Brain Abnormalities in Gulf War Syndrome: Evaluation with 1H MR Spectroscopy

[Islander]

June 2000 Radiology, 215, 807-817.

Robert W. Haley (http://radiology.rsna.org/search?author1=Robert+W.+Haley&sortspec=date&submit=Submit), MD,
W. Wesley Marshall (http://radiology.rsna.org/search?author1=W.+Wesley+Marshall&sortspec=date&submit=Submit), MD,
George G. McDonald (http://radiology.rsna.org/search?author1=George+G.+McDonald&sortspec=date&submit=Submit), PhD,
Mark A. Daugherty (http://radiology.rsna.org/search?author1=Mark+A.+Daugherty&sortspec=date&submit=Submit), RT,
Frederick Petty (http://radiology.rsna.org/search?author1=Frederick+Petty&sortspec=date&submit=Submit), PhD, MD and
James L. Fleckenstein (http://radiology.rsna.org/search?author1=James+L.+Fleckenstein&sortspec=date&submit=Submit), MD

Abstract

PURPOSE: To test for neuronal brain damage in the basal ganglia and brainstem in Gulf War veterans by using magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-two Gulf War veterans with one of three factor analysis–derived syndromes (case patients); 18 well veterans matched for age, sex, and education level (control subjects); and six Gulf War veterans with syndrome 2 from a different population (replication sample) underwent long echo time (272 msec) proton (hydrogen 1) MR spectroscopy on a 4 × 2 × 2-cm voxel in the basal ganglia bilaterally and a 2 × 2 × 2-cm voxel in the pons. Syndromes 1–3 are described as “impaired cognition,” “confusion-ataxia,” and “central pain,” respectively.

RESULTS: The N-acetylaspartate–to-creatine (NAA/Cr) ratio, which reflects functional neuronal mass, was significantly lower in the basal ganglia and brainstem of Gulf War veterans with the three syndromes than in those structures of the control subjects (P = .007). The finding was corroborated in the replication sample (P = .002). Veterans with syndrome 2 (the most severe clinically) had evidence of decreased NAA/Cr in both the basal ganglia and the brainstem; those with syndrome 1, in the basal ganglia only; and those with syndrome 3, in the brainstem only.

CONCLUSION: Veterans with different Gulf War syndromes have biochemical evidence of neuronal damage in different distributions in the basal ganglia and brainstem.

Read more: http://radiology.rsna.org/content/215/3/807.full

[Reesacat]

The date on this was June 2000 and they are still calling GWS an imaginary illness......

[mellowsong]

Well, the VA has made a tiny bit of progress. They now allow claims for "Illnesses Associated With Gulf War Service" including MEDICALLY UNEXPLAINED CLUSTERS OF SYMPTOMS. Now, getting the claims officers to accept this and grant the disability is another story altogether. One of the biggest failures of the VA disability system is that no medical person makes the decision. You are seen by a nurse practitioner or physician's assistant or in rare cases an actual doctor for a compensation exam. Then this and your medical records are sent to a claims officer who is nothing more than an administrative hack sitting there with a sheet to check things off. Enough boxes checked, you get disability. However, if you are outside these very strict guidelines, no matter how disabling your problem is, you are denied. They have very limited medical knowledge. That is very intentional on VA's part I'm sure. Their whole goal is to deny claims and make you fight...for years and years and years. They are also very good at blaming everything on mental health issues.

[mellowsong]

There's a new scan study just published that backs this up: After nearly two decades of trial and error, researchers leveraged arterial spin labeling (ASL) perfusion MRI and physostigmine challenge to demonstrate persistent and worsening chronic hippocampal dysfunction in the brains of veterans with Gulf War syndromes, according to a study published online Sept. 13 in Radiology.
read more: http://www.healthimaging.com/index.php?option=com_articles&article=29479&publication=8&view=portals