Two Distinct Forms of Gulf War Illness Identified

Some health officials believe that a newly identified disorder, called Gulf War illness (GWI) has affected close to 30 percent of the military personnel who served in the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War. Researchers believe that this could be similar to post traumatic stress disorder, though symptoms of the illness are relatively unrelated to other mental ailments relating to periods following high stress situations.

For most Gulf War veterans, one might expect them to face the symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder. These are typically characterized by anxiety from flashbacks of traumatic events that haunt the individual and prevent them from enjoying every day activities. However, Gulf War veterans show slightly different symptoms, with deals of muscular pain that may be unrelated to injuries or even depression. Similarly, their memories may be significantly altered, leading researchers to believe they have an entirely different ailment.  

Researchers from Georgetown University have identified two distinct forms of GWI where veterans' brains actually atrophied and died from over use, according to the study. Symptoms of these veterans include cognitive impairment, widespread aches and pains and even tremors.

The study looked at 28 Gulf War veterans who were given two-day stress tests. The stress tests examined their perseverance after performing various rigorous exercisers. During the exercises, their heart rates and levels of fatigue were measured and compared to non-Gulf War veterans. After testing, 68 percent of Gulf War veterans showed signs of chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia in joints and muscles. After the first stress test, 10 of the veterans also showed signs of tachycardia, or quickening heart rate.

Lastly, memory retention testing showed that Gulf War veterans had significantly lower memory accuracy than control groups.

However, lead author of the study Rakib Rayhan, Ph.D., said these findings are not entirely unusual. "The use of other brain areas to compensate for a damaged area is seen in other disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, which is why we believe our data show that these veterans are suffering from central nervous system dysfunction," he said, according to the study.

However, he also notes that while these changes to the brain are similar to other neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease, it doesn't mean that veteran's will progress to that or others that are similar. 

The study is published in the journal PLOS One.