Gulf War Illness And The Health Of Gulf War Veterans

[allan]

In short more research needed…they wasted the last 15 yrs with bad studies

Lengthy report available at one of these web sites

http://sph.bu.edu/insider/images/stories/r...Report_2008.pdf

or http://tinyurl.com/678rxr

www.va.gov/RAC-GWVI

Gulf War Illness and the Health of Gulf War Veterans

Scientific Findings and Recommendations

Gulf War illness, the multi-symptom condition resulting from service in the 1990-1991 Gulf War, is the most prominent health issue affecting Gulf War veterans, but not the only one. The Congressionally mandated Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses has reviewed the extensive evidence now available, including important findings from scientific research and government investigations not considered by earlier panels, to determine what is known about the health consequences of military service in the Gulf War. This evidence identifies the foremost causes of Gulf War illness, describes biological characteristics of this condition, and provides direction for future research urgently needed to improve the health of Gulf War veterans.

Source : Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses

Summary. Federal research on Gulf War illness and the health of Gulf War veterans.

Since 1994, the federal government has reported spending hundreds of millions of dollars for projects

identified as Gulf War research, but prominent shortcomings have slowed federal progress in addressing

Gulf War-related health issues. Studies identified as federally-sponsored “Gulf War research†have often

been unrelated, or only marginally related, to the health of Gulf War veterans. In addition, a substantial

portion of Gulf War research funding has been used for studies focused on psychological stress and

psychiatric disorders. The federal Gulf War research effort has not, historically, been designed or

managed to achieve high-priority scientific objectives. Specifically, federal programs have not been

managed to resolve fundamental questions concerning the nature, causes, and treatments for Gulf War

illness. Consequently, federal Gulf War research programs have not, as yet, succeeded in improving the

health of ill Gulf War veterans

Recommendations

The Committee welcomes recent programmatic developments related to federal Gulf War research, and

urges the federal government to allocate no less than $60 million annually in the federal budget for Gulf

War research programs. This is consistent with annual funding levels committed for federal Gulf War

research between 1999 and 2001, adjusted for inflation. Specifically, the Committee recommends:

ï‚· That the Administration request and Congress appropriate a minimum of $40 million annually to

the Department of Defense for the Gulf War Illness Research Program managed by DOD’s Office

of Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs. This funding should support openlycompeted,

peer-reviewed studies focused on identifying: (1) effective treatments for Gulf War

illness, (2) objective measures that distinguish ill from healthy veterans, and (3) underlying

biological mechanisms potentially amenable to treatment, in accordance with the priorities

identified by the Committee.

ï‚· That the Administration request and Congress appropriate a minimum of $20 million annually to

the Department of Veterans Affairs for Gulf War illness research. This should include $15

million annually to support the Gulf War illness research center at the University of Texas

Southwestern through FY2010, with the balance to fund additional Gulf War research studies,

through Gulf War-specific and general solicitations for peer-reviewed proposals consistent with

research recommendations in this report.

ï‚· That VA continue to fund the ALS Registry and the Gulf War Biorepository, focused more

specifically on projects related to Gulf War era veterans. The biorepository should be expanded

to include Gulf War era veterans with other diagnosed medical diseases and difficult-to-diagnose

conditions.

ï‚· That the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs collaborate in

establishing a comprehensive federal Gulf War research plan and a strategy to coordinate and

manage federal programs to ensure that priority research objectives are satisfactorily achieved.

"Keep on, Keepin' on"

Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"

See my web site at:

http://www.angelfire.com/il2/VeteranIssues/