but both my daughter with autism and my wife have tested positive for the XMRV retrovirus.

The other day there was a web-chat with Chicago Tribune reporter Trine Tsouderous and Dr. Paul Offit regarding vaccine safety. Dr. Jamie Deckoff-Jones, a chronic fatigue patient asked the following question of Trine and Dr. Offit.

Dr. Deckoff-Jones: Are you concerned that the current epidemics of ME/CFS, ASD (autism spectrum disorders) and GWI (Gulf War illness) are related to vaccines? These neuroimmune disease cohorts are all of mysterious etiology and share many clinical similarities: sensory and cognitive processing deficits, susceptibility to and inability to clear certain infections, an unusual susceptibility to stress, increased oxidative stress, glutathione depletion, methylation blocks, mitochondrial defects, high levels of heavy metals, inflammatory bowel issues, hormone abnormalities and a suspicion that vaccines are implicated in pathogenesis. The pathology in humans is extremely similar to what is known of simple retroviral infections in animals. We have evidence that xenotropic and polytropic MuLVs are infecting humans (Lombardi et al Science Oct 2009, Lo et al PNAS Sept 2010). Given the history of the use of mouse and chick embryo cells for vaccine production coinciding with the history of Epidemic Neuromyasthenia (as documented by Henderson and Shelokov, NEJM 1959), the known presence of animal retroviruses in those cells, and the documented ability of these viruses to infect human cells, aren't you the least bit concerned?

Trine Tsouderos: Hi Jamie: I don't agree that problems like glutathione depletion, methylation blocks, etc are associated with ASDs. A study here, a study there, some of dubious quality. I wrote about this last year: (HERE). These ideas are promoted by folks who sell a lot of therapies to "fix" these things when it is not clear they are even there. So I don't think there is good evidence for that.

Paul Offit: The xenotropic murine retrovirus story as a cause of neurologic disease, including chronic fatigue syndrome has clearly fallen apart. And for those of us old enough to remember, many careers have fallen off a cliff claiming retroviruses as a cause of a variety of illnesses: most noteworthy, MS and Kawasaki's disease. Retroviruses are so ubiquitous and such a frequent lab contaminant that they're the Sirens of the lab.

Trine Tsouderos: The heavy metal connection is especially poor. It comes from a study that found less mercury in the hair of children with autism and concluded that that was proof they had trouble excreting it. A dubious conclusion.

It's interesting that both the chronic fatigue syndrome/ME and autism communities seem to have picked up Trine Tsouderous and Dr. Paul Offit as enemies. I find it especially revealing that Dr. Offit doesn't even see fit to mention the epidemic retrovirus story which played out for decades in our nation's history, that of HIV-AIDS, a monkey retrovirus which somehow jumped species into the human population. Read more>>

Neuro-Immune Disease -Advocates 4 Answers: It is time to fund the critical search for answers

Annette Whittemore, President, Whittemore Peterson Institute:

March 23, 2011


Dear Neuro-Immune Disease Advocate,


WPI invites you to join together in a global awareness month
for Neuro-Immune Disease beginning May 1, 2011.

Your participation in a variety of activities can help bring
worldwide awareness of debilitating acquired diseases that
impact the lives of millions around the world.

Help us deliver the global message that it is time to fund the
critical search for answers.

Join the movement by visiting us at: www.anida.co

and sign the official guestbook starting April 1.


Your support is critical and we thank you for it.

Annette Whittemore,

President

Whittemore Peterson Institute


Email us for more information at info@anida.co


"Advocates 4 Answers”

Neuro-immune diseases such as M.E., CFS, fibromyalgia,
autism, chronic Lyme disease, and Gulf War illness have no
FDA approved bio-markers or treatments for the underlying
causes of disease.

Research Advances in ME/CFS & GWI 2011 Florida Conference, March 26

2011 Florida Conference:

On March 26, five physicians will speak to the public concerning recent and future research of GWI and ME/CFS.

Details....

Time: March 26, 2011 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Location: Veteran's Hospital Auditorium on the campus of the University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine

Address:1201 N.W. 16th Street, Miami

New Gulf War illness study looking for participants

February 19, 2011 posted by Denise Nichols:

GULF WAR ILLNESS STUDY

If you served in the 1991 Gulf War and developed symptoms of Gulf War related illness, you may be eligible to participate in a treatment protocol conducted by Dr. William J. Meggs at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, in Greenville, North Carolina and sponsored by the Department of Defense.

After a telephone screening interview, participants who qualify and wish to participate will be brought to the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, in Greenville, North Carolina, to undergo an evaluation.

The study will test the benefits of two approved generic drugs, naltrexone and dextromethorphan, in treating the symptoms of Gulf War illnesses. These drugs will be studied because they are beneficial in illnesses similar to Gulf War illnesses, safe, readily available, and reduce inflammation in the brain that may be responsible for some of the symptoms that Gulf War Veterans are having.

If you feel that you may qualify for this study and are interested in participating, please contact Dr. William J. Meggs either by email [ meggsw@ecu.edu, copy to farmera@ecu.edu ], or telephone [252-744-2954].