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Up to 100,000 of 700,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen and women who served in the Persian Gulf during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990-1991 have complained of a number of symptoms which have been labeled the Gulf War Syndrome. Symptoms include memory loss, balance difficulty, sleep disturbances, depression, exhaustion, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating. Physicians and research scientists examining veterans who have been diagnosed as having the Gulf War Syndrome are perplexed. Some physicians and research scientists have concluded there's NO Gulf War Syndrome-the symptoms the veterans complain of are related to a post-stress or post-traumatic disorder related to service during war-time. Some physicians and research scientists have concluded there is a Gulf War Syndrome-the symptoms were caused by a specific chemical, toxin, or virus the veterans encountered while serving in the Persian Gulf. If the symptoms are caused by contact with or exposure to a specific chemical, toxin, or virus the question arose-what are the long-term consequences of such contact or exposure? Could such contact or exposure result in Parkinson disease? The question is not far-fetched. During the Vietnam War a number of veterans were exposed to a toxin, a defoliating agent-Agent Orange. Some of the Agent Orange exposed veterans developed Parkinson disease. As the veterans were not investigated and followed in a systematic way it's not known if their Parkinson disease is related or unrelated to Agent Orange. Three years ago the NPF proposed to the Department of Defense a detailed long-term investigation of veterans suffering from the Gulf War Syndrome-an investigation to determine if these veterans were at increased risk for developing Parkinson disease. The NPF's proposal was rejected. At the time it was judged there was insufficient evidence-other than the veteran's symptoms, of damage to the brain, to warrant such an expensive, detailed, long-term investigation.
On 30 November 1999 the results of a new study of Gulf War veterans was announced. The study was conducted by two renowned and authoritative researchers: Drs. James Fleckenstein and Robert Haley of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. The study used a technique called Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy to examine, in life, the chemical composition of the brains of veterans who served in the Gulf War. One group of veterans suffered from the Gulf War Syndrome and a second group, the controls, did not. Although the two groups were small, the differences between them were striking. The veterans who suffered from the Gulf War Syndrome had lower levels of a specific chemical N-Acetyl-Aspartate, abbreviated NAA, a chemical involved in energy metabolism. The lower levels of NAA, according to Drs. Fleckenstein and Haley indicate the loss of brain cells in the brainstem and basal ganglia-the AREAS TARGETED BY PARKINSON DISEASE.
It's now pertinent and appropriate to ask: Why not undertake a long-term study of veterans with the Gulf War Syndrome to determine if they're more at risk for Parkinson disease. Such a study can not only help the Gulf War veterans but shed light on whether chemicals and toxins can cause Parkinson disease.