THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, April 10, 1995 TAG: 9504100049
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: DURHAM, N.C. LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
Anti-nerve gas pills combined with anti-insect compounds may be the cause of a mysterious cluster of ailments known as Gulf War syndrome, researchers said.
Duke University Medical Center researchers tested nerve gas pills, insect repellents and insecticides given to U.S. troops and discovered nervous system damage in laboratory animals, The Herald-Sun of Durham reported Sunday.
The team's lead scientist warned that no undisputed link has been established between the chemicals and insecticides and the ailments reported by veterans of the war. But that's where the preliminary findings point, said Mohamed Abou-Donia, deputy director of Duke's toxicology program.
Last month, the Pentagon's top doctor said no single cause of Gulf War syndrome had been found. Dr. Stephen Joseph released updated figures of a Pentagon medical evaluation program of Gulf War veterans showing that in 84 percent of cases a clear diagnosis of health problems could be found.
Of the 2,074 cases analyzed, Pentagon doctors could not diagnose about 16 percent in the study complaining of fatigue, headaches and sleep disturbances.
Ross Perot, a longtime veterans advocate, gave the Duke researchers $150,000 for the study that began last July.
One possible reason some veterans got sick and others didn't is that each person's ability to deal with toxic chemicals varies. Also, some veterans may have been exposed to higher doses of chemicals, Abou-Donia said.
Another toxicologist said the Duke team's research will be hard to prove.
``It's a kind of scenario that is fairly easy to construct but difficult to prove,'' said Ernest Hodgson, head of the toxicology department at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. He isn't involved in the study.
KEYWORDS: GULF WAR SYNDROME STUDY PERSIAN GULF OPERATION DESERT STORM
by CNB