Chemicals Sickened '91 Gulf War Veterans, Latest Study Finds

[David]

A federal panel of medical experts studying illnesses among veterans of the 1991 war in the Persian Gulf has broken with several earlier studies and concluded that many suffer from neurological damage caused by exposure to toxic chemicals, rejecting past findings that the ailments resulted mostly from wartime stress.

Citing new scientific research on the effects of exposure to low levels of neurotoxins, the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses concludes in its draft report that "a substantial proportion of Gulf War veterans are ill with multisymptom conditions not explained by wartime stress or psychiatric illness."

It says a growing body of research suggests that many veterans' symptoms have a neurological cause and that there is a "probable link" to exposure to neurotoxins.

The report says possible sources include sarin, a nerve gas, from an Iraqi weapons depot blown up by American forces in 1991; a drug, pyridostigmine bromide, given to troops to protect against nerve gas; and pesticides used to protect soldiers in the region.

Dr. Joyce C. Lashof , the chairwoman of a presidential advisory group that reported in 1996 that there was no causal link between toxic exposure and the veterans' symptoms, said Thursday that she had not seen the new report. But Dr. Lashof said she was open to changing her views if the findings were based on solid new research and not advocacy by veterans' groups.

"We certainly weren't sure that our report was the definitive answer," Dr. Lashof, professor emerita of public health at the University of California at Berkeley, said. "It was based on the best evidence available at the time."

All the chemicals cited in the new study belong to a group called acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, which can cause a range of symptoms including pain, fatigue, diarrhea and cognitive impairment. Committee members said there might be minor changes in the report, a draft copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, but that the basic scientific findings would not change.

The committee says a search for medical treatments tailored to the new findings are "urgently needed" and recommends $60 million in federal funds for new research over the next four years. It says an estimated 100,000 Gulf War veterans, or about one in seven, suffer war-related health problems.

The report also says that understanding illnesses from the war will be critical in planning future military deployments and measures to improve domestic security. It calls for a reassessment of the use of pyridostigmine bromide.

Though some conclusions are hedged in careful language in the 135-page draft report, committee members said in interviews that they were consciously departing from the past scientific consensus and taking a strong stand on a politically and scientifically volatile subject.

"I would absolutely say it's a break from previous panels," said Dr. Beatrice A. Golomb, an associate professor of medicine at the University of California at San Diego, a member of the panel and its scientific director for much of its existence. "It reflects a different body of evidence, because more studies have come out. No one had gone to the scientific evidence on acetylcholinesterase inhibitors."

The new report, prepared for the federal Department of Veterans Affairs, draws conclusions that are essentially the opposite of those of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses, led by Dr. Lashof. That group reported to President Bill Clinton in 1996 that "current scientific evidence does not support a causal link" between the veterans' symptoms and chemical exposures in the Persian Gulf.

Instead, the earlier group said, stress "is likely to be an important contributing factor to the broad range of physical and psychological illnesses currently being reported by gulf war veterans."

Another panel of scientists convened in 1998 by the Institute of Medicine, a unit of the National Academies that focuses on health and medical advice, has produced a series of reports that generally point away from neurotoxin exposure as a likely cause of the veterans' illnesses.

Some 697,000 American troops were sent to the Persian Gulf at the end of 1990 to drive the Iraqi forces of President Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait. Though the military campaign was swift and successful, 13 years after the war ended many veterans still complain of persistent fatigue, headaches, joint pain, numbness, diarrhea and other health problems.

Among dozens of studies cited by the new report is a 1998 survey that looked at about 2,000 Kansas veterans, 1,548 of whom served in the gulf. It found that more than 30 percent of the gulf veterans report three or more such symptoms. The presence of multiple symptoms, their persistence for many years and the dominance of muscular and skeletal complaints all distinguish the ailments of gulf war veterans from the ailments of veterans of other wars, Dr. Golomb said.

The Pentagon admitted in 1997 that as many as 100,000 American service members might have been exposed to nerve gas when American combat engineers blew up the Kamisiyah ammunition depot in southern Iraq in March 1991, shortly after the war.

The new panel was appointed in 2002 by Anthony J. Principi, the veterans affairs secretary, in accordance with a law passed in 1998 but never acted on by the Clinton administration. Of the 11 members 7 are scientists and 4 are veterans, including the chairman, James Binns, a Vietnam veteran and former Pentagon official. Eight other scientists worked as advisers to the panel.

Committee members said release of the report, which was described in the Oct. 1 issue of Science magazine, had been set for earlier this month but was postponed because of scheduling problems.

Through a spokeswoman, Mr. Principi, who was in Michigan Thursday for the groundbreaking of a new veterans cemetery, praised the committee's work.

"I'm looking forward to studying the committee's report and working with them to ensure adequate research funding to find answers to these perplexing medical issues," he said. He said the department was already providing disability benefits for some veterans who have developed amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, based on studies finding that the veterans have nearly double the risk of the disease as veterans who did not go to the Persian Gulf do.

According to his spokeswoman, Cynthia Church, Mr. Principi, a combat-decorated Navy veteran of the Vietnam War, took a particular interest in the research of Dr. Robert W. Haley, whom he appointed to the panel. Dr. Haley, chief of epidemiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, has written a series of studies of the possible effects of neurotoxins on gulf war veterans, including some financed by the Texas billionaire H. Ross Perot.

