Subject: Gulf War Syndrome Veterans Have Damage in Specific Portion of Nervous Syste

[MORTARDUDE]

Date: Tue, 28 Sep 2004 21:53:11 EDT
From: Magnu96196@aol.com
Subject: Gulf War Syndrome Veterans Have Damage in Specific Portion of Nervous System




Gulf War Syndrome Veterans Have Damage in Specific Portion of Nervous System

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Medical News Keywords
GULF WAR SYNDROME ROBERT HALEY PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM GALLBLADDER
DISEASE UNREFRESHING SLEEP DEPRESSION JOINT PAIN CHRONIC DIARRHEA SEXUAL
DYSFUNCTION EPIDEMIOLOGY
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Description

UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas researchers have uncovered damage in
a specific, primitive portion of the nervous systems of veterans suffering
from Gulf War syndrome.



Newswise ? UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas researchers have
uncovered damage in a specific, primitive portion of the nervous systems of
veterans
suffering from Gulf War syndrome.

UT Southwestern researchers report that damage to the parasympathetic nervous
system may account for nearly half of the typical symptoms ? including
gallbladder disease, unrefreshing sleep, depression, joint pain, chronic
diarrhea
and sexual dysfunction ? that afflict those with Gulf War syndrome. Their
findings will be published in the October issue of the American Journal of
Medicine
and are currently available online.

?The high rate of gallbladder disease in these men, reported in a previous
study, is particularly disturbing because typically women over 40 get this.
It?s
singularly rare in young men,? said Dr. Robert Haley, chief of epidemiology
at UT Southwestern and lead author of the new study.

The parasympathetic system regulates primitive, automatic bodily functions
such as digestion and sleep, while the sympathetic nervous system controls
the ?
fight or flight? instinct.

?They?re sort of the mirror image of each other ? the yin and the yang of
the nervous system ? that control functions we are not usually aware of. This
is
another part of the explanation as to why Gulf War syndrome is so elusive and
mysterious,? said Dr. Haley.

Previously, isolating pure parasympathetic brain function was difficult. In
the new study Dr. Haley and his colleagues used a technique that monitors
changes in approximately 100,000 heartbeats over 24 hours and measures
changes in
high-frequency heart rate variability ? a function solely regulated by the
parasympathetic nervous system.

After plotting the subtle changes in heart function using a mathematical
technique called spectral analysis, researchers found that parasympathetic
brain
function, which usually peaks during sleep, barely changed in veterans with
Gulf War syndrome even though they appeared to be sleeping. In a group of
well
veterans tested for comparison, the brain functions increased normally.

?The parasympathetic nervous system takes care of restorative functions of
the body. During sleep it?s orchestrating that process, which is why we feel
refreshed when we wake up,? Dr. Haley said. ?Its failure to increase at
night in
ill Gulf War veterans may explain their unrefreshing sleep.?

The tests were conducted on 40 members of a Naval Reserve construction
battalion, also known as Seabees. Both ill and healthy veterans from the same
battalion were tested for comparison.

In addition, pure sympathetic nervous system functions were tested. In these
tests, there were no appreciable differences between the two groups of
veterans.

Dr. Haley first described Gulf War syndrome in a series of papers published
in January 1997 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). In
previous studies, Dr. Haley and his colleagues presented evidence attributing
the veterans? illness to low-level exposure to sarin gas ? a potent nerve
toxin ? which drifted over thousands of soldiers when U.S. forces detonated
Iraqi
chemical stores during and after the Gulf War. A recent report from the
Government Accountability Office confirmed that exposure to low-level sarin
in the
1991 Gulf War was more frequent and widespread than previously acknowledged.

Subsequent research from Dr. Haley?s group showed that veterans suffering
from Gulf War syndrome also were born with lower levels of a protective blood
enzyme called paraoxonase, which usually fights off the toxins found in
sarin.
Veterans who were in the same area and did not get sick had higher levels of
this enzyme.

Dr. Haley and his colleagues have closely followed the same group of tests
subjects since 1995. A new grant from the U.S. Department of Defense will
allow
Dr. Haley?s team to undertake a study in a much larger sample of Gulf War
veterans.

Other UT Southwestern researchers involved in the latest study include Drs.
Wanpen Vongpatanasin, assistant professor of internal medicine; Gil Wolfe,
associate professor of neurology; and Ronald Victor, chief of hypertension.
Former
UT Southwestern faculty members Drs. Wilson Bryan, Roseanne Armitage, Robert
Hoffmann, Frederick Petty, and W. Wesley Marshall also contributed to this
study, as did researchers from Phase 5 Sciences and Laboratory Industry
Services,
both in California.

The research was supported by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel
Command, the U.S. Public Health Service and the Perot Foundation.

A picture to go with this release can be downloaded at:
http://www3.utsouthwestern.edu/home_...news/haley.jpg

The cutline reads:
New findings by Dr. Robert Haley, chief of epidemiology at UT Southwestern
Medical Center at Dallas, reveal damage to the parasympathetic nervous
systems
of veterans of the 1991 Gulf War. Dr. Haley led the study published in the
Oct.
1 edition of the American Journal of Medicine.


