The FReeper Foxhole - Gulf War Syndrome: Fact vs. Fiction - Dec 9th, 2002

http://www.fumento.com/gwspro.html ^ | Michael Fumento

[SAMWolf]

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Remove the Myth and Look at the Science

It is time to put to rest the myth of Gulf War Syndrome (GWS), another meaningless collection of illnesses attributed to serving in the Gulf War. This editorial is based upon the excellent article on GWS found in the March 1997 issue of Reason magazine.

It is important to first consider the evidence to date and why the media in America has been so biased in its reporting of this "syndrome." The broadcast and news media (notably USA Today, the New York Times, and ABC's Nightline) constantly publish a barrage of pro-Gulf War Syndrome stories, peppered by individual accounts of soldiers who were there and now claim to have "it."

Naturally, like multiple chemical sensitivity disorder, there are over 100 symptoms of GWS, ranging from hair loss, graying hair, weight gain, weight loss, irritability, heartburn, rashes, sore throat, sore gums, constipation, insomnia, and a foot fungus, among others. The people claim to have GWS are not doctors, not medical experts, and not scientists. Yet the media consistently push their side of the story, only mentioning the scientific studies which have examined their claims as an afterthought.

A popularly quoted soldier, Pfc. Brian Martin, claims, for instance, that he "would vomit Chemlite-looking fluids every time I ran [in prescribed physical therapy]; an ambulance would pick me up, putting IVs in both arms, rushing me to Womack Community Hospital. This happened every morning after my return from the war" (transcript from a Congressional panel headed by Rep. Chris Shays, on September 19, 1996).

Chemlite refers to a glowing tube, so Martin is claiming his vomit glowed. Would any respectable medical doctor continue to prescribe physical therapy for a patient who was vomiting every morning in fluorescent colors? Sounds unlikely. Yet this is the most widely-quoted soldier in stories on GWS. Hasn't any reporter thought to question the reliability of some of this information?

Taking away the handful of case-study testimonies given before Congress, we're left with a half-dozen or so controlled, scientific studies to examine. The New England Journal of Medicine reported in its November, 1996 issue that cancer rates among Persian Gulf veterans is slightly below that of comparable vets who didn't deploy to the Gulf. In the same issue, it was reported that hospitalization rates for Gulf War vets are the same as non-Gulf War vets.

The final report from the Institute of Medicine, released in October, 1996, concluded that there was no "scientific evidence to date demonstrating adverse health consequences linked with [Gulf War] service." The Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illness draft of the final report, leaked in November, 1996, found "no support for the myriad theories proposed as causes of illnesses among Persian Gulf war veterans, or even evidence there is a 'Gulf War Syndrome.'"

These studies are only the most recent which have been published which show no discernable link between serving in the Persian Gulf war and any higher incidence of disease or illness.

What about the recent accounts of nearly 15,000 troops possibly being exposed to sarin nerve gas after a repository was destroyed in the war? No soldier in the 37th Engineer Battalion (which was responsible for blowing up those bunkers) reported any acute symptoms of nerve gas poisoning at the time. Could slight exposure (since nobody complained of any problems after the explosion) to a known and well-understood nerve gas now be responsible for the wide-spread harm and mayhem related to GWS? Unlikely.

The Institute of Medicine concluded in an October 1996 report that "there is no available evidence in human or animal studies to date that exposure to nerve agents at low levels that do not produce any detectable acute clinical or physiological manifestations results in any chronic or long-term adverse health effects." Did we ever see this as a headline in a newspaper or the lead story on the evening news?

No, it is far more interesting (and therefore, newsworthy) to claim something is causing harm than to claim there is no basis for the harm. For instance, the news media are much more likely to report on so-called Internet Addiction Disorder (despite no scientific evidence that it exists) than on the self-help support groups which quietly save hundreds of lives each year online. This is an ongoing and troubling bias in the media. By focusing on the negative (look at all the attention given to the verdict in a civil trial of a private individual), regardless of whether people care or not, the media often tries to make the news rather than report on it.

