persian gulf veterans update

24th Infantry Division breaching drill Objective UTAH, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, M-113 armored personnel carriers, M-728 Combat Engineer Vehicle (CEV [with short-barreled 165mm demolition projector]), and M-1A1 Abrams main battle tanks advancing., 6 January 1991. XVIII Airborne Corps History Office photograph by SSG Warren G. Causey, DS-F-088-01.

A girl touches the inscriptions of the 14th Quartermaster Detachment Memorial in Greensburg, Pa., under her mother's watchful eye. The Army Reserve water purification unit hosted a memorial service Feb. 25, 2001, marking the 10th anniversary of an Iraqi Scud missile attack that killed 13 unit members and injured 43, the greatest number of casualties of any coalition unit during the war. Photo by Linda D. Kozaryn...

Veterans of the Gulf War as well as current operations in Iraq and Afghanistan now have a smoother path toward receiving health-care benefits and disability compensation, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced. Story | Special

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has approved $2.8 million to fund three new research projects that focus on testing or developing new treatments for illnesses affecting Veterans who served in the Gulf War 1990-1991. The research incorporates recommendations of the department’s Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses Task Force.

“Reaching out to Gulf War Veterans is essential to the transformation of VA,” said Veterans Affairs Chief of Staff John R. Gingrich. “This research is a great opportunity to do something that will improve the care and services these Veterans have earned.”

About 697,000 men and women served in operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm from August 1990 to June 1991 during the Gulf War. In the years since they returned, nearly a quarter of these Veterans have experienced chronic symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, gastrointestinal problems, cognitive dysfunction, sleep disturbances, persistent headaches, skin rashes, respiratory conditions and mood changes. The symptoms are known collectively as “Gulf War Veterans’ illnesses.”

A recent report by the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Gulf War and Health, “Health Effects of Serving in the Gulf War,” noted that chronic multi-symptom illnesses affect an estimated 250,000 Gulf War Veterans. Given the findings, VA is embarking on a national Gulf War Veterans’ illness research program to identify and adopt the most effective treatments for Veterans.

“Last February, we welcomed Secretary Shinseki’s decision to take a serious look at the disability claims of Gulf War Veterans,” said Clarence Hill, national commander of The American Legion. “Now that VA is following through with these important studies of Gulf War illness, which has plagued many of the 700,000 Gulf War Veterans for nearly 20 years, The American Legion believes these studies should provide a shared foundation for those Veterans who need to be cared for and compensated for their disabilities.”

The first $700,000 will be available Oct. 1, 2010, the beginning of fiscal year 2011.

The studies are expected to take between two to five years to complete, and include:

-- A five-year study to evaluate the impact of resistance exercise training (RET) in treating chronic musculoskeletal pain and associated symptoms in Gulf War Veterans. The study will evaluate the influence of RET on total physical activity, pain sensitivity and regulation, and brain white-matter tracts. Dane B. Cook, Ph.D., of VA’s William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, Wis., will conduct it.

-- A four-year study on an animal model of Gulf War illnesses to assess the effectiveness of therapies to enhance mood and memory. The therapies are designed to increase generation of nerve cells in the hippocampus, improving cognitive function and reversing depressive and anxiety-like behaviors. One strategy will test treatment with anti-depressant medicine and a drug or dietary supplement having antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The second strategy will test use of either an antidepressant or an antioxidant/anti-inflammatory agent, combined with exercise. Ashok K. Shetty, Ph.D., of the Durham, N.C., VA Medical Center, will conduct it.

-- A two-year pilot study that will include randomized, controlled, eight-week trials of an intervention known as “mindfulness-based stress reduction,” compared with usual care. Assessments of Veterans will include symptom-based measures of pain, fatigue, and cognitive and physical function as well as objective measures of attention, concentration and memory. David J. Kearney, M.D., of the VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, Wash., will conduct it.

The IOM report noted that the illnesses seen in Gulf War Veterans cannot be ascribed to any psychiatric disorder and likely result from genetic and environmental factors, although the data are not strong enough to draw conclusions about specific causes.

WASHINGTON – (September 22, 2003) A recent scientific study supports a 22-month policy by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to recognize amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) among veterans of the Gulf War as a service-connected illness. "Based upon preliminary research available in December 2001, I felt it was appropriate for us to act swiftly," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi. "I'm gratified that the final study supports that decision."

The study found that veterans who were deployed to the combat theater during the Gulf War were nearly twice as likely to develop the disease as veterans not deployed to the Gulf, accounting for 40 of the 107 cases identified among military personnel. The incidence of ALS was especially high among deployed Air Force personnel, who were 2.7 times more likely to develop ALS than non-deployed Air Force personnel.

