University of South Carolina researcher given grant to advance treatment and understanding of relationship between gut-microbiome and Gulf War Illness

SOURCE:  University of South Carolina, Arnold School of Public Health, March 1, 2018 https://www.sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/public_health/about/news/2018/gwi_dod_grant.php#.W-8jCy2ZPOR


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Arnold School’s Saurabh Chatterjee secures a nearly $1 million grant to advance treatment and understanding of relationship between gut-microbiome and Gulf War Illness

March 1, 2018 | Erin Bluvas, bluvase@sc.edu 

Saurabh Chatterjee, associate professor of environmental health sciences, will lead a research project that aims to further scientists’ understanding of the connection between the gut microbiome and Gulf War Illness (GWI) and advance related treatment options. Characterized by symptoms such as chronic headache, cognitive difficulties, respiratory problems, sleep problems, gastrointestinal problems, and other unexplained medical abnormalities, there is increasing evidence that GWI is caused by environmental chemical exposure and preventive drugs taken by soldiers during deployment. The condition continues to affect 25-32 percent of the 700,000 U.S. veterans who served in the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War.

“In spite of a long span of 25 years since the war ended, veterans continue

BREAKING DEFENSE: Congress Should Drop Pentagon Experimental Drug FDA Waiver Clause

SOURCE:  Breaking Defense, November 13, 2017

https://breakingdefense.com/2017/11/congress-drop-sec-716-fda-exemption-from-ndaa/


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Congress: Drop Sec. 716 — FDA Exemption — From NDAA

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The 2018 National Defense Authorization Act contains billions of dollars and much policy concerning medical research and, of course, matters relating to nuclear, biological and chemical warfare. We don’t cover most of those medical issues except when they relate to NBC issues or raise basic military policy considerations. This is one of those cases. In this commentary, the distinguished medical ethicist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Jonathan Moreno, calls on Congress to scrap a provision in the 2018 NDAA concerning emergency medical exemptions from FDA oversight. Read on! The Editor.

The final draft of the National Defense Authorization Act would give the Pentagon authority to decide when unapproved drugs and devices (called somewhat vaguely “agents of war” in the proposed legislation), could be used on military personnel in an emergency. Historical experience suggests that this is a very bad idea that would create both medical and morale problems for the military and obscure the difference between medical intervention and experimentation.

This proposal should be dropped from the legislation.

Those who support the new rules

Studies Yield Clues to Roots of Gulf War Illness: Presentations at the Society for Neuroscience meeting point to changes in neurons and connectivity between brain regions as potential components of the enigmatic condition.



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http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/50930/title/Studies-Yield-Clues-to-Roots-of-Gulf-War-Illness/

Studies Yield Clues to Roots of Gulf War Illness

Presentations at the Society for Neuroscience meeting point to changes in neurons and connectivity between brain regions as potential components of the enigmatic condition.

By Shawna Williams | November 13, 2017  Combat in the Gulf War of 1990-91 lasted less than two months, but it’s estimated that hundreds of thousands of the troops who served in the Middle East during that time may still experience symptoms of Gulf War Illness (GWI). Thought to be caused by exposure to chemical and biological weapons or other hazardous chemicals, GWI’s symptoms include

Boston Study Shows Gulf War Chemicals Linked with Memory, Mood, and Cognitive Symptoms

(91outcomes.com) - Newly published research results show a clear link between higher chemical exposures during the 1991 Gulf War and increased cognitive and mood symptoms among veterans of that war.

The study included extensive interviews and examinations of "159 Gulf War-deployed preventative medicine personnel who had varying levels of pesticide exposures during their work as pesticide applicators or other preventative medicine roles".  

According to the study's publication, "Study results showed that the participants with both high pesticide and high [Nerve Agent Protective Pill (PB)] exposure performed worse on

VA: White matter brain damage linked to chronic musculoskeletal pain in Gulf War Veterans

SOURCE:  U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Research Communications, October 26, 2017

https://www.research.va.gov/currents/1017-White-matter-damage-linked-to-chronic-musculoskeletal-pain.cfm

More information: Stephanie M. Van Riper et al. Cerebral white matter structure is disrupted in Gulf War Veterans with chronic musculoskeletal pain, PAIN (2017). DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001038 

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White matter damage linked to chronic musculoskeletal pain in Gulf War Veterans

October 26, 2017

By Tristan Horrom 
VA Research Communications

Dr. Dane Cook is a professor of kinesiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a health scientist and research physiologist at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital. (Photo courtesy of UW) 

A study from the Madison VA Hospital in Wisconsin has shown that structural damage in the white matter of the brain may be linked to chronic musculoskeletal pain in Gulf War Veterans.