So what's causing all the symptoms complained about by these veterans? What is this if it isn't Gulf War Syndrome? The alternative to GWS is often misunderstood and stigmatized, hence the reason it is rarely mentioned.

Individuals who suffer from these very real physical symptoms are looking to an external, rather than internal cause. As the Reason article noted, you "can get diarrhea because you're worried about tomorrow's final exam or because you ate a week-old taco." The first cause is related to stress and internal thoughts; the latter is related to an organic mechanism. Dozens of research studies in psychology over the past few decades have illustrated the link between one's thoughts and one's physical state or well-being.

There are a lot of theories, in fact, about how physical ailments may be caused simply by our thoughts and feelings about ourselves. This is not to say that we intentionally look to create these problems within ourselves, or that the problem is "all in our heads." On the contrary, the problems and symptoms are just as real as the thoughts are and need treatment.

After the debate has been left behind, we are still left with the problem of vets having physical symptoms. Instead of focusing attention on what causes these problems, however, the solution lies in proper care and treatment of these problems. Treatment should likely include a psychological component, given what we know about the possible medical causes to date.

The important facet of all of this to realize is that there is a psychological component to this problem. It may be that some of these problems are psychosomatic in cause, or a social hysteria which some of the vets have come to firmly believe in and identify. In fact, a handful of vets have built their post-war lives around their disorders. Anything which becomes an integral and important part of one's life is not easily given up, no matter what is discovered about GWS in the future.

GWS likely does not exist, nor has it ever. Scientific research to date illustrates this more clearly than any testimonial given before Congress. This fact needs to be realized and the myth discarded before any long-term healing may begin.

[MistyCA]

Sorry. You will be removed from our list and we will ask others not to use their ping lists on this site on a daily basis. Please, as we are trying to get our list refined, I hope you will just ask to be removed or added depending on your preference. The Foxhole pinglist will be used once per day. You are a FReeper....that is why you get pinged to things that might be of interest to you. :) We simply didn't realize that we were creating multiple pings. If anyone gets more than one per day, it is not from our list.

[MistyCA]

Thanks for that post.

[MistyCA]

You have been removed. Thanks for stopping by to let us know.

[MistyCA]

It would be interesting to know how that is explained. Thanks for your post.

[Gunrunner2]

>>were you being facetious<<

I was being facetious, I just forgot the grin tag-line.

Cheers!
;-)

[baseballfanjm]

Could you take me off this ping list? Thanks.

[Darksheare]

I'm not sure what caused GWS, and I see the boys in the labcoats aren't so sure either.

Not very heartening, actually. Especially since the Government initially scoffed at the claims by some soldiers.

And then it wasn't just a handful here and there.


But, for all anyone knows, it was the chemical mixture of the insect repellants (DEET, 90% content roughly. Tube cream type.) and the inocs and preventive junk mixing. (The pharmacology there aughta be interesting.. wonder if tehy've checked that out?)

I DO know that if you put a DEEt repellant on, the level of DEET in your bloodstream continues to rise over the next 24 to 48 hours regardless of when you try to wash the junk off.

But it's the only stuff the actually works on most bugs. DEET is a neurotoxin, by the by. Could be worse, could be Chlorpyforos or Dichlorvos. Those are both oxy-intase(inda?) inhibitors and shut your kidneys down, slowly. As well as screwing up neurofunctions.

[MistyCA]

INteresting. Thanks for sharing that.

[Darksheare]

I try to be helpful, as much as I can be. I think I mis-spelled something there, though.

It'll take me half of forever to track down the correct spelling, though.

[MistyCA]

LMAO! You couldn't prove that by me! (misspelling whatever.....):)

[Darksheare]

Well.. I read waaaaay too much for my own good. And somewhere in the back of this black hole I call a brain, a tiny wee little man with a megaphone is telling me I misspelled something there. Probably Chlorpyforos and oxy-intase.

[thatdewd]

I've read through the article and posts and I see no mention of Mycoplasma infection, which I thought strange. I do believe many of the soldiers suffer from the mentioned aspartame poisoning (and/or DEET accumulation), but many are most likely infected with Mycoplasma, which can also cause the varying neurological effects mentioned. Mycoplasma infection could be spread if the spores were carried back with personal equipment (contaminated sand in the canteen cover fleecing for example). I know from personal experience of people cured of all their symptoms by taking a strong round of Doxycycline.

