Odds and ends

[Guest guest]

November 30, 1999

WTO Protesters, Police Battling

SEATTLE (AP)

Thousands of protesters taking to the streets today were successful in

disrupting the opening of the 135-nation World Trade Organization's meeting,

but the activists were met by police firing red pepper gas. Demonstrators

loudly protested the Geneva-based organization, which they contend has a

lack of concern for environmental and worker rights issues. Police said they

fired rounds of red pepper gas into groups of people who had chained

themselves together and were lying in the streets in an attempt to prevent

delegates from making it to the opening sessions.

Gulf War Illness, Brain Damage Linked

CHICAGO (AP)

Brain scans of soldiers who believe they suffer from Gulf War illness

indicate their brains were damaged by chemical exposure during the 1991

conflict, researchers reported today. ''This is the first time ever we have

proof of brain damage in sick Gulf War veterans,'' said Dr.

Fleckenstein, the lead researcher. As many as 30,000 veterans of the war

have complained of mysterious maladies, including fatigue, joint pain and

memory loss, that they say are related to their service in the Gulf.

ADM. QUIGLEY: Yes.

Q University of Texas Southwest, a Dr. Hailey (sp) says that he has

been able to document reduced brain stem activity in patients who have

complained of Gulf War illness-related maladies. Are you aware of this study

and do you have some response to this information?

ADM. QUIGLEY: Very much aware of the study. And I have also seen the

reporting on that. We really look forward to -- I think Dr. Hailey's (sp)

words were something that he thinks that this is the cause of Gulf War

illness. Gosh, I think the Pentagon would hope that that's true. We would

look forward to receiving the final results of this study. It has not been

released yet. I understand it's going to be an oral presentation today in

Chicago. So there are many steps to go here. We need to take a look at it.

We would look forward to some sort of a peer review in a professional

journal.

But boy, we are always interested in the results of any of these works that

are ongoing.

Gulf War, Brain Damage Linked

CHICAGO (AP)

Brain scans of soldiers who believe they suffer from Gulf War illness

indicate their brains were damaged by chemical exposure during the 1991

conflict, researchers reported today. ''This is the first time ever we have

proof of brain damage in sick Gulf War veterans,'' said Dr.

Fleckenstein, the lead researcher. As many as 30,000 veterans of the war

have complained of mysterious maladies, including fatigue, joint pain and

memory loss, that they say are related to their service in the Gulf. The

study found that the veterans who believe they have the illness have up to

25 percent lower levels of a certain brain chemical than healthy Gulf War

veterans.

Risks Go Beyond Traditional Weapons

BYLINE: DAVID BRISCOE

DATELINE: WASHINGTON

The last casualties of modern warfare, the ones that occur long after the

battle, may be the toughest to prevent. And even in battle, focus on

traditional weaponry could mask less-obvious hazards to troops.

Chemical and biological weapons, toxic agents, disease and physical and

psychological stress need special attention by military strategists,

according to a series of Pentagon-ordered reports released Tuesday.

The reports by panels set up by the National Academy of Sciences' Institute

of Medicine and the National Research Council cover assessment of new risks

facing troops, offer advice for decontaminating troops and propose improved

medical surveillance and record-keeping.

A fourth report assessing the military's methods for detecting exposure to

potentially harmful agents is due later this year. Each of the new reports

includes more than 100 pages of analysis and recommendations.

The report on medical surveillance also recommends that the military set

clear guidelines on how much to tell soldiers, their families and others

about the risks soldiers face.

It said the military needed a cultural change ''from the top'' in

communicating risk to those involved and recommended: ''Decide what

information people need to know and when they need to know it.''

''Even in the absence of widespread acute casualties from battle, war takes

its toll on human health and well-being long after the shooting or bombing

stops,'' said the report.

It said ''uncertainty and questions remain'' about Gulf War illnesses

reported by a large percentage of the 697,000 service members deployed

during the 1991 attack on Iraq. It also draws lessons from deployments in

Haiti, Somalia, Bosnia, Southwest Asia and Kosovo.

