The mysterious shared symptoms of thousands of Gulf War veterans may be explained by altered brain structures, according to a new study published in the online journal Public Library of Science. Nearly 700,000 soldiers served in Operation Desert Storm, the codename for the Persian Gulf War. Of those who served, approximately 210,000 soldiers, or 30 percent, developed similar symptoms of an unknown disease that is referred to as Gulf War illness or Gulf War syndrome. The symptoms include cognitive impairments, illness or discomfort after exertion, widespread pain, and fatigue that can be debilitating, as well as exacerbation of these symptoms after mental or physical effort. This research found brain damage associated with those symptoms. The researchers used magnetic resonance imaging to examine the brains of the study participants. Using veterans of the Gulf War and a control group of nonveterans and healthy veterans, the researchers found that those with the syndrome had damage in the part of the brain associated with heart rate and pain. Moreover, there were two distinct patterns of damage associated with the symptoms, which could indicate two pathways to the same condition or there could be two different conditions with similar manifestation. natmonitor/2013/06/16/researchers-discover-two-distinct-forms-of-gulf-war-illness/
Posted on: Sun, 16 Jun 2013 23:56:41 +0000
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