By Kelly Kennedy - USA Today
Posted : Wednesday Oct 26, 2011 11:39:33 EDT
WASHINGTON =97 Twenty years after the end of the Persian Gulf War, the
Department of Veterans Affairs plans to standardize and improve
treatment for the one of four veterans who suffer from a multi-symptom
illness that could have been caused by environmental exposures.
The VA has created a pilot program starting this week in Salt Lake
City aimed specifically at caring for Gulf War veterans, and it vowed
to improve training, data collection, research and communication for
that group.
The department will distribute pocket cards explaining symptoms and
possible exposures to medical staff.
The VA has created two positions in the Office of Research and
Development to deal with health-related issues possibly arising from
the Gulf War or other deployments.
A report, released by the VA=92s Gulf War Veterans=92 Illnesses Task
Force, lays out a proposed plan to address veterans=92 concerns.
=93This report provides a road map for our continued enhancements in our
care and services we provide to Gulf War veterans,=94 VA Secretary Eric
Shinseki said in a statement. =93We will be applying lessons learned
from this report to veterans of all eras.=94
The proposal comes after years of research that mistakenly pointed to
stress as the cause of symptoms such as chronic fatigue, headaches,
muscle and joint pain, chronic diarrhea and mysterious rashes.
Last year, the VA issued a 32-page training letter documenting
possible environmental exposures found during the Gulf War and in the
current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan that could result in troops=92
illness.
Those exposures included burn pits that consumed as much as 240 tons
of trash a day, particulate matter from dust storms and carcinogenic
chemicals left behind by Iraqi troops.
Recent research has shown a connection between Gulf War veterans who
used pesticides and anti-nerve agent pills to veterans who have higher
rates of Gulf War illness.
=93As a Gulf War veteran, I=92m glad that our issues are still on the
table,=94 said Joe Davis, spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, a
non-partisan veterans=92 advocacy group. =93With the dust, the oil fires
and the burn pits, it=92s just a given that some people are going to
have a stronger reaction.=94
Davis commended the VA for being =93light years=94 away from how it
responded to ill veterans 20 years ago.
Recent research has shown that veterans=92 symptoms resemble those of
rats exposed to nerve agents and pesticides.
A recent study showed that some veterans=92 symptoms responded
positively to treatment with the antioxidant coenzyme Q10.
Researcher Beatrice Golomb of the University of California-San Diego
said she expects more good news for potential treatments within the
year.
Davis said he expects that research, as well as the proposed changes
at the VA, to further help change the mindset of people who discount
the disease.
However, the new VA report doesn=92t suggest any new research and shows
that Gulf War illness funding dropped from $41 million in 2001 to $17
million in 2010.
The report quotes from a 2009 Institute of Medicine study that called
for =93a renewed research effort with substantial commitment to
well-organized efforts to better identify and treat multi-symptom
illness in Gulf War veterans.=94
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