''Although military preventive medicine programs have developed reasonably

effective countermeasures against many of the discrete diseases and

non-battle injury hazards of deployment, they have not yet systematically

addressed the medically unexplained symptoms seen not only after the Gulf

War but also after major conflicts dating back at least to the Civil War,''

the report said.

The scientists recommend improved collection of medical data on soldiers,

both before and after they enter conflict, including details on any

important environmental and other exposure during the deployment.

The new reports offer some criticism of past Pentagon strategies for

protecting troops, citing a natural tendency to focus attention on known

hazardous agents and saying that ''too much attention on them may result in

other hazards being overlooked.''

November 30, 1999; Tuesday 13:57 Eastern Time

Gulf War, Brain Damage Linked

by BRENDA C. COLEMAN

Brain scans of soldiers who believe they suffer from Gulf War illness

indicate evidence of brain damage, possibly from chemical exposure during

the 1991 conflict, researchers reported today.

''This is the first time ever we have proof of brain damage in sick Gulf War

veterans,'' said the lead researcher, Dr. Fleckenstein, a professor of

radiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

He said the study could not confirm how or when the brain damage occurred,

but that signs point to chemical exposure and it was reasonable to believe

it happened during the war.

''There's hope, now that these guys have a disease,'' he said. ''They can be

believed they're not malingering, they're not depressed, they're not

stressed. There's a hope for treatment and there's hope for being able to

monitor the progress of the disease.''

As many as 30,000 veterans of the war have complained of mysterious

maladies, including fatigue, joint pain and memory loss, that they say are

related to their service in the Gulf.

A presidential panel looking into Gulf War illnesses said in August that it

can't pinpoint causes of the ailments and recommended further study into

whether there are potential genetic reasons.

In the new study, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, which uses radio waves to

measure body chemistry, found that veterans who believe they have the

illness have up to 25 percent lower levels of a certain brain chemical than

healthy Gulf War veterans.

Lower-than-normal levels of the chemical, N-acetyl-aspartate, in the brain

stem and basal ganglia suggest a loss of neurons in those areas, said the

researchers, who were to present their findings today at the 85th annual

meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.

The brain stem controls some of the body's reflexes. The basal ganglia are

switching stations for nerve impulses controlling movement, memory and

emotion. The basal ganglia, for example, are where the malfunctioning occurs

that causes Parkinson's disease.

Fleckenstein said treatments are being explored by his colleague, Dr.

Haley, an associate professor of internal medicine and chief of epidemiology

at UT Southwestern.

Haley helped define Gulf War syndromes and identify toxic exposures

associated with the likelihood of having them. He also revealed enzyme

abnormalities that may be linked to the disease.

Fleckenstein said brain scans of 22 sick veterans revealed levels of

N-acetyl-aspartate 10 percent to 25 percent lower than those in 18 healthy

veterans. The finding held up in an additional six sick Gulf War veterans

drawn from a different part of the military.

The study was blinded, meaning radiologists interpreting the results did not

know which patients complained of symptoms and which were healthy.

Researchers believe soldiers who became ill were those who had a genetic

vulnerability to certain chemicals used in the war, including nerve gas, the

insecticide DEET, pet flea collars some wore to repel pests and the drug

pyridostigmine bromide. PB was administered to as many as 250,000 soldiers

in the belief it would protect them from the toxic effects of nerve gas.

Last month, the Pentagon raised the possibility for the first time of a

connection between Gulf War illness and PB. It said more scientific study is

needed before it can confirm or rule out a connection.

Lt. Col. Dian Lawhon, a spokeswoman for the Department of Defense's office

for Gulf War illnesses, which helped fund Fleckenstein's study, said her

office could not comment on the findings until it sees a complete report.

Only an abstract was available.

''This is part of our continuing effort to find out what might be making

Gulf War veterans sick,'' she said. ''We haven't seen anything that would

say that they found the smoking gun, though.''

The brain scan study was reported on the same day as the release of a series

of Pentagon-ordered reports that said focusing on the danger of traditional

weapons could mask less-obvious, long-term hazards to troops.