------------------------------

[Margaret Diann]

Yes, the central nervous system damage is very noticeable, and so is the FATIGUE the doctors can't pinpoint for gulf war vets AND the general population with CFS, CFIDS ... etc

This chemical causes CNS damage and MUST be a part of any studies when they try to 'back track' as to what has caused it: it must be added to the options: sarin gas, shots, depleted uranium.

But this chemical

ALSO causes all of the other symptoms
best I can tell

HOWEVER, it has NOT been studied

I've told the reps for the panel meeting today and tomorrow in Wash DC, let's see if they pass on my info, or if they don't

[Hawk]

http://www1.va.gov/rac-gwvi/page.cfm?pg=35

Dr. Haley first described Gulf War syndrome in a series of papers published in January 1997 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). In previous studies, Dr. Haley and his colleagues presented evidence attributing
the veterans? illness to low-level exposure to sarin gas ? a potent nerve toxin ? which drifted over thousands of soldiers when U.S. forces detonated Iraqi chemical stores during and after the Gulf War.

it only took from Jan 1997 to Nov 2004 for the VA to finally acknowledge Dr. Haley's findings

[Margaret Diann]

... I'm sure it was an 'uphill' battle

I've heard his University also was able to get grants to work on this. Very good.

Note that the chemicals I share about
Synonyms for 2-butoxyethanol:

Butyl Cellosolve
Ethylene glycol monobutyl ether
Butyl glycol
2-butoxethanol
DOWANOL?EB

And don't forget how serious the use of diethylene glycol monobutyl ether is.


Are also considered neurotoxins

The gulf war vets are looking for sources of neurotoxicity. These chemicals are on the list of their exposures, but still ... they are not looking in this direction. Says research on the butyl ether solvents:

From the NZEPMU printers? seminar 1998, on solvent neurotoxicity: 50% of solvent neurotoxicity comes from the printing industy. From Prof Bill Glass?s introduction: solvents cause abortions and affect sperm.

The USA doesn't know as much as she should about this

And since these can cause tumors of the brain, I wonder about the brain tumors of these 3 people

[Hawk]

at least there finally is some movement, its not the first time I have read about the interaction between PB Pills, nerve agents and DEET effecting the nervous system, but it is the first time its not being shrugged aside in favor of stress and ptsd.

Hawk :cl:

[MORTARDUDE]

http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/...334125,00.html

Anthrax vaccine blamed for illness
Book claims Gulf War GIs were guinea pigs

By Bartholomew Sullivan
sullivanb@shns.com
November 17, 2004

WASHINGTON -- Mark Ammend of Collierville can't talk about it now.

The former fire chief for the 164th Air National Guard unit based at Memphis International Airport got vaccinated against anthrax five years ago. Now, as he lies in a specially designed bed, the only thing he can move is his left eye.



Fully conscious and aware, Ammend, 55, is a quadriplegic with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease.

A new book suggests he and many other soldiers immunized against anthrax during the 1991 Gulf War and since are suffering auto-immune diseases after receiving an illegal chemical adjuvant -- a chemical designed to boost the immune system -- called squalene.

The Pentagon adamantly disagrees and insists that the vaccine is safe.

In his just-published "Vaccine A: The Covert Government Experiment That's Killing Our Soldiers and Why G.I.'s Are Only the First Victims," author Gary Matsumoto suggests Memphis was the key to the immunological puzzle.

"The whole idea originated in Memphis," he said in an interview.

That idea came from Pamela B. Asa, a former Memphis immunologist now living in Tupelo who collaborates with Robert F. Garry, a professor of microbiology at the Tulane University Medical School in New Orleans. Asa and Garry made the connection between squalene, which has not been authorized for use in humans in the United States, and what has been called Gulf War Syndrome in an article in Experimental and Molecular Pathology in 2002.

Auto-immune diseases such as ALS, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis are chronic and increasingly debilitating. They occur when the body can't distinguish between itself and foreign substances it's supposed to attack. Thirty years of scientific literature has shown squalene and other oil adjuvants have induced auto-immune-like illnesses in four species of lab animals. Squalene has never been licensed for use in humans in this country, although it is an element of a variety of experimental drugs.

Asa began looking into the connection between the constellation of symptoms associated with the soldiers' syndrome in 1994, and went to the Pentagon with her concerns. She said she found that many of the soldiers complaining of rashes, fatigue, blackouts, seizures, and joint and muscle pain looked like they had systemic lupus erythematosus, a multi-symptomatic auto-immune disease.

On the Web
More about anthrax/squalene issues:
Pentagon's position: anthrax.mil/
Squalene

Matsumoto's book:
Vaccine-A.com


She monitored discussions on Gulf War Syndrome chat rooms, and recommended medical tests that those who were suspicious about their health might take. Word got around, and some shared seriology data with her.

