In November 2008, a research advisory panel on Gulf War Veterans' illnesses advised Congress that Gulf War Syndrome is a valid illness affecting veterans of the 1991 conflict in Kuwait and Iraq.
The report estimated that about 175,000 to 210,000 of the approximately 700,000 deployed personnel have been affected by a complex of multiple symptoms, variously defined, over and above rates in contemporary military personnel who did not deploy to the Gulf War
Environmental Triggers
In 2002, research by Dr. James Moss, who was fired by government agencies for his reports, indicated that GWS could be triggered by pyridostigmine bromide, an agent used to inhibit the effects of nerve gas, interacting with adrenaline. The 2008 advisory panel stated that the most likely causes of GWS are indeed pyridostigmine bromide and pesticides. In addition, the report exonerated several other environmental suspects reported by returning veterans of Operation Desert Storm, including depleted uranium, anthrax vaccine, infectious diseases, and stress
Similarity with Other Autoimmune Disorders
Dr. Jarred Younger of the Department of Translational medicine at Stanford is currently running a trial of low dose naltrexone (LDN) in patients with fibromyalgia. Dr. Younger has previously reported that symptoms in GWS share a close similarity to neurological symptoms that occur in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and also fibromyalgia. Because of the promising results seen in his fibromyalgia-LDN trial, Dr. Younger had recognized the potential of LDN in GWS.
Low Dose Naltrexone
Naltrexone is an opioid antagonist FDA approved in 1984 for the treatment of opiate addiction. Early research conducted by Dr. Ian Zagon at Pennsylvania State University during the development phase of naltrexone showed that at low doses it modulated the immune response. Through a process of biological changes, low dose naltrexone was shown to inhibit the inflammatory response and help the body heal itself.
Low dose naltrexone has shown promising results in ongoing clinical trials for multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, pancreatic cancer, and tumors of the head and neck. Anecdotal evidence suggests LDN offers value in many different malignancies, neurodegenerative, neurological, infectious, and autoimmune disorders. LDN is currently being investigated in a number of clinical trials being conducted worldwide.
The Stanford study of LDN in Gulf War Syndrome is expected to last for 22 weeks. Test subjects will visit the Stanford Pain laboratory every two weeks, for a total of 12 visits and be compensated $360 for their time.
This study is being conducted by researchers at the Medical School of Stanford University and is not affiliated with the Department of Veteran Affairs. Funded by a private donor, the study is being run by lead investigators Dr. Jarred Younger and Dr. Sean Mackey.
Requirements for Participation
- Test subjects must have been deployed to the Persian Gulf during the 1991 Gulf War
- Subjects must be between the ages of 33 and 55
- Subjects must have chronic, ongoing medical problems with any of the following symptoms: fatigue, headache, memory problems, gastrointestinal complaints, muscle/joint pain, shortness of breath, sleep disturbances
- Symptoms must have begun during or soon after deployment to the Persian Gulf
Resources:
Low Dose Naltrexone for the Treatment of Gulf War Illness (Palo Alto), Jan 16, 2009, Stanford University, Palo Alto California
Panel Confirms Gulf Syndrome is Real and Causes are Definable, MedPage Today, Nov 17, 2008
Elaine Moore and Samantha Wilkinson, The Promise of Low Dose Naltrexone Therapy, Jefferson, NC, McFarland and Company, Inc. 2008
Recently Funded Illnesses Related to Gulf War Syndrome Research Studies, January, 2009,
James I. Moss, Gulf War Syndrome, research publications and personal communication
Elaine Moore - I'm a retired medical technologist and medical writer with more than 30 years experience working in hospital laboratories. Currently, I ...
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