[News Release] VA, NIH launch study of Gulf War Illness, 2023

SNT Gatchaman · Apr 28, 2023

Not sure if this was already posted.

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/va-nih-launch-study-gulf-war-illness

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and National Institutes of Health have launched a study to gain a better understanding of the chronic symptoms of Gulf War Illness. The disease affects multiple systems in the body and includes chronic symptoms such as fatigue, headache, memory and cognitive difficulties, joint and muscle pain, poor sleep, and problems with gastrointestinal and respiratory function. It affects about a third of the nearly 700,000 men and women who served in the Persian Gulf during operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
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Researchers from NIH will seek to identify how the illness presents itself – in ways that can be measured or observed – in each participant. The research will focus on the immune and autonomic nervous systems, as well as the body’s energy-production pathways.
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Eligible veterans will be invited to the NIH Clinical Center for up to two weeks for comprehensive testing. Among other tests, the research protocol includes administering a peak exercise challenge to trigger symptom flares. The procedure has been used to explore the mechanisms of other chronic illnesses, such as myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.
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The study is expected to last five years. Initial enrollment began in July 2022 and focused on Gulf War veterans who were enrolled in other studies. Enrollment is now open to those from the larger Gulf War veteran community, with the first participant arriving to the NIH Clinical Center on April 16, 2023.
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SNT Gatchaman · Apr 28, 2023

It reads as a direct replication of their ME/CFS intramural study, the first publication of which has been submitted for peer review.

Wyva · Apr 28, 2023

SNT Gatchaman said: ↑

It reads as a direct replication of their ME/CFS intramural study, the first publication of which has been submitted for peer review.
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This gives me the strong impression that they did indeed find something then.

Trish · Apr 29, 2023

VA researchers will screen 1990-91 era Gulf War veterans through the Miami VA Medical Center and the California and Washington, D.C., sites of VA’s War Related Illness and Injury Study Center(link is external). Potential study participants will be referred to NIH to gain more insight into Gulf War Illness. Researchers from NIH will seek to identify how the illness presents itself – in ways that can be measured or observed – in each participant. The research will focus on the immune and autonomic nervous systems, as well as the body’s energy-production pathways.
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Several things to note from this.

First, there is no stated limit on the number of participants that I can see in the document. Compare with the stated upper limit of 40 in the ME/CFS study, and only actually getting 17.

Second, Gulf War Veterans have been sick since 1990-1, ie for over 30 years, yet for the ME/CFS study they insisted on under 5 years since onset. Given that it often takes more than 5 years to get a diagnosis, that severely restricted the cohort who could participate.

Third, the specified area of focus -
"The research will focus on the immune and autonomic nervous systems, as well as the body’s energy-production pathways" suggests to me that either these particular systems were found to be relevant in the ME/CFS study, or have been found to be relevant in GWI.
Why not, for example, the circulatory system - blood vessels or red cell deformity for example. And why not brain scans?

Laurie P · Feb 29, 2024

NIH, VA Launch Study of Gulf War Illness
https://nihrecord.nih.gov/2023/05/12/nih-va-launch-study-gulf-war-illness

Researchers led by NINDS principal investigator Dr. Brian Walitt will seek to identify how the illness presents itself—in ways that can be measured or observed—in each participant. The research will focus on the immune and autonomic nervous systems, as well as the body’s energy-production pathways. Walitt is head of the interoceptive disorders unit of the Clinical Neurosciences Program in NINDS’s Division of Intramural Research.
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VA-NIH Project IN-DEPTH
https://research.ninds.nih.gov/patients/va-nih-project-depth

Testing during NIH IN-DEPTH

Below is a list of optional and required procedures.

Required Procedures

An explanation of the study and signing of the research study consent form

Medical history

Physical exam and strength testing

Saliva, cheek swab, and stool sample collection

Questions about the participant’s life and their quality of life

Questions about the participant’s mental health

Tests of sweating. breathing, blood pressure in different positions, and heart rate

Questions about the participant’s diet and food preferences

Interviews about fatigue, symptoms, diet, health, and mood

Thinking and memory tests

Wearing an activity monitor and completing a fatigue diary

Blood collection

Venipuncture | MedlinePlus

Venipuncture Information | Mount Sinai - New York

[*]Urine collection
[*]A lumbar puncture (spinal tap)

What happens during a lumbar puncture (spinal tap)? - InformedHealth.org - NCBI Bookshelf (nih.gov)

Lumbar puncture (spinal tap) | Mayo Clinic

Heart (Holter) monitor

Holter monitor (24h) | MedlinePlus

Holter monitor - Mayo Clinic

An exercise stress test. Participants will pedal a stationary bike until too tired to continue.

Stress test | MedlinePlus

Stress test | Mayo Clinic

[*]Sleeping in a metabolic chamber- a room that monitors energy and nutrient balance.

Metabolic Testing | Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Obesity Branch | NIDDK (nih.gov)

[*]Eat a special metabolic diet where all of the food is weighed before being prepared
[*]Wear a transparent hood to measure energy use
[*]X rays to look at body composition

Bone density scan | Medline Plus

Bone density test | Mayo Clinic

[*]Echo

What is an echocardiogram? - InformedHealth.org - NCBI Bookshelf (nih.gov)

[*]EKG

What is an electrocardiogram (ECG)? - InformedHealth.org - NCBI Bookshelf (nih.gov)

Electrocardiogram | Johns Hopkins Medicine

PFT

Pulmonary Function Lab | NHLBI, NIH

pulmonary-function-tests.pdf (thoracic.org)

Pulmonary Function Tests | Johns Hopkins MedicineChest CT

Computed Tomography (CT) (nih.gov)

CT scan | Mayo Clinic

Optional Procedures

[*]CT Cerebrum

Head CT Scan | MedlinePlus

Head CT (Computed Tomography, CAT scan) (radiologyinfo.org)

[*]Autonomic Testing

Autonomic Testing | MedlinePlus

[*]Functional MRI

Functional MRI (fMRI) of the brain (radiologyinfo.org)

Brain transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation | Mayo Clinic

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) (nih.gov)

Information for Patients | ISMRM

Muscle and skin biopsies

Skin Biopsy | MedlinePlus

Punch Biopsy of the Skin (aafp.org)

Muscle Biopsy | Johns Hopkins Medicine
[*]

Muscle Biopsy | MedlinePlus

[*]Participants who are on medications that could interfere with the study testing may be asked to stop those medications prior to study procedures, if it is possible to do so safely.
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EndME · Feb 29, 2024

Shouldn't they be focusing on genetic work and nerve related things?

Sean · Feb 29, 2024

They need to first focus on getting Walitt off the case, and getting it out of the Interoceptive Unit.

How much more blatantly biased from the start can they make it?

Sid · Feb 29, 2024

Let me guess... The study will conclude that GWI is due to effort preference.

NelliePledge · Feb 29, 2024

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[News Release] VA, NIH launch study of Gulf War Illness, 2023

SNT Gatchaman Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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[News Release] VA, NIH launch study of Gulf War Illness, 2023

SNT Gatchaman Senior Member (Voting Rights)

SNT Gatchaman Senior Member (Voting Rights)

Wyva Senior Member (Voting Rights)

Trish Moderator Staff Member

Laurie P Senior Member (Voting Rights)

EndME Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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