Thousands of soldiers were affected when U.S. forces detonated chemical stores in Iraqi munition bunkers and when U.S. and allied planes bombed chemical factories [at Khamisiyah, Iraq -- weapons sold by the Reagan and Bush Administrations to Saddam Hussein's Iraq].
Two New Studies Confirm Gulf War Link To ALS
Dennie Williams
Hartford Courant [Connecticut]
ctnow.com
Posted 9/24/2003
September 23, 2003, Summary: This article describes new medical studies linking ALS with Gulf War service. The article states that, during the search for veterans with ALS, those searching "could clearly remember that one ALS victim was crawling on the floor of his home because the VA [Department of Veterans Affairs] wouldn't buy him a wheelchair." Mike Donnelly is truly an inspiration. This article shows that a small group of highly motivated people can make a positive difference ...
Afflicted South Windsor Pilot's Efforts Inspired Research
Two medical studies - inspired by the efforts of a dying Air Force pilot from South Windsor [Connecticut] and his family - have confirmed that veterans of the 1991 Gulf War have an increased risk of developing the same neurological disorder, Lou Gehrig's disease, that is killing him.
The two Gulf War studies, one announced by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in December 2001, and the other by Dr. Robert Haley and other researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, are published today in the medical magazine Neurology.
The VA study found that Gulf War combat veterans were twice as likely to develop ALS, a wasting neurological disease, as those who did not go to war. That study discovered 40 veterans with the disease. Haley found the rate among these veterans to be roughly three times higher than the general population.
Haley, an epidemiologist, and his team identified 17 Gulf War veterans, all younger than 45 when they were diagnosed with ALS between 1991 and 1998. None has a family history of ALS or other neurodegenerative disease, and all of the cases have progressed to advanced stages with 11 having died of the disease.
Haley found two-thirds of the veterans in his study had Gulf War illnesses prior to developing ALS. He had concluded in earlier studies that neurological brain damage in gulf war veterans was likely caused by wartime exposure to combinations of chemicals. Thousands of soldiers were affected when U.S. forces detonated chemical stores in Iraqi munition bunkers and when U.S. and allied planes bombed chemical factories [at Khamisiyah, Iraq -- weapons sold by the Reagan and Bush Administrations to Saddam Hussein's Iraq].
Retired Air Force Maj. Michael Donnelly of South Windsor, who flew 44 combat missions in an F-16 fighter during the Gulf War and later became sick with ALS, was the inspiration for the Dallas study, said Haley.
Donnelly, who must use a wheelchair, his sister, Denise Donnelly, and their father, Tom Donnelly, spent months researching, writing and interviewing veterans to identify 20 of the ALS cases Haley and the VA used in their studies. The VA study marked the first time ALS or any other disease was identified as Gulf War-related and thus permitted for government disability coverage.
When Michael Donnelly, now 44, first reported in 1997 that he had ALS from his wartime chemical exposures, Haley said, "I told him that it must just have been bad luck, not the war." But when the Donnelly family began supplying the names of other veterans with the disease, Haley said, he decided to investigate.
Donnelly is paralyzed and must rely on a ventilator for every breath. He communicates, in part, by blinking his eyes. His mind has remained sharp as his muscles deteriorate. Donnelly testified about gulf war illnesses before Congress. He and his sister, Denise, wrote a book, "Falcon's Cry," based on his experiences.
"Michael is one of the most courageous guys I have known," Haley said.
"It's been so long since we started [the ALS victim search]," said Tom Donnelly, "I can't remember all the ways we found the people." But, he added, he could clearly remember that one ALS victim was crawling on the floor of his home because the VA wouldn't buy him a wheelchair."
More victims should surface as time passes.
"The increasing slope of the epidemic curve beginning three years after the Gulf War and still increasing in 1998 further supports a true excess and raises the possibility of an even larger ALS problem in future years in the gulf war veteran population," said Haley.
"This disease occurred in a very abnormal age group - in people in their 20s and 30s instead of 60s and 70s," Haley said about the university study findings. "It raises the question whether the condition might have been caused, or triggered prematurely, by unusual environmental exposures in the war."
Tens of thousands of gulf war veterans, all exposed to chemical and other hazards, developed symptoms labeled Gulf War Syndrome, including depression, difficulty concentrating, joint pain, attention and balance deficits, and chronic diarrhea.
ALS is a degenerative disorder attacking nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. It causes progressive muscle weakness that leads to paralysis and eventually death.
It currently affects about 30,000 Americans, said Haley. It is most commonly associated with baseball Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig, who retired from his New York Yankee career in 1939, after being diagnosed with the illness. |
