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VA Changes Approach on Gulf War Illness NewsMax.com WiresWASHINGTON – The Veterans Affairs Department said Friday that it no longer would pay for studies that seek to show stress is the primary cause of mysterious ailments afflicting thousands of veterans of the 1991 Gulf War. For years the federal government has pointed to stress as the likely reason for the sicknesses. But Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi scheduled a news conference to announce the VA would set aside up to $15 million for a year of research into Gulf War illness, with the stipulation the money not pay for studies that propose stress as the only explanation for the ailments, said Stephan Fihn, the VA's acting chief research and development officer. Story Continues Below "More on the stress area per se isn't going to move us forward," Fihn told The Associated Press in advance of Principi's announcement. Principi's decision comes as a result of a report issued Friday by an advisory committee he appointed. The Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Illness spent the past two years reviewing recent studies and recommended the VA abandon stress studies and focus on toxic substances veterans encountered during the war. Many thousands of Gulf War veterans have experienced undiagnosed illnesses with symptoms such as chronic fatigue, loss of muscle control, diarrhea, migraines, dizziness, memory problems and loss of balance. For years the government denied mysterious illnesses were linked to the war. After the Pentagon acknowledged at least some of the sicknesses were due to wartime service, a federal panel was appointed to look into the cause. It concluded in 1996 that combat stress was the most likely source, although it recommended pursuing other possible reasons. Principi's panel, however, found that more recent studies suggest the veterans' illnesses are neurological, apparently linked to exposure to toxins such as the nerve gas sarin, the anti-nerve gas drug pyridostigmine bromide and pesticides military personnel encountered during the war. 'Detective Story' Fihn said the VA wouldn't narrow research only to investigations of the effects of toxic substances. "We view it as still a controversial and unsettled issue," he said. "Although the committee thinks there are promising leads in neurotoxins this is just that, leads. This is a detective story. There are no definite causes identified. We are turning to the scientific community and saying basically this is still an open question." Steve Smithson, American Legion's assistant director for veterans affairs and rehabilitation and a member of the committee, said the VA's shift was a victory for Gulf War veterans. "Progress has been slow in coming," Smithson said.
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