Report: Gulf War Syndrome Is Real
(Washington, DC) -- A new report calls Gulf War Syndrome a real condition. It has affected more than 175-thousand American military veterans from the 1991 Gulf War, as they were exposed to chemical toxins. The report was issued by the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses and mandated by Congress. It could help vets who have suffered from a wide range of unexplained health problems, including brain cancer and multiple sclerosis. The report concludes Gulf War Syndrome differs from post-traumatic stress disorder suffered by veterans of other wars.
Two possible causes were found by the panel in its report. One is a drug given to troops to protect against nerve gas, with the other being pesticides used heavily during the war. However, extensive exposure to smoke from oil-well fires and low-level exposure to sarin gas when Iraqi weapons stockpiles were destroyed could also not be ruled out. Gulf War vets have been at odds with the government for years on the maladies, and few have seen symptoms improve since the end of the war. The report indicated Gulf War Syndrome affects at least 25-percent of those who battled to move Iraq's armed forces out of Kuwait. |