[CPEO-MEF] Chemicals Combined With Stress Cause Damage

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Gulf War Chemicals May Damage Testes
Study: Chemicals Combined With Stress Cause Damage
POSTED: 11:43 a.m. EST January 9, 2003

A combination of chemicals given to protect Gulf War soldiers against
deadly diseases and nerve gas may have inadvertently damaged their
testes and sperm production, according to animal experiments at Duke
University Medical Center.

The new study could explain why some veterans have experienced
infertility, sexual dysfunction, and other symptoms, said Mohamed Abou
Donia, a Duke pharmacologist.

Three chemicals were given to soldiers to protect them against
insect-borne diseases and nerve-gas poisoning: the insect repellent
DEET, the insecticide permethrin, and the antinerve gas agent
pyridostigmine bromide.

In a study designed to mimic those same conditions, Abou Donia and his
team gave rats equivalent doses to what the soldiers received. They
found that, when given together, the chemicals caused extensive cell
degeneration and cell death with various structures of the testes. The
damage was even more severe among rats that were exposed to moderately
stressful situations in addition to the chemicals.

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http://www.thecarolinachannel.com/health/1879321/detail.html?treets=gs&tml=gs_health&ts=T&tmi=gs_health_1_11150101092003

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