Blood Test Could Determine Who May Suffer from Gulf War IllnessGulf War Illness (GWI)Shortly after the Gulf War (1990-91), veterans started to report a variety of health problems that began during, or soon after returning from, deployment, prompting investigation into the epidemiology and etiology of the complaints. Those investigations revealed that diffuse symptoms such as fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, mood and neurocognitive complaints, gastrointestinal problems, and rashes were most commonly reported. The constellation of symptoms, now commonly referred to as Gulf War Illness (GWI), has affected a substantial number of Gulf War veterans. Several population-based studies have demonstrated that these symptoms occur at significantly higher rates in deployed Gulf War veterans relative to their nondeployed peers and other veterans, raising the issue about possible in-theater exposures and stress as contributing factors. However, these symptoms are also present in non-deployed military personnel, leading some to suspect other causes, including reactions to vaccine adjuvants. In summary, GWI is now a recognized constellation of symptoms of unclear etiology, also co-occurring with psychiatric disorders.

Brian Zimmermann joined the Army soon after quitting college. School just wasn't his thing.
"You don't think you'll have to fight when going into the Army," he said.
He was deployed for seven months during the first gulf war.
"We were attached to the seventh corps, and the seventh corps is who breached the berms from Saudi Arabia into Iraq," he said. "And we pushed across the country and made it all the way to the highway of death."
Zimmermann said he finished out his duty at a base in Kansas. Even before he came back from Iraq he knew something was wrong with him. Ever since that time, he said he has suffered from anxiety and feeling as if his skin is on fire.
"I have joint pain all the time, it doesn't go away. Sometimes it gets worse, it feels like your joints are exploding from the inside," he said.
According to the Department of...
Authors: Engdahl BKSTP - Todd Wilson - 2015-12-10
Pages: 12023-10-23 through 2016-01-0122015-12-10