Matsumoto wrote about her suspicions for the first time in 1999, in Vanity Fair magazine, prompting some soldiers in bases around the country to protest taking their anthrax shots. Many others soldiered on, and took them.

At least four members of the 164th Air Guard unit in Memphis quit in 1999 rather than take the shots. But more than 800 took them, according to unit officials at the time.

Ammend, the Air Guard fire chief in Memphis for 11 years and a soldier since 1972, took his first anthrax shot in 1999. He took the last one in April 2000. In 2002, he could still walk, his wife, Mary, said Tuesday. He now lies, mouth open, in his living room, on a respirator 24 hours a day.

"I understand why it was done, or why it was needed," Mary Ammend said. "But I just feel it could -- there should have been more care taken for the FDA to study it before they started dishing it out to the guys."

Three members of the 164th ANG unit in Memphis approached Asa after the Vanity Fair article and asked her to test their blood for antibodies to squalene before they were administered their mandatory anthrax shots. Before the shots, they had no antibodies to the substance. Afterward, two did.

One of them was Sgt. Serge Trullet of Ripley, Miss. A naturalized citizen from Argentina, Trullet wouldn't disobey an order to take the shot, but he wanted to take precautions, he told Matsumoto. When he tested positive for the antibodies to squalene, then started getting a rash and swelling, he didn't blame Uncle Sam. He blamed the unknown people "somewhere along the line," who let it happen.

"I don't know what to think about my commanders," Matsumoto quotes him saying. "I think that they're just ignorant -- you know, 'follow the leader' types that absolutely question nothing that their superiors tell them. I feel that some of them would have probably done the same things that the Nazis did to the Jews with the excuse that they were just following orders." Trullet did not respond to phone calls from The Commercial Appeal Tuesday.

"This (squalene) has not been out in the public forum because the Department of Defense has sort of blown it off and tried to portray people who spoke about it as conspiracy nuts," Asa said in an interview Tuesday.

"Had they (soldiers) not been given this stuff, we would not be finding antibodies to it in people who are sick with auto-immune diseases that squalene has been chronicled to cause for decades."

It's complicated science, but Asa and Matsumoto maintain that the squalene was used experimentally to boost the immune response to a very weak vaccine prepared to ward off a bio-chemical attack of weaponized anthrax spores known to have been developed by Saddam Hussein before the first Gulf War.


Over the years, symptoms of Gulf War illness have been blamed on stress or nerve gas exposure, flea collar insecticides and other factors, but anthrax vaccine has usually been among them. More than $100 million has been spent to find its cause.

James Turner, a Department of Defense spokesman specializing in health matters, said Tuesday that he was familiar with Matsumoto's book but called the concerns it raises "an old, old issue" being pushed by his publisher. Turner directed specific questions about anthrax and squalene to a department Web site. The site acknowledges that the Food and Drug Administration found squalene in some vaccines for anthrax, but says the amount was probably from fingerprint contamination by lab technicians and too small to cause concern.

Before ending the call, Turner added: "The fact is that we do not put squalene in our vaccines and never have. ... The notion that we're using military people as guinea pigs without their knowledge is absurd."

Absurd or not, it is Matsumoto's most explosive claim, and it's backed by Asa. He says in the book that FDA tests show that the amounts of squalene found in different "lots" or batches of the vaccine administered to some troops shows a pattern. That pattern establishes someone was trying to determine the response to a progression of different doses, he claims.

"This is an experiment," Asa said Tuesday. "This is a dose-range experiment."

Perhaps the strangest set of facts revealed in his exhaustive history of anthrax's use as a potential weapon is Matsumoto's claim that the vaccine administered to soldiers might protect against anthrax encountered by contact, but would never work effectively against inhaled anthrax spores such as the threat foreseen from Saddam.

Asa agrees, and so does a federal judge in Washington. U.S. Dist. Judge Emmett Sullivan ruled Oct. 27 that the mandatory use of anthrax vaccine on soldiers is illegal and must stop because authorities can't prove it actually works against the inhaled anthrax expected to be used as a weapon in wartime.

Since the mid-1980s, the FDA had never found the vaccine effective in other than occupational settings, such as for protection of workers exposed to infested animal hides. But in December 2003, after the mandatory inoculations had been under way for five years, the FDA found that the vaccine was effective for inhaled anthrax. Sullivan said the agency failed to follow its own protocols in reaching that conclusion and ruled the vaccine can be used only in the case of informed consent or a presidential waiver.

Asked Tuesday why the Pentagon would want to vaccinate soldiers with a shot that couldn't accomplish its purpose, Asa said she doesn't know. But in her decades of research, she knows the Department of Health and Human Services has been looking for an oil adjuvant to boost potential anti-AIDS vaccines. She says agency researchers are trying to "make the science fit their wish list."

Contact Washington correspondent Bartholomew Sullivan at (202) 408-2726.