''Even in the absence of widespread acute casualties from battle, war takes

its toll on human health and well-being long after the shooting or bombing

stops,'' said one of the reports prepared by the National Academy of

Sciences' Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council.

The reports offered some criticism of past Pentagon strategies for

protecting troops, citing a natural tendency to focus attention on known

hazardous agents and saying that ''too much attention on them may result in

other hazards being overlooked.''

SHOW: CNN TODAY 13:00 pm ET

November 30, 1999; Tuesday 1:04 pm Eastern Time

Transcript # 99113002V13

Finding a Clue: Doctors Claim First Hard Evidence for Gulf War Syndrome

Found in Brain Damage

BYLINE: , Cabell

HIGHLIGHT: After years of intense and sometimes-angry national debate, there

is new medical evidence today that may help explain the health problems

reported by thousands and thousands of Gulf War veterans. Doctors in Dallas

have found strong indications the condition known as Gulf War Syndrome may

be linked to brain damage.

BODY:

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE

UPDATED.

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: After years of intense and sometimes- angry

national debate, there's new medical evidence today that may help explain

the health problems reported by thousands and thousands of Gulf War

veterans.

CNN's Cabell tells us that doctors in Dallas have found strong

indications the condition known as Gulf War Syndrome may be linked to brain

damage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gulf War veteran Yarger

hasn't been healthy for eight years. Suffering from chronic fatigue, a

60-pound weight loss, body aches and a faltering memory, he qualified for a

Dallas study in which the brains of Gulf War vets were scanned for

abnormalities.

DR. ROBERT HALEY, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SOUTHWESTERN MED. CENTER: We have come

up with the first hard evidence that the Gulf War Syndrome is due to brain

damage.

CABELL: That's the conclusion of Dr. Haley, who helped direct the

study of 22 sick vets and 18 healthy ones.

HALEY: Now, that's the basal ganglia up here.

CABELL: What they found in their research, which has not yet been

peer-reviewed, is that in two parts of the brain the sick vets have low

levels of a certain chemical known as NAA, resulting in damaged brain cells.

DR. JAMES FLECKSTEIN, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SOUTHWESTERN MED. CENTER: If you

have it from the brain stem, you may have problems with attention or

balance. If you have it from the basal ganglia, centers of mood, you may

have depression, difficulty concentrating and pain problems.

CABELL: That might help to explain the various ailments reported by up to

100,000 Gulf War veterans. After years of uncertainty, Yarger is glad

to hear the two doctors' findings.

CHRIS YARGER, GULF WAR VETERAN: This may sound a little ridiculous, but it's

almost like relief, because finally we have something that we can say, yes,

here's a problem.

CABELL: The Dallas doctors believe four factors alone or in combination may

have contributed to the chemical deficiency: low-level chemical exposure

from allied bombing of Iraqi chemical plants, pills taken by the troops to

combat a possible nerve gas attack, insect repellents and toxic flea collars

worn by some of the soldiers in the desert.

Many scientific studies have questioned whether Gulf War Syndrome even

exists.

CHARLES TOWNSHEND, GULF WAR VETERAN: This is where the manual- dexterity

problems come in.

CABELL: Gulf War vet Townshend, who's been suffering from hot

sweats, joint aches and concentration lapses for years, doubts that this

study will vindicate him and the others who've long said they were sick.

TOWNSHEND: If it's vindication, then, you know, when is somebody going to

say, hey, I'm sorry, we goofed up.

CABELL: The Pentagon's response to the study at this point is cautious. " The

DOD, " it says, " looks forward to receiving the final results of this

research. Until then, it would be inappropriate for the DOD to comment on an

unreleased research paper we haven't seen. "

(on camera): If in fact this study explains the cause of Gulf War Syndrome,

is there a remedy? According to Dr. Haley and his colleagues, maybe. They're

now giving some Gulf War Patients psychiatric medications in hopes of

repairing the brain damage.

(voice-over): Nothing certain, but sick Gulf War vets, after almost nine

years, welcome even the slightest of hopes.

Cabell, CNN, Dallas.