In November 2008, the Gulf War Veterans’ Disease Committee submitted a 450-page report to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, James Peake. The report indicated that Gulf War Syndrome (GWS), previously ruled out as a psychosomatic disorder, is a very real illness that affects between 25 and 50% of the 700,000 American veterans who participated in the 1991 Gulf War. .
The GSI was likely caused by repeated exposure to toxic chemicals, including overused pesticides, medications administered to US troops to protect against nerve gases, smoke from oil fires, anthrax vaccines, and exposure to depleted uranium. In addition, a 2004 British study found that Gulf War veterans (GWVs) were 40-50% more likely not to be able to start a pregnancy and 2-3 times more likely to have children with birth defects. birth.
Pesticides
According to the report, 62% of the ground troops interviewed reported some type of pesticide use. Forty-four percent used pesticide spray daily and 26% used pesticide lotion an average of 20 times a month. The most widely used compound was DEET, used by half of all personnel almost daily. Permethrin was used by fewer staff but, on average, it was used daily.
The Cornell University Cooperative Extension Offices Pesticide Information Project states that “Everglades National Park employees who had extensive exposure to DEET were more likely to have insomnia, mood disturbances, and impaired function. cognitively than less exposed coworkers. ” In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency classified permethrin as “probably carcinogenic to humans” when taken by mouth. This classification was based on two types of reproducible benign tumors (lung and liver) in the mouse, equivocal evidence of carcinogenicity in Long-Evans rats, and supporting structural activity relationship information.
Permethrin has also been shown to kill 1 in 10 cats exposed to permethrin and 90% of them show symptoms of spasms and seizures. Additionally, a study conducted by the Predictive Toxicology Research Group in Inda found significant functional impairment of the blood-brain barrier after exposure to developmental pesticides in rats, even after one exposure.
Depleted uranium
Depleted uranium, used in large-scale kinetic energy penetration tanks and autocannon rounds in the Gulf War, has been recognized as a neurotoxin. Uranium is a heavy metal and toxic chemical with nephrotoxic (kidney damage), teratogenic (causing birth defects), and carcinogenic properties and is generally associated with a variety of diseases. In a study of UK troops serving in the gulf, the risk of malformation among male-reported pregnancies was 50% higher in GWV, compared to non-GWV.
Depleted uranium has been shown to induce the development of cancer and genetic mutations, autoimmune diseases, and central T-cell functionality, which play a central role in cell-mediated immunity.
Chemical weapons
Many of the symptoms of GWS are similar to the symptoms of organophosphate, mustard gas, and nerve gas poisoning. GWV was exposed to a number of sources, including pesticides and nerve gases. More than 125,000 American soldiers were exposed to nerve gas and mustard gas when an Iraqi warehouse in Khamisiyah, Iraq, was bombed in 1991.
In addition, it is speculated that residual chemical agents from the Iran-Iraq war caused environmental contamination and chronic exposure to troops, consistent with the increased observation of birth defects among Iraqis during the Gulf War period.
Nerve gas protection
GWV widely used pyridostigmine bromide (PB), an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor intended to protect against nerve agents. According to the National Academy of Sciences, excess illness in Persian Gulf War (GWV) veterans may be explained in part by GWV exposure to organophosphate and carbamate acetylcholinesterase (AChEis) inhibitors, including pyridostigmine bromide (PB ), pesticides and nerve agents. We evaluated the evidence related to the association of AChEis with disease in GWV. Many epidemiological studies reported a link between AChEi exposure and chronic symptoms in GWV.
It has been suggested that ingestion of PB by GWV may induce a condition called bromism, a condition induced by excessive intake of bromide, with neurological, psychiatric, dermatological, and possibly endocrine effects. Psychiatric symptoms may include, in the early stages, disinhibition, self-neglect, fatigue, sluggishness, impaired memory and concentration, irritability or emotional instability, and depression.
Symptoms of a more advanced illness may include confusion, but occasionally schizophrenic-like behavior or hallucinations with clear consciousness. The behavior may become violent, especially at night or under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and there may be severe auditory and visual hallucinations.
Anthrax vaccines
During Operation Desert Storm, 41% of US combat soldiers were vaccinated against anthrax. This was a source of serious GWS-related side effects, as well as local skin reactions, some of which lasted for weeks or months. Surprisingly, although it was approved by the FDA, it never went through large-scale clinical trials, unlike almost all other vaccines in the United States. Even after the war, troops who had never been deployed abroad developed GWS symptoms after receiving the vaccine. The Pentagon also failed to report 20,000 cases in which soldiers were hospitalized after receiving the vaccine.
A US federal judge ruled that there was good reason to believe it was harmful and ordered the Pentagon to stop administering it in October 2004. The ban was lifted in February 2008 after the FDA reexamined and reapproved the drug. . The vaccine is the only suspected substance in GWS to which forced exposure has been prohibited.
Homeless and incarcerated veterans
According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, as of 2001, 23% of homeless populations in the United States are veterans, representing between 529,000 and 840,000 of the total homeless population. 33% of these were stationed in a war zone, 89% received a dishonorable discharge, and 75% experience alcohol, drug or mental health problems. For comparison, in July 2008, there were 147,000 troops deployed in Iraq.
A 2000 report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics indicated that an additional 225,000 veterans were held in the Nation’s prisons or jails in 1998. 60% of incarcerated veterans had served in the Army. 35% of veterans in state prison were convicted of a violent crime, compared to 20% of non-veterans, and surprisingly, the average sentence for veterans was 50 months longer than the average for non-veterans.
Resume
Profiles of the Gulf War syndrome often include a combination of chronic headaches, cognitive difficulties, widespread pain, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic diarrhea, skin rashes, respiratory problems, increased birth defects, sleep disorders, memory problems, blurred vision, and a variety of other symptoms. To date, there is no identified treatment for Gulf War syndrome that affects significant numbers of veterans 17 years after the war.
The Veterans Administration has been slow to even recognize the problem, less alone, in treating these veterans. Many have lost their families, are unable to keep a job, or have even been imprisoned as an indirect result of illnesses caused while touring in the Gulf War. It is time for the United States government to take responsibility for exposing unsuspecting soldiers to a toxic soup that will kill Gulf War veterans for years to come.
