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Gulf War illness linked to brain damage November 29, 2000 By SUZANNE GAMBOA Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - Researchers attempting to explain the mysterious ailments afflicting thousands of Gulf War veterans say new findings support their contention that brain abnormalities could be the cause. A team led by Dr. Robert Haley of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas say magnetic imaging scans suggest specific abnormalities in the brains of some victims. Last year at a meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, the researchers presented evidence from 22 sick veterans showing lower-than-usual levels of the chemical N-acetyl-aspartate in their brain stems and basal ganglias. At this year's meeting in Chicago on Monday, the same team showed that 12 of these veterans with the worst symptoms had the lowest levels of the chemical. The researchers said that damage to the right-side basal ganglia appeared to cause memory lapses, impaired sense of direction, and depression, while damage to the left basal ganglia seemed to cause general confusion, including difficulties understanding instructions, reading, solving problems and making decisions. Damage to the brain stem accounts in part for vertigo attacks and loss of balance. The said they believed the damage was caused by exposure to combinations of low-level nerve gas, anti-nerve gas tablets, pesticides and DEET-containing insect repellents. However, they acknowledged there was no conclusive link. Defense Department officials had no immediate comment on the research, but the Pentagon had previously criticized Haley's research, saying the study was too small and has not been replicated. "We're the first ones to point out that our study only concerns one battalion of troops," Haley said. "In this one battalion we think we've shown very strongly what the problem is. The big remaining question is, is it true of all sick Gulf War veterans?" The Pentagon says an estimated 90,000 troops who served in the Gulf War complain of maladies including memory loss, anxiety, nausea, balance problems and chronic muscle and joint pain. But despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars on scores of studies, officials say they've found no scientific explanation for the illnesses. The Institute of Medicine, which was asked by Congress to look into various studies of Gulf War illnesses, reported in September it could not find enough evidence to link the illnesses to any single cause. Pentagon studies have looked into pesticides, stress, depleted uranium, the toxic nerve agent sarin and vaccines the troops were given as possible contributors. Dr. James Fleckenstein, a radiologist and member of the research team, believes psychotropic drugs, such as anti-depressants, could be used to treat the veterans because the symptoms overlap with psychiatric illnesses. Anti-epileptic drugs or those used for Parkinson's disease also could work, he said. Testing of treatments could begin immediately, but the researchers have run out of money, he said. "We can't do any more at this point," Fleckenstein said. Haley and his team, who have received about $2 million from Ross Perot, have asked Congress for $16 million to expand their research and attempt to replicate the findings.