The results 

A Consumer's Perspective: Always Faithful

GEORGETOWN: Brain chemistry study shows chronic fatigue syndrome, Gulf War illness as unique disorders

(91outcomes.com)  A new research study out of Georgetown University adds further evidence to a growing body of research that suggests that Gulf War Illness is a diagnosable health condition distinct from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and other health disorders.  

This research was funded by the treatment-focused Gulf War Illness Research Program within the DoD Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (cdmrp.army.mil/GWIRP), and the Sergeant Sullivan Center, Dr. Barbara Cottone, Dean Clarke Bridge Prize, and the National Institutes of Health National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke.

The diagnostic technology has been patented by the researchers.  

-91outcomes


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SOURCE:  Press Release, Eureka Alert
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/gumc-bcs110817.php

PUBLIC RELEASE: 10-NOV-2017

Brain chemistry study shows chronic fatigue syndrome, Gulf War illness as unique disorders

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER

WASHINGTON -- Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center have found distinct molecular signatures in two brain disorders long thought to be psychological in origin -- chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and Gulf War Illness (GWI). 

In addition, the work supports

Wis. veteran wants VA to recognize his Gulf War service caused colon cancer

SOURCE:  Marshfield (Wis.) News-Herald, Keith Uhlig reporting, July 31, 2017

http://www.marshfieldnewsherald.com/story/news/2017/07/31/wisconsin-veteran-wants-u-s-recognize-gulf-war-caused-his-cancer/396443001/


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Wisconsin veteran wants the VA to recognize his Gulf War service caused cancer.

Keith Uhlig, USA TODAY NETWORK-WisconsinPublished 10:16 a.m. CT July 31, 2017 | Updated 3:35 p.m. CT July 31, 2017

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Gulf War veteran fights cancer, and fights VA for benefits

Retired Staff Sergeant Rodney Dean Kerksieck talks about his military career, including service in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm and its effects on his current health while serving during the Gulf War. Tyler Rickenbach/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

His doctor says his cancer is likely caused by what he was exposed to in the war. The U.S. government won't extend benefits.

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(Photo: Tyler Rickenbach/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

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MARSHFIELD - Rodney Kerksieck's Gulf War was short: January through March in 1991. During those three months, he fired thousands of 200-pound shells from an 8-inch howitzer as a gunner for the U.S. Army.

His unit supported Marine infantry as the Americans faced off against Saddam Hussein's army, including the infamous Republican Guards. They were an intense, dirty and violent three months.

Shortly after the Gulf War, the Spencer native left the regular Army but re-joined the National Guard, and he and his wife, Billee, and their children moved back home to central Wisconsin. When he retired in 2004 as a staff sergeant, he thought he had left the war behind.

Today, Kerksieck is gaunt and tired, in another fight for his life. He was diagnosed with

A Consumer's Perspective: Fulfilling the Promise

**URGENT ACTION ALERT** -- 5 Minutes to Help on Gulf War Illness in the SENATE

ACTION NEEDED:   Very specific -- Ask your U.S. Senator to sign onto the "Baldwin "Dear Colleague Letter for Gulf War Illness treatment research funding" (FY18)  

Online Study of Gulf War Illness Treatments Tried Seeking Participants

(91outcomes.com - May 5, 2017) -- An online study led by the University of California-San Diego is seeking 1991 Gulf War veteran participants.  

The study, composed of a series of online surveys, asks about treatments tried for Gulf War Illness -- not just what has helped, but also what has made symptoms worse.  

The study is

Gulf War Illness Study Finds New Evidence of Lipid Dysfunction in Linked Animal, Human data

(91outcomes.com - May 1, 2017) -- A newly published study has found lipid changes and chronic inflammation in a first-ever published study linking data from animal models of Gulf War toxic exposures and Gulf War veterans suffering from Gulf War Illness.  

The study, funded by the Congressionally-directed Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP) within the Department of Defense health program, for the first time links data from Gulf War veterans participating in two different Gulf War Illness clinical research studies

U.S. House Members resoundingly call for continuation of Gulf War Illness treatment research funding

(91outcomes.com - April 5, 2017) -- Nearly one-fifth of the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives this week resoundingly called for continuation of federally funded Gulf War Illness treatment research.  The effort came at the request of Gulf War veterans, supported by ten veterans service organizations and led by Veterans for Common Sense.  

INJUSTICE: Why Some Gulf War Veterans are Eligible for the Gulf War medal but not VA's Gulf War Benefits

(91outcomes.com - April 5, 2017) -- For years, there has been confusion surrounding the differences between the Persian Gulf war geographic areas for receipt of the Southwest Asia Service Medal (SWASM) and for purposes of VA benefits.  

