THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, April 25, 1995 TAG: 9504250291
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: DURHAM LENGTH: Short : 46 lines
An Army study may support a Duke University finding that anti-nerve gas pills and insecticides used by gulf war troops may be responsible for their health problems, a newspaper reported Monday.
An Army spokesman cautioned that the military study, which the Army acknowledges but would not discuss, is not conclusive, The Herald-Sun of Durham said.
``Based on a study of hens or rats, it would be impossible to say whether this combination of chemicals helps explain causes of the undiagnosed illnesses that have been reported by some gulf war veterans,'' an Army statement said.
Duke researchers found that combinations of chemicals caused nervous system damage in chickens used in lab experiments. The Army study said that, in studies on laboratory rats, the chemicals were more toxic when combined.
A neurologist involved in another gulf war syndrome study in Portland, Ore., said that without objective evidence of nerve system damage in veterans, it will be difficult to link exposure to the chemicals with veterans' health complaints.
``Headaches and fatigue doesn't necessarily tell you there's been objective damage to the nervous system - there may be other explanations,'' said Dennis Bourdette, a neurologist at the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
``At this point, we haven't identified any veteran with unexplained illness that (has) any grossly obvious evidence of nerve damage.''
The Portland VA hospital is one of three VA centers doing studies designed to answer the mysteries surrounding gulf war syndrome, the name given to a cluster of ailments that about 37,000 veterans have reported since returning from the war in 1991.
Bourdette said his study is looking for subtle nerve damage that is hard to detect.
``It's good news in the sense that anything that brings us closer to the answer is good,'' said Phil Budahn, a spokesman for the American Legion.
KEYWORDS: GULF WAR GULF SYNDROME GULF WAR ILLNESS STUDY by CNB