Study: Not enough evidence to link 4 chemical agents to Gulf War syndrome

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- There is not enough evidence to link the long-term health problems suffered by some Gulf War veterans to certain drugs, chemicals and vaccines they may have been exposed to during the war, according to a new report released Thursday.

As many as 100,000 of the 700,000 troops who served during Operation Desert Storm and Operation Desert Shield in 1990 and 1991 have reported symptoms ranging from chronic fatigue, muscle and joint pain, memory loss, balance disturbances, sleep disorders, depression, chronic diarrhea and concentration problems.

"We'd like to give veterans and their families definitive answers, but the evidence simply is not strong enough," said Dr. Harold C. Sox Jr., who chaired the committee that conducted a comprehensive review of scientific literature.

Thousands of troops came in contact with a number of agents before, during and after the war, the report stated. Because Iraq had used biological and chemical weapons in the past, troops were given vaccines to protect them from an attack. While the nerve agent sarin was not believed to have been used in combat, some troops might have been exposed to it in cleanup operations after the war. And because of friendly fire incidents, troops came in contact with depleted uranium used in weapons.

In addition, the Iraqis set a number of oil well fires in Kuwaiti oilfields, exposing troops to hundreds of compounds carried in the smoke.

The study, conducted by The National Academies' Institute of Medicine for the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, focused on four substances: sarin; pyridostigmine bromide (PB), which was used to limit the effects of nerve agents; depleted uranium; and vaccines to prevent anthrax and botulism.

Committee members reviewed 10,000 abstracts of scientific and medical articles related to those agents. They also evaluated 1,000 peer-reviewed journal articles.

Most of the studies involved exposures in occupational settings, like with uranium, terrorist attacks like the sarin incidents in Japan or clinical trials of PB used to routinely treat myasthenia gravis, a disorder that causes muscle weakness.

But the committee was unable to draw specific conclusions about the veterans' health problems because a critical factor was missing: the level of their exposure to the agents in question.

"Without data on the levels of exposure in the Persian Gulf theater, answers will remain elusive," said Sox.

At the most, the committee found limited evidence from three studies that might suggest a link between long-term health effects and exposure to the nerve agent sarin at levels great enough to cause an immediate intense reaction. But alternative explanations for this link could not be ruled out.

The panel of experts also found limited, suggestive evidence of no link between exposure to uranium and kidney disease or -- at low-exposure levels -- to lung cancer.

Congress has ordered similar studies of 33 specific agents. The committee is conducting a series of reviews and its next report will focus on pesticides and solvents.

Gulf War soldiers may have 'inhaled uranium'
September 3, 2000
Cause of Gulf War Syndrome still a mystery
February 25, 2000
Gulf War veterans suffered brain damage after chemical exposure, study says
November 30, 1999
Pentagon: Drug may be linked to Gulf War Syndrome
October 19, 1999
Report: Can't rule out nerve agent antidote as cause of Gulf War Syndrome
October 19, 1999
1996: Year-in-Review: Gulf War Syndrome

National Academies of Science - Institute of Medicine
Department of Veterans Affairs
Captain Joyce Riley: Gulf War Syndrome
Leading Edge Research Group: Gulf War Syndrome Web
Gulf War Syndrome, from the publisher of CFS-NEWS
Gulf War Syndrome and Depleted Uranium: Dr. Rosalie Bertell

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