Gulf War Syndrome Researchers Blame Sarin Gas and Toxic Exposures

Lourdes Salvador's Column

...Co-founder of MCS America discusses the latest Multiple Chemical Sensitivity issues.

Lourdes Salvador volunteers as a writer and social advocate for the recognition of multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS). She was a passionate advocate for the homeless and worked with her local governor to provide services to the homeless through a new approach she created to end homelessness. That passion soon turned to advocacy and activism for people with MCS and the medical professionals who serve them. She co-founded MCS Awareness in 2005 and went on to found MCS America in 2006. She serves as a partner for Environmental Education Week, a partner for the Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE), and a supporter for the American Cancer Society: Campaign for Smokefree Air.

For more information visit MCS America

Monday, September 7th, 2009:

Gulf War Syndrome Researchers Blame Sarin Gas and Toxic Exposures

by Lourdes Salvador

Toomey and colleagues, researchers at the Boston Veterans Administration Healthcare System, confirmed that Gulf War deployment is associated with subtle declines of motor speed and sustained attention as influenced by exposure to toxicants during deployment.

Toomey found that exposure to sarin gas released during the Khamisiyah destruction is correlated with long-term reduced motor speed in veterans that has not resolved after 10 years. Self-reported exposure to these toxicants is also significantly associated with attention deficits.

Ten years after the war, deployed veterans are still in poor health and perform significantly worse on cognitive tests than non-deployed veterans. Gulf War veterans complaints include:

Poor cognition.

Slowed motor function.

Memory Loss

Chronic Fatigue

Skin Rash

Hair Loss

Headache

Muscle pain

Gastrointestinal Disorders

Cardiovascular Changes

Chemical Sensitivity

These health alterations point to potential long-term, permanent impairment from toxicant exposure.

The symptoms of Gulf War veterans are analogous to a group of multi-system illnesses increasingly seen in the general population, notably: multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and fibromyalgia (FM). These illnesses all share a common pattern of initiation and, thus, they may share a common etiology (cause) in long-term, permanent impairment from toxic exposure.

Reference:

Toomey R, Alpern R, Vasterling JJ, Baker DG, Reda DJ, Lyons MJ, Henderson WG, Kang HK, Eisen SA, Murphy FM. Neuropsychological functioning of U.S. Gulf War veterans 10 years after the war. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2009 Jul 29:1-13. [Epub ahead of print]

For more articles on this topic, see: MCSA News.

Copyrighted 2009 Lourdes Salvador & MCS America

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