By Kelly Kennedy, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON =96 A congressional move to shift control of the flow of
money to research a mysterious Gulf War illness has alarmed veterans
of that conflict who fear the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments
have little interest in uncovering the true causes of their ailments.
"In its short history, the program has funded more trials of promising
treatments than all other government programs combined in the 20 years
since these troops came home sick," said Jim Binns, chairman of the
Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses. "It is by
far the best hope to improve their health and to prevent similar
illnesses in current and future conflicts."
In the past, Binns said, VA research focused on the mental health
issues of veterans of the 1991 Gulf War, while the Defense Department
stopped funding research on Gulf War illness several years ago. Now,
the Defense Department's Congressionally Directed Medical Research
Program (CDMRP) exists only because Congress designates money to the
Defense Department budget each year to study Gulf War illness.
But on Sept. 15, the Senate voted to exclude the program from next
year's Defense Appropriations Act, while the House, after a last-ditch
amendment from Rep.Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, voted to fund it with $10
million.
So far, CDMRP funding has included a study that showed coenzyme Q10
appeared to relieve some Gulf veterans' symptoms. Another recent study
funded by the program connected where veterans served with what
environmental exposures might have caused their symptoms.
"It is critical that this program be funded in the final Defense
appropriations bill in order to continue the research that has already
seen significant gains," Kucinich told USA TODAY.
On the Senate side, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., also pushed for
funding, telling USA TODAY, "We are still looking for what may have
caused so many servicemembers to become ill while trying to identify
the most effective treatment to address the symptoms."
Steve Robertson, Sanders' senior legislative assistant, said Congress
is under intense pressure to cut the budget. "I think everyone's
interested in doing what's best for the veterans," he said.
About one-fourth of the 700,000 veterans who served in the 1991 Gulf
War developed symptoms that include chronic headaches, widespread
pain, memory and concentration problems, persistent fatigue,
gastrointestinal problems, skin abnormalities and mood disturbances.
"(This research has) had the only success we've seen so far for Gulf
War veterans," said Anthony Hardie, a Gulf war veteran who has been a
consumer reviewer for the program since 2006.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/story/2011-10-12/gulf-war-illness-fun=
ding/50745258/1
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