[larryjohnson]

Valuable thread

[aomagrat]

Today's classic warship, USS Birmingham (CL-62)

Cleveland class light cruisr
Displacement 10,000 Tons
Lenght 610'1"
Width 66'4"
Draft 25'
Armament 12 x 6"/47, 12 x 5"/38AA, 28 x 40mm, 10 x 20mm, 4 Aircraft
Speed 32.5 Knots
Crew 1255

The USS Birmingham (CL-62) was launched 20 March 1942 by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Va.; sponsored by Mrs. C. Green, wife of the President of the Birmingham City Commission; and commissioned 29 January 1943, Captain J. Wilkes in command.

Following her shakedown cruise Birmingham was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet. Departing Norfolk, Va., 2 June 1943, she steamed to the Mediterranean and gave gunfire support during the invasion of Sicily (10-26 July 1943). Returning to the United States 8 August, she was reassigned to the Pacific Fleet and arrived at Pearl Harbor 6 September 1943.

Joining the fast carrier task force screen, she took part in the raids on Tarawa (18 September 1943) and Wake Island (5-6 October). At the Solomons, she took part in the action off Empress Augusta Bay (8-9 November), during which she destroyed the Japanese plane which hit her with two bombs and a torpedo. The cruiser retired to Mare Island Navy Yard for repairs which lasted until 18 February 1944 and then rejoined the Pacific Fleet.

Assigned to TF 57, she took part in the invasion of Saipan (14 June-4 August 1944); Battle of the Philippine Sea (19-20 June); invasion of Tinian (20 July-1 August); invasion of Guam (21 July); and Philippine Islands raids (9-24 September). She then served with TF 38 during the Okinawa raid (10 October), northern Luzon and Formosa raids (15 and 18-19 October), and the Battle for Leyte Gulf (24 October). During the latter she suffered topside damage from explosions on board Princeton (CVL-23) while courageously attempting to aid that stricken vessel. Birmingham retired to Mare Island Navy Yard for repairs which lasted from November 1944 to January 1945.

Rejoining the Pacific Fleet, the cruiser supported the invasions of Iwo Jima (4-5 March 1945) and Okinawa (25 March-5 May). On 4 May, after fighting off three attacks, she was damaged for a third time when a Japanese suicide plane hit her forward. Returning to Pearl Harbor, she underwent repairs between 28 May and 1 August 1945.

Birmingham joined the 5th Fleet at Okinawa 26 August 1945 and in November steamed to Brisbane, Australia. She returned to San Francisco 22 March 1946 and went out of commission in reserve there 2 January 1947. Stricken 1 March 1959, she was sold for scrap 12 November 1959.

Birmingham received nine battle stars for her World War II service.

[MistyCA]

My brain just says, "Oops! Carry on!" LOL.

[MistyCA]

Thanks, Larry.

[Fyscat]

Thanks for the article, I was with Golf 2nd bn 7th mar. I will say this. When we were given the pills, we were told we couldn't give blood for the rest of our lives. There after, my LT came out and said take'em if we want to. I remember the rest of the platoons out in formation taking them like clock work. I suffer no real ills and neither do those I keep in touch with from my platoon.

[MistyCA]

This would make a lot of sense to me. Microorganizisms can be spread in dust storms as well. And one of the problems with this sort of thing is that the body undergoes chemical changes when antibiotics and other meds are administered. It could be something as simple as a chemical imbalance...loss of electrolytes....or breakdown of something such as body calcium. I am saying this because of my own personal experience with a blood infection that lead to a heart infection and stroke when my last child was born. For a long time after that I had some really difficult symptoms. A friend suggested to me that the meds I had taken probably threw my chemistry out of whack and I could benefit by taking calcium and some other things. I did this and the symptoms all disappeared! And that was years after I had been sick initially. So many things we take can throw our chemistry out of balance. But all we can do here is speculate.