According to the United Nations Special Commission, this photo shows the destruction of rockets filled with the nerve agent sarin in Iraq in 1991.
American scientists claim to have discovered the causes of the mysterious illness known as Gulf War Syndrome. Thousands of soldiers who participated in the 1991 Persian Gulf War were affected. Scientists believe the disease is caused by the neuroparalytic agent Zarine, which was released into the air during the bombing of Iraqi chemical weapons sites. Many Gulf War veterans later complained of a variety of symptoms that developed after they returned from Iraq. But for decades, the causes of Gulf War Syndrome have remained unknown.
Sarin is usually lethal, but leading researcher Dr. Robert Haley of the Southwestern Medical Center at the University of Texas believes that the concentration of sarin in the air in Iraq was low, and therefore the military personnel who inhaled it survived. “But that was enough for people to get sick if they were genetically predisposed to the disease,” he said. According to Haley, the key to the development of the disease is a gene known as PON1, which plays an important role in the breakdown of toxic chemicals in the body. Scientists have discovered that people with a less efficient version of the PON1 gene tend to get sick more often.
We explain quickly, simply, and understandably what happened, why it matters, and what happens next. Episodes The end of the story. Advertising Podcasts. The latest study, funded primarily by the U.S. government, involved more than a thousand randomly selected American Gulf War veterans. “We measured the effects of the nerve gas by asking the veterans if they had heard chemical alarm signals – they had been trained to recognize them. We took blood and DNA samples from all the participants, did genetic research, and found a gene that really explains the disease. It is called paraoxonase-1 (PON1), which normally protects people from nerve gas by breaking it down in the blood before it reaches the brain,” Dr. Haley explains. “The problem is that there are strong and weak forms of the gene, and those soldiers who heard the nerve gas alarms and were exposed to small doses of nerve gas, who had a strong form of the gene, did not get sick,” he continues. “At the same time, people with a weak form of the gene who heard chemical alarms developed Gulf War Syndrome.”
Dr. Haley believes the research is the most comprehensive to date and will lead to the development of treatments and alleviate symptoms of the disease. The Royal British Legion estimates that up to 33,000 British troops (out of more than 50,000 who served in the Gulf War) still suffer from symptoms such as chronic fatigue, joint pain, memory problems and speech difficulties. Before the war, 26-year-old Kerry Fuller of Dudley went to the gym several times a week and loved rock climbing. Now he finds it difficult to get out of bed. He suffered a stroke at the age of 40. Now 58, he complains of excruciating muscle and joint pain. When he tosses and turns at night, he screams so loudly that the whole family hears him. He has problems with balance, memory and speech. “Even while I was still in the Army, I began to experience numerous illnesses, breathing problems, chronic fatigue,” he says. “And when I began to ask if this could somehow be related to my service in the Persian Gulf, the military command responded, ‘You’re talking nonsense, there is no evidence. Take two paracetamol.'”
During the Gulf War, there were a number of offers from Kerry Fuller. The National Gulf Veterans and Families Association, a charity that works with former sick British soldiers, welcomed the research. “For 30 years they have been ignored and lied to; they have not been given answers to their questions about the effects of toxic substances and gases and how they affect them physically and mentally,” the association said. “We hope that the British government will take note of this report and respond by offering Gulf War veterans the opportunity to be tested. We hope that this will lead to more serious and appropriate treatment that has been denied to them for too long”. The Department of Defense stated: “We continue to monitor and welcome any new research published worldwide. Veterans whose illnesses are related to their service receive financial support through military pensions from the Ministry of Defense and professional pension schemes of the armed forces”. But the Royal British Legion claims that the number of significant studies on Gulf War Syndrome conducted in the UK is still small.
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