ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 17, 1996 TAG: 9604170054
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
Doses of three chemicals used to protect Gulf War soldiers from nerve gas and insects are harmless alone, but mixed together can cause neurological problems in animals, Duke University researchers reported Tuesday.
Their findings present a possible explanation of the cause of Gulf War Syndrome, an assortment of ailments reported by veterans.
The nerve-gas pill reduces the body's normal ability to cleanse itself of the two insecticides, so they have time to infiltrate the brain, said Dr. Mohamed Abou-Donia, who presented his findings to veterans and defense officials Tuesday.
The Pentagon says it has no evidence of a new mystery disease causing the headaches, fatigue, memory loss and other symptoms reported by tens of thousands of Gulf War veterans. It attributes most symptoms to known illnesses.
``We haven't ruled in or ruled out the possibility that combinations of chemicals could indeed explain some of the illnesses of Persian Gulf veterans,'' said Veterans Affairs spokesman Terry Jemison. He declined to comment on Abou-Donia's findings, saying Veterans officials wanted to thoroughly review his research.
``That's an interesting report,'' Navy Capt. Michael Doubleday said at a Pentagon briefing Tuesday, but he added that Defense experts also had not analyzed it.
Abou-Donia acknowledges his study in chickens, whose neurological pathways are similar to human beings', does not prove the chemical cocktail hurts people.
But his partners at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center did epidemiological studies on soldiers that are consistent with the animal data, Abou-Donia said. Texas scientists declined to release their results until their research is published later this year.
Now Abou-Donia wants funding to analyze the blood of 100 veterans for signs that they were susceptible to this chemical poisoning. The Duke-Texas research has exhausted $250,000 from Texas billionaire Ross Perot, a longtime veterans' supporter.
``The Army has essentially eliminated any other possibility,'' Abou-Donia said. ``We're not saying this is Gulf War syndrome, but we're saying this deserves a look.''
The government should immediately investigate Abou-Donia's findings, said veterans' spokesman Phil Budahn of the American Legion.
The Pentagon already has begun funding some similar chemical studies, Doubleday said.
Abou-Donia first gave healthy chickens separate doses of the nerve-gas pill pyridostigmine and the insecticides DEET and permethrin. Doses of those drugs alone, even three times greater than soldiers got, didn't hurt the chickens. But any two chemicals together gave chickens diarrhea, shortness of breath, stumbling and other symptoms. The three taken together paralyzed or killed some of the birds.
Autopsies showed the chickens had inflamed or permanently damaged nervous system cells.
Abou-Donia's tests then showed the chickens most harmed had less of a natural cleansing enzyme called plasma butyrylcholinesterase, or BuCHE. This enzyme normally filters out chemicals such as DEET or permethrin before they can get into the brain.
The nerve-gas pill inhibits BuCHE. In fact, it is used as a medication for people with a rare disease affecting their enzyme-producing cells, Abou-Donia explained.
Proving BuCHE plummeted in soldiers during the Gulf War would be impossible, because as soon as the inhibiting chemical is removed, the body begins producing it again.
But about 4 percent of people have a genetic deficiency restricting the BuCHE they produce naturally - meaning they are more at risk of chemical damage. Abou-Donia now hopes to screen soldiers' blood to see if those with the most severe neurological symptoms also have a genetic BuCHE deficiency.
The research has implications for civilians, too, Abou-Donia said. Lots of people use mixes of pesticides and other chemicals in their homes, and the government does not require that chemical interactions be tested before the products are sold. People taking pyridostigmine as a medicine, for example, should not be exposed to pesticides, he said.
LENGTH: Medium: 81 linesby CNB