Study links Gulf War exposures, brain changes

Study links Gulf War exposures, brain changes

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Apr 1, 2009 12:06:55 EDT

A new study of veterans of the 1991 Gulf War suggests that exposure to neurotoxins such as anti-nerve agent pills, insect repellent and Sarin caused neurological changes to the brain.

However, brain imaging shows those changes appear to differ depending on what and how much each person was exposed to. The changes also correspond to different sets of symptoms.

Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Southern Methodist University, and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Dallas performed digital brain scans on 21 chronically ill Gulf War veterans from the same Naval Reserve construction battalion, all of whom had symptoms of “Gulf War syndrome.”

According to a study published in Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging Journal, previous studies defined three categories of symptoms associated with Gulf War veterans:

• Complex 1: mild cognitive problems, such as distractibility, forgetfulness, feeling depressed, and excessive daytime sleepiness.

• Complex 2: a more debilitating state with confusion and a gross lack of muscle coordination.

• Complex 3: continuous joint and muscle aching.
go here for more
Study links Gulf War exposures, brain changes