Gulf War syndrome (GWS), also known as Gulf War illness (GWI), is a chronic multisymptom disorder affecting returning military veterans and civilian workers of the Gulf War. A wide range of acute and chronic symptoms have been linked to it, including fatigue, muscle pain, cognitive problems, rashes and diarrhea. Approximately 250,000 of the 697,000 veterans who served in the 1991 Gulf War are afflicted with enduring chronic multi-symptom illness, a condition with serious consequences. From 1995 to 2005, the health of combat veterans worsened in comparison with nondeployed veterans, with the onset of more new chronic diseases, functional impairment, repeated clinic visits and hospitalizations, chronic fatigue syndrome-like illness, posttraumatic stress disorder, and greater persistence of adverse health incidents. According to a report by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan may also suffer from the syndrome. Suggested causes have included depleted uranium, sarin gas, smoke from burning oil wells, vaccinations, combat stress and psychological factors, though only pyridostigmine (an antitoxin for nerve agents) and organophosphate pesticides have strong and consistent evidence of being causally associated with Gulf War Syndrome. Many of the symptoms of Gulf War syndrome are similar to the symptoms of organophosphate, mustard gas, and nerve gas poisoning.[22][23] Gulf War veterans were exposed to a number of sources of these compounds, including nerve gas and pesticides.[24] Chemical detection units from Czechoslovakia, France, and Britain confirmed chemical agents. French detection units detected chemical agents. Both Czech and French forces reported detections immediately to U.S. forces. U.S. forces detected, confirmed, and reported chemical agents; and U.S. soldiers were awarded medals for detecting chemical agents. The Riegle Report said that chemical alarms went off 18,000 times during the Gulf War. After the air war started on January 16, 1991, coalition forces were chronically exposed to low but nonlethal levels of chemical and biological agents released primarily by direct Iraqi attack via missiles, rockets, artillery, or aircraft munitions and by fallout from allied bombings of Iraqi chemical warfare munitions facilities.[25] In 1997, the US Government released an unclassified report that stated, "The US Intelligence Community (IC) has assessed that Iraq did not use chemical weapons during the Gulf War. However, based on a comprehensive review of intelligence information and relevant information made available by the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), we conclude that chemical warfare (CW) agent was released as a result of US postwar demolition of rockets with chemical warheads at several sites including Khamisiyah". Over 125,000 U.S. troops and 9,000 UK troops were exposed to nerve gas and mustard gas when the Iraqi depot in Khamisiyah was destroyed.[26] Recent studies have confirmed earlier suspicions that exposure to sarin, in combination with other contaminants such as pesticides and PB were related to reports of veteran illness. Estimates range from 100,000 to 300,000 individuals exposed to nerve agents.[27] While there are suggestions low-level exposure to nerve agents may be responsible for GWS, 2008 RAC report states that "evidence is inconsistent or limited in important ways". Depleted uranium (DU) was widely used in tank kinetic energy penetrator and autocannon rounds for the first time in the Gulf War[31] and has been suggested as a possible cause of Gulf War syndrome.[32] A 2008 review by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs found no association between DU exposure and multisymptom illness, concluding that "exposure to DU munitions is not likely a primary cause of Gulf War illness". However there are suggestions that long-term exposure to high doses of DU may cause other health problems unrelated to GWS.[6] In the Balkans war zone where depleted uranium was also used, no GWS-like symptoms or illnesses have been identified, which is seen as evidence of DU munitions' safety.[31] While depleted uranium from shrapnel fragments has been shown to move into neurological tissues, this has not been linked to any adverse effects, and comparisons between veterans with embedded DU fragments and those without have not found any consistent differences. A group of veterans with high levels of uranium in their urine from embedded particles have been monitored for any adverse health effects of these particles dissolving, and no such effects have been identified. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_war_syndrome Photo: ARMY IMAGE/MOD, via Wikimedia Commons

• published: 22 Jun 2014
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