Sunday, May 9, 2010

Looking for Gulf War Veterans with GULF WAR ILLNESS for study

(Portland, Ore. – Willamette Week) - An Oregon research is looking for veterans who developed unexplained illness following deployment to the Persian Gulf War to help with a study.

To participate in the study, you would need to be a veteran who was deployed in the Persian Gulf War (1991-1992) [1990-91?], and developed unexplained illness following that experience. The illness is typically characterized by gastrointestinal symptoms, fatigue, skin rashes, joint pain, and neurological symptoms. You would need to complete a questionnaire about your experience, and provide a stool (fecal) sample for analysis. There is no charge for the study. It is conducted by mail, so no travel is required.

If you know a veteran who may be interested, you are welcome to pass this information along.

We are investigating the possibility that these symptoms in veterans may be due to an undiagnosed infection with Blastocystis, a protozoan which is found in contaminated food and water. We've worked with researchers in the Middle East, Europe, and Oregon to conduct similar studies on civilians with unexplained illness. This will be our first study focused on veterans.

For more information, please contact Ken Boorom at 815-572-9701 or director@bhomcenter.org. The Blastocystis Research Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that works with patients and researchers and patients to address this infection. A list of our prior publications is available on the National Institutes of Health's "PUBMED" database, by following this link:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=%28Boorom+K[Author]%29

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