Structural Changes Found in Brains of Symptomatic Gulf War Veterans
May 1, 2007 (Boston) – Veterans of the first Gulf War with a high number of
symptoms have significant structural brain changes that correlate with
functional impairment, providing some of the strongest evidence to date that
there is a physiological basis for Gulf War syndrome, new research has shown.
Here at the 59th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology,
preliminary results of a study of Gulf War veterans showed that, on magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI), those with a "high" number of symptoms had
significantly smaller volumes of the rostral anterior cingulate gyrus and
overall cortex compared with their "low"-symptom counterparts.
According study author Roberta White, PhD, from Boston University School of
Public Health, MRI revealed the overall volumes of the rostral anterior
cingulated gyrus and overall cortex were 5% and 6% smaller, respectively, in
the high-symptom group.
In addition, the investigators observed a trend toward a significantly smaller
volume of the posterior cingulate gyrus and caudate nucleus in the
high-symptom group.
Furthermore, said Dr. White, those in the high-symptom group had poorer
performance on neuropsychological tests of learning and memory, scoring 15%
lower on the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) B list and 12% lower on
the CVLT Short Delay vs the low-symptom group.
Validation for Vets
"We've shown there are differences in MRI findings between high- and
low-symptom Gulf War veterans. In recent times, the Institute of Medicine and
other groups have come out more or less attributing these symptoms to
psychiatric conditions and implying there was no physical basis for them, but
we've shown this is not the case," Dr. White told Medscape.
Study coauthor Dr. Ronald Killiany, PhD, from Boston University School of
Medicine, told Medscape that these data are an "important first step for Gulf
War veterans as well as the scientific community in validating the fact that
so-called 'soft' neurological conditions can have a pathological basis."
Dr. White and colleagues at Boston University and Boston VA Medical Center
have been studying Gulf War–related illnesses for the past 16 years. The
return of the veterans in late 1991, many of whom arrived home with a myriad
of symptoms, including joint pain, fatigue, forgetfulness, headaches, skin
rash, nausea, and lack of concentration, touched off a long series of
detailed studies.
Chemical Warfare
Among other findings, this research revealed an association between veterans'
symptoms and escalating dose exposure to pesticides used to rid troops of
sand fleas and other desert insects, as well as exposure to the
chemical-warfare agents sarin and cyclosarin, caused when allied troops blew
up a munitions storage facility in Khamisiyah, Iraq, in March 1991.
With improved neuroimaging in the mid-1990s, Dr. White said it was a logical
next step to image the brains of Gulf War veterans to determine any
structural differences between high- and low-symptom veterans.
The study's preliminary findings, relating high- and low-symptom individuals
to imaging findings, include results on 36 subjects — 18 high- and 18
low-symptom individuals, part of a larger cohort of 62 veterans.
She said that, based on these most recent findings, coupled with evidence from
previous research conducted by her group that has shown a greater incidence
of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and brain tumors in Gulf War veterans, "it
is pretty clear that something's happening to the vets' [central nervous
system] CNS function and brain structure."
Once this study is complete, Dr. White said the investigators intend to look
at imaging results in relation to exposure levels in the same cohort.
59th American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting: Abstract P01.020. Presented
May 1, 2007.
Related Links
News
Chronic Multisymptom Illness Complex Common Among Veterans
External Links
American Academy of Neurology 59th Annual Meeting
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