Dr. Haley acknowledged that his work, which has been championed by some veterans and members of Congress, has been viewed skeptically by some scientists. He said the current committee's findings represent a "revolutionary change" from the past, when what he called "radically conservative" scientists dismissed the neurotoxin thesis.

"I think this committee has honestly weighed all the evidence," he said. "Although it's not proven, the preponderance of the evidence supports a new explanation - brain cell damage, nervous system damage caused by chemical exposures."

Jim Reichert, a 41-year-old industrial equipment mechanic who lives in Columbia, Ill., said he was heartened to hear of the committee's conclusions.

Mr. Reichert said he had served as a Blackhawk helicopter crewman in the war. After his six months in the gulf region, he developed strange symptoms which have never gone away, he said. Fatigue forced him to give up hunting and fishing, he loses control of his hand muscles and drops tools on the job, and he suffers from chronic diarrhea and a recurring, blistering skin condition.

"If it was stress alone, it wouldn't have lasted this long," Mr. Reichert said. Referring to himself and other ailing veterans, he said: "We're not crazy. If I'm a little nuts, it's because I've been sick so long."

[Jerry D]

David : I have a "Special Forces" friend from Ft.Lewis now living in LA area that suffers from Sarin nerve gas damage from Sadams Stockpiles they destroyed in S. Iraq . After his dealings with Sarin most aresole propelants make him sick so he now does some wood working and draws VA disability from his service in Desert Storm 91' . I have some of the symptoms Mr. Reichert has but I attribute them to my Anthax series of innoculations Specially the aches in my left shoulder (location of shot series) and also loseing control of hand muscles while gripping a glass or tool and fatigue are a few of the commonly shared symptons some of us serving as far back as Dahahran KSA in 93' My last Anthrax shot before I retired in 2000 left a welt the size of a snuff can on my shoulder. The Military Doc said it was a common reaction not to worry ....... :cd:

[Margaret Diann]

Why is the focus on sarin gas, shots, depleted uranium?

One chemical troops were exposed to that also causes neurological harm is 2-butoxyethanol. We are poisoning our own troops, all, by not recognizing this and taking precautions when using cleaning and degreaser products ... Many of which contain this chemical.

What does 2-butoxyethanol cause http://www.valdezlink.com/hb_2-B_causes.htm

Now, be careful of 2-2-butoxyethanol, too!

These are the Target Organs:
Eyes,
skin,
respiratory tract,
central nervous system,
liver, and kidneys

But also, since it is not only a solvent, it is a poison and a pesticide ... and all of the endocrine system is at risk; diabetes and over weight and blood pressure problems can also be affected by 2-butoxyethanol and mutliple cancers of which they tell you not.

AND it is a teratogen ...it harms the developing fetus; it targets the testes. I think it is this in jet fuel that is causing a decline in the sperm of our nation's men. Then 1996 multiple news articles on this topic state that today's man is only half the man that his grandfather was.

Actually, this is a very abbreviated list of the harm of 2-butoxyethanol (they left out BLOOD damage, for one thing):

"Medical Surveillance: Consider the points of attack (liver, kidneys, lymphoid system, skin, blood, eyes, respiratory system) in placement and periodic physical examinations.
[Sittig, M. Handbook of Toxic and Hazardous Chemicals and Carcinogens, 1985. 2nd ed. Park Ridge, NJ: Noyes Data Corporation, 1985. 155]**PEER REVIEWED**

2-Butoxyethanol causes acute hemolytic anemia in rats

In F344 male rats, 2-butoxyethanol causes severe acute hemolytic anemia resulting in significant increase in the concentration of free plasma hemoglobin. Secondary to the hemolytic effects, 2-butoxyethanol also caused hemoglobinuria as well as histopathologic changes in the liver and kidney."

I found what this chemical does, when I started studying it in June, 2002 in earnest ...

This is how my study started:

Here are some of the similarities between exposures for those at end of the first Gulf War, 1990-1991... and those of the Exxon Valdez oil spill cleanup workers
http://www.valdezlink.com/wondering.htm

http://www.valdezlink.com/1989photos.htm

Here is info on Chad stirring the out house stuff with jet fuel that was burning
www.valdezlink.com/gw_jetfuel.htm

Some jet fuels, 2-6 are labeled as pesticides, too www.valdezlink.com/jp4.htm
In Viet Nam war, they mixed the dioxin with jet fuel so it would adhere to the folliage

I also compared this 2-butoxyethanol to the list of harm ... as to that of the organophosphates. 2-butoxyethanol is a better match

I also have information on how 2nd hand exposure of this chemical harms spouses and children of those exposed.

It is the vapors in the eyes of someone ... that is the worst exposure. From breath of someone expelling the chemical to the child or spouse, or person sitting next to you in the airplane, or, or, or .... Dentists, chiropractors, and doctors, beware.
http://www.valdezlink.com/solvent_studies.htm#story

http://www.valdezlink.com/hb_allergic_eyes.htm

http://www.valdezlink.com/gwv_2nd_hand.htm


The BIG picture
http://www.valdezlink.com/gwv_symptoms.htm

Housewives are equally at risk for this chemical's harm. Mechanics, too

I wonder what the research forum meeting in Washington DC this Mon and Tues will conclude? This time, they know to consider 2-butoxyethanol, if they look at the info shared by an ordinary person such as me, anyway.