"Earlier research did not provide a definitive answer to this issue," said lead author Ronnie D. Horner, Ph.D. Horner was with VA’s Epidemiologic Research and Information Center in Durham, N.C., when the research was conducted, and is now with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. "We now have compelling evidence that service in the Gulf is associated with the occurrence of ALS among veterans of the ’90-‘91 Gulf War." Another recent study by Dr. Robert W. Haley of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas also supports VA's decision to officially recognize ALS as a service-connected illness for VA benefits.

The new ALS study, published in the Sept. 23 issue of the scientific journal Neurology and funded by VA and the Department of Defense (DoD), does not identify a cause for the disease or the increased occurrence in this group of veterans. ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, kills cells in the brain and spinal cord that control muscle movement, resulting in gradual wasting of the muscles. Fatal in most cases, the disease usually strikes people between ages 40 and 70. The cause of the disease is unknown.

Earlier this year, VA established a national ALS registry to identify veterans with the disease -- regardless of when they served -- and track their health status. Veterans with ALS who enroll will complete an initial telephone interview covering their health and military service and will be interviewed twice yearly thereafter. For more information about VA’s ALS Registry, based at the Durham VA Medical Center, call 1-877-DIAL-ALS (1-877-342-5257) or e-mail ALS@med.va.gov.

The ALS Association and researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised the study leaders. Numerous medical, academic, veteran and voluntary health organizations provided assistance in conducting the study. Since 1994, the departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, and Health and Human Services have spent $213 million on 224 research projects relating to the health effects of military deployment. VA plans to spend up to an additional $20 million by the end of fiscal 2004.

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The Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services, today announced the launch of an Internet site called Medsearch, a central repository of Gulf War-related medical research. Medsearch can be found on the Internet at http://www.GulfLINK.osd.mil/medsearch .

"This website, a cooperative effort in support of Gulf War veterans and their families, reflects the commitment of all three agencies to learning more about deployment related illnesses, and sharing what we learn," said Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of Defense for Health Affairs.

In July 2001, DoD, VA and CDC agreed to combine their resources to create this one-stop source of research information. The development team worked with veterans and researchers to ensure that Medsearch was user-friendly. Developers designed the website to serve the needs of both the layperson and the researcher.

The site is indexed with plain language topic headings so that anyone can readily locate information. Those headings include topics of particular interest to Gulf War veterans that may not be featured in other sources, such as pesticides and depleted uranium. Scientists, who want more specific data, will find it on Medseach as well.

The goal of Medsearch's creators is to include all the federally funded research into the illnesses of Gulf War veterans in one centralized place. The site will be updated frequently to ensure that it contains the most recent and complete information available.

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A Government Website With Good Information Is:
Gulflink Accessed @ http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/
The Following is re-published from Gulflink:

Soldier directing the landing of a UH-1V Iroquois ("Huey") helicopter ambulance during a mass casualty training exercise at Thadj in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia on 29 November 1990. (XVIII Airborne Corps photograph DS-F-039-09 by SPC Randall R. Anderson)

M-198 155mm howitzers of the 18th Field Artillery Brigade firing on 24 February 1991 (the first day of the ground offensive) from positions just west of Main Supply Route (MSR) TEXAS in southern Iraq. The fires supported the attack of the French 6th Light Armored Division to seize Objective ROCHAMBEAU. (XVIII Airborne Corps photograph DS-F-210-21 by SGT Nathan Webster)

Gulf War (1990-1991) Source: U.S. Government Statistics
Total Servicemembers (Worldwide)	2,322,332
Deployed to Gulf	1,136,658
Battle Deaths	148
Other Deaths (In Theater)	235
Other Deaths in Service (Non-Theater)	914
Non-mortal Woundings	467
Living Veteran	1,753,530

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24th Infantry Division breaching drill Objective UTAH, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, CEV making smokescreen, 6 January 1991. XVIII Airborne Corps History Office photograph by SSG Warren G. Causey, DS-F-086-18.

British Land Rover mired in a sebkah north of Abu Hadriya in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia on 6 January 1991. The area was used as a training location by the United Kingdom's 1st Armoured Division. (XVIII Airborne Corps photograph DS-F-097-22 by SPC Randall R. Anderson)

Total Servicemembers (Worldwide)	2,322,332
Deployed to Gulf	1,136,658

Battle Deaths	148
Other Deaths (In Theater)	235

Other Deaths in Service (Non-Theater)	914
Non-mortal Woundings	467

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