Rick Friedman for The New York Times
Roberta F. White of Boston University led the study of sarin nerve gas, which used new scanning technology.
Posted on 05/16/2007 10:43:37 PM PDT by neverdem
WASHINGTON, May 16 — Scientists working with the Defense Department have found evidence that a low-level exposure to sarin nerve gas — the kind experienced by more than 100,000 American troops in the Persian Gulf war of 1991 — could have caused lasting brain deficits in former service members.
Though the results are preliminary, the study is notable for being financed by the federal government and for being the first to make use of a detailed analysis of sarin exposure performed by the Pentagon, based on wind patterns and plume size.
The report, to be published in the June issue of the journal NeuroToxicology, found apparent changes in the brain’s connective tissue — its so-called white matter — in soldiers exposed to the gas. The extent of the brain changes — less white matter and slightly larger brain cavities — corresponded to the extent of exposure, the study found.
Previous studies had suggested that exposure affected the brain in some neural regions, but the evidence was not convincing to many scientists. The new report is likely to revive the long-debated question of why so many troops returned from that war with unexplained physical problems. Many in the scientific community have questioned whether the so-called gulf war illnesses have a physiological basis, and far more research will have to be done before it is known whether those illnesses can be traced to exposure to sarin. The long-term effects of sarin on the brain are still not well understood.
But several lawmakers who were briefed on the study say the Department of Veterans Affairs is now obligated to provide increased neurological care to veterans who may have been exposed.
In March 1991, a few days after the end of the gulf war, American soldiers exploded two large caches of ammunition and missiles...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
This can’t be possible because, as any Sean Penn would know, Iraq never had WMDs!
Cant be true, there were never and WMDs in Iraq. Its was a peaceful place where kids flew kites and loved Sadamm. Michael Moore said so..
war is hell.
Frankly I'm shocked I still have to explain all this at such a late date. I thought everyone knew these things by now.
;-)
Sorry, Michael was SO convincing in his movie! (I hope I dont need a sarcasm tag...)
Springtime in Islamberg (NY) Canada Free Press with pics, map and plenty of ads
Was Osama Right? (The West is Weak) Bernard Lewis
Democrats Force Surrender Now, Terror Later Ed Koch
From time to time, I’ll ping on noteworthy articles about politics, foreign and military affairs. FReepmail me if you want on or off my list.
Listen, my cousins law firm is suing the DoD for allowing the troops to be exposed to the gas and Bush for lying. Got a problem with that?
Is this what is referred to as Gulf War Syndrome ?
That's my impression. Sarin and cyclosarin are organophosphates, like most pesticides, IIRC. I wonder if any other studies of organophosphates and brain imaging can be found. Here's a link to the abstract, it seems, of the article in question.
You may want to check the "Related Links" found in the upper right.
I wasn’t there, but from what I heard this is what “Gulf War Syndrome” was. The Army blew up an ammo dump and the nerve gas blew far and wide because it is heavier than air and there are no trees to block the wind. I am surprised the truth has finally come out.
Took over 15 years for us to hear the truth about WMD exposure during Gulf War I. That means that we should learn about the remaining WMD's that were found or transported elsewhere during Gulf War II right around 2018. Saddam would have been a fool to entirely destroy his WMD assets considering that he shared a common border with the maniacal Iranian mullahs.
Silly! The only thing that counts is a warehouse full of Fat Mans and Little Boys.
Those two statements don’t go together. If Bush lied, then there was no gas to harm the troops. Bush said there were WMDs and there were.
Your cousin should sue Bush for “allowing” Hurricane Katrina to obliterate a U.S. city.
So they basically told these guys for years that they were hypochondriacs...or suffering PTSD.
MRI's have evolved, as have other scanning techniques. Used to be they only used .6 Tesla machines, then 1.0, then 1.6 and now many teaching hospitals have a 3.0. I've heard there is a 7.0 in the works. Plus they have ways now of measuring fluid movement in the brain that shows things that MRIs don't. If I were one of these guys, I'd be relieved (because my symptoms aren't all in my head, figuratively, not literally, LOL)...plus I'd be mad for being dismissed for so many years by my government as a whiner.
Thanks Neverdem.
Unfortunately, I am aware. Those “arguments” had already played through me mind.
I know my enemy too well.
Your cousin is an ass.
This explanation for Gulf War Syndrome has been known to people on the internet ever since it happened.
Basically, there was a screwup when they went ahead and blew up an ammunition dump without considering that there might be poison gas in some of the shells.
But in time of war, unfortunately, screwups happen.
As for any of this coming out, let’s wait and see. At most, I would expect very selective spin from the media, blaming the first President Bush for this and completely exonerating clinton of any faults, naturally. And they will stick to their story that there were no WMDs by the time the second President Bush ordered the attack on Iraq.
And they will completely forget the daily news stories from the 90s, in which clinton and the Democrats in congress bombed the no-fly zone repeatedly because of the threat of Saddam’s WMDs and his refusal to admit inspectors. Or was it because of Monica? My memory is getting dim. . . .
“Your cousin is an ass.”
Your cousin is a lawyer.”
That removed the ambiguity.
;-)
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