Researchers have figured out why veterans suffering from Gulf War Illness have such a wide variety of symptoms.
A research team from Georgetown University believes there are two types of the illness, dependent on which side of the brain shows atrophy.
"Our findings help explain and validate what these veterans have long said about their illness," said Rakib Rayhan, a researcher in the GUMC lab who participated in the study.
The disease is thought to have affected 200,000 military personell who participated in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm between 1990 and 1991. The symptoms range drastically in severity and include symptoms such as "pain, fatigue and headache as well as cognitive and gastrointestinal dysfunctions."
A recent study led researchers to believe they've found the first physical proof of the illness, abnormalities affecting the brain fibers that connect areas associated with processing fatigue and pain.
The newest study used MRIs to find some veterans had atrophy to the brain stem, which regulates heart beat, while others had damage to cortical regions affecting pain perception.
"This has been a 20-year detective story, and for the sake of our veterans, I hope we have made an impact for them," said Dr. James Baraniuk, who led the study. "Now investigators can move from subjective criteria to objective MRI and other criteria for diagnosis and to understand the brain pathology."
Both groups of veterans were not able to use certain parts of their brains after exercise, this is a trait often associated with neurodegenerative disorders. Participants in the control group showed no alterations in "cognition, brain structure and exercise-induced symptoms"
Carolyn Kroot, 54, a retired Gulf War veteran believes she was exposed to sarin gas in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm.
"Our chemical alarms were going off constantly," she said.
Kroot noticed she was having trouble focusing just months after returning home.
"I had a hard time comprehending and remembering things, and I was always fatigued," she said. "It has been liberating for me to have the validation, the confirmation, that there is indeed something physically wrong with me."