It has long been rumored that some Gulf War veterans who qualified for the Persian Gulf War service medal (SWASM) don't qualify for VA Gulf war benefits because their service was in Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, with Patriot missile crews and other U.S. forces and these countries' airspace and territorial waters. 

Despite that fact that both the medal and VA's Gulf War benefits are based on service in the same war, it is true that each have different geographic areas to qualify, and that some Gulf War veterans are eligible for the medal but not Gulf War-related VA benefits

Changes in Mitochondrial, Immune, and Inflammatory Pathways following Gulf War agent exposures

(91outcomes.com - April 4, 2017) - Newly published study results by researchers at the Roskamp Institute in Sarasota, Fla, have found changes in mitochondrial, immune, and inflammatory pathways following Gulf War agent exposures in an animal model relevant to Gulf War Illness.

In the publication authored

BOSTON UNIVERSITY: Identifying Biomarkers of Gulf War Illness

SOURCE:  Boston University School of Public Health, by Lisa Chedekel, March 29, 2017
https://www.bu.edu/sph/2017/03/29/identifying-biomarkers-of-gulf-war-illness/

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Identifying Biomarkers of Gulf War Illness

POSTED ON: March 29, 2017 TOPICS: gulf war illness, veteran health, veterans

Twenty-five years after the first Gulf War, scientists still do not know the exact biological mechanisms that are making about one-third of the 697,000 veterans who served in the war sick.

But a new multi-institution study in the journal Neurotoxicology & Teretology, co-authored by a School of Public Health researcher, provides evidence that Gulf War Illness (GWI) stems from neuronal and glial injury affecting both the gray and white matter cells of the brain, and identifies serum autoantibodies that may prove useful as biomarkers of the illness.

The research team found “significantly elevated levels” of

SOURCE:  Press Release, University of South Carolina (EurekaAlerts)

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-03/uosc-nrl032317.php


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PUBLIC RELEASE: 23-MAR-2017

New research links Gulf War Illness to gastrointestinal disturbances

Findings may point to new treatments for elusive disorder

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA

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A new study from the University of South Carolina has found a gastrointestinal link that could help explain many of the health issues facing those with Gulf War Illness (GWI) as well as opening new pathways to treatment options that may improve both gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms associated with the disorder. 

The research is the first study to link the gastrointestinal disturbances of GWI with changes in the intestinal microbiota. This connection potentially explains both the gastrointestinal inflammation and the neurological abnormalities (e.g., impairments to cognition, memory, learning) that define GWI. 

GWI exposures alter the microbiome (i.e., bacterial content in the gut), and the affected microbiota then produce endotoxins,

Gulf War Illness linked to gastrointestinal disturbances; Findings may point to new treatments for elusive disorder

SOURCE:  Science Daily, March 17, 2017
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170323125513.htm 

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Gulf War Illness linked to gastrointestinal disturbances

Findings may point to new treatments for elusive disorder

Date:

March 23, 2017

Source:

University of South Carolina

Summary:

A new study has linked gastrointestinal disturbances in those suffering from Gulf War illness with changes intestinal microbiota. The findings open up new treatment options that may improve both gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms among soldiers and veterans.

Research links Gulf War Illness to gastrointestinal disturbances and uncovers pathways to how this condition causes neuroinflammation

SOURCE:  University of South Carolina, Arnold School of Public Health, March 23, 2017
https://www.sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/public_health/about/news/2017/gwi_study.php#.W-8h9C2ZPOR

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Research links Gulf War Illness to gastrointestinal disturbances and uncovers pathways to how this condition causes neuroinflammation

March 23, 2017 | Erin Bluvas, bluvase@sc.edu 

A team of researchers* led by Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences (ENHS) Saurabh Chatterjee have published the first study to link the gastrointestinal disturbances (e.g., bloating, flatulence, indigestion) of  Gulf War Illness (GWI) with changes in the intestinal microbiota. This connection potentially explains both the gastrointestinal inflammation and the neurological abnormalities (e.g., impairments to cognition, memory, learning) that define GWI.

GWI exposures alter the microbiome (i.e., bacterial content in the gut). The affected microbiota then produce endotoxins, which pass through a thinned lining of the gut (i.e., leaky gut) and into the blood where they circulate throughout the body. These compounds trigger an inflammatory response that, in turn, initiates several neurological abnormalities commonly observed in GWI. These findings open up new treatment options that may improve both gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms among soldiers and veterans with GWI.

**URGENT ACTION ALERT** -- 5 Minutes to Help -- Gulf War Illness treatment research