[CPEO-MEF] HEALTH: Gulf War Syndrome

[Lenny Siegel <lennysiegel@gmail.com>]

Report to Congress: Gulf War syndrome is real
A scientific panel chartered by Congress cites nerve gas drug and 
pesticides used during the conflict as being associated with veterans' 
neurological problems.

By Mary Engel and Thomas H. Maugh II
Los Angeles Times
November 18, 2008

A congressionally mandated scientific panel has concluded that Gulf War 
syndrome is real and still afflicts nearly a quarter of the 700,000 U.S. 
troops who served in the 1991 conflict, according to a report released 
Monday.

The report broke with most earlier studies by concluding that two 
chemical exposures were direct causes of the disorder: the drug 
pyridostigmine bromide, given to troops to protect against nerve gas, 
and pesticides that were widely used -- and often overused -- to protect 
against sand flies and other pests.

"The extensive body of scientific research now available consistently 
indicates that Gulf War illness is real, that it is a result of 
neurotoxic exposures during Gulf War deployment, and that few veterans 
have recovered or substantially improved with time," according to the 
450-page report presented to Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Peake.


...

For the entire article, see
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-gulfwar18-2008nov18,0,6268545.story

--


Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org



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