Gulf War Syndrome Research Project, page

The symptoms of GWS are generally Sleep Problems, Mood Swings, Short-term Memory Loss, Headaches, Sensitivity to bright light, Blurred vision/Loss of focus, Chronic Fatigue, Rashes, Aching Joints, Abdominal Pain, Diarrhea, Respiratory problems, Cardiovascular problems.
www.gulfweb.org...
Cirrosis (spelling) and Necrosis of the liver have also been commonly identified with Gulf War Syndrome.

Other phenomenon associated with GWS in some studies are
1. Human Endogenous Retro-Viruses (HERVs) and failure to develop antibodies when vaccinated (signs of immune failure),
2. fungal- or protozoa-like structures, decreased protein, increased pH resulting in enhanced polyamine synthesis and ammonia in semen- resulting in a burning sensation for the victims wife during intercourse.
3. Peripheral neuropathies.
This is also found at www.gulfweb.org... under the heading "private medical research".

The research which I reference next is published here: www.swmed.edu... and was debated in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which you can read here: www.gulfweb.org...

UT Southwestern researchers under Dr. Haley conducted a study of 249 members of a US Navy Reserve Construction Battalion and found that 1/4 of them suffered groupings of symptoms. Three groupings of neurological symptoms were discovered. This represents some of the pioneering research in the challenge to the government's ridiculous assertion that GWS is a somatiform related to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and establishes the neurological basis of GWS. THESE FINDINGS SHOULD NOT DISCOURAGE INTEREST IN NON-NEUROLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS, as they are only a beginning, and do not perfectly define all cases of GWS, nor have they yet yielded anything of use in diagnosis and treatment to my knowledge. This information was heavily discussed in the Journal of the American Medical Association, and finds its chief opposition from doctors employed at Bethesda, who have a large stake in the lie that GWS is stress-related.

The three classes of neurological symptoms identified in 1/4 of the group of 249 Naval Reservists by Dr. Haley:
The first, titled "Impaired Cognition" manifested in the form of diarhea, distractability, difficulty remembering, depression, insomnia, daytime sleepiness, slurred speach, confusion, and migraines. The common risk factors among affected veterans were use of flea-collars intended for pets, employment in security roles, and youth. These symptoms mirror the DoD definition of GWS.
The second, titled "Confusion Ataxia" manifested as diarhea, disorientation, dizziness/vertigo, difficulty reasoning, and sexual impotence. Common risk factors were experience of side-effects from Pyridostigmine Bromide pills, having been under suspected chemical attack (fired upon by scud missiles), especially at Khafji on Jan. 20, 1991, and older age.
The third, titled "Arthro-myo-neuropathy" manifested as diarhea, joint/muscle pain, weakness, or fatigue as well as numbness or tingling in the hands and feet. Common risk factors were older age, side effects of Pyridostigmine Bromide pills, and use of 75% DEET insect repellant.

These veterans were not in close proximity to the accidental sarin release caused by the 37th engineer battalion at Khamisiyah at any point during the war. Stress has been ruled out as a causative factor both by this study and by the British Ministry of Defence.

From this study we find 2 distinct neurological disorders tied to the combination of organo-phosphates and PB (in one case by chemical attack and PB resulting in confusion ataxia, and in the other case by DEET and PB resulting in Artho-myoneuropathy.)
I say 2 because it seems reasonable that the first set, "impaired cognition" is a milder form of "confusion ataxia" as these veterans are noted to be younger and to have selected an alternative to Organophosphate insect repellants. The result here is the identification of two neurological explanations of gulf war syndrome.

It bears emphasis that this study was aimed at the identification of a neurological explanation, and does not address the presence of fungus or the immune failure reported by other research. It is necessary to search either for additional effects of the above-named causes or for additional causes. Also, it is important to discover the link between gastric problems and neurological disorders, as well as why in some cases these problems seem to have been passed on to family members.

The next piece of information I found clarified this for me, and showed me how a common factor could have caused neurological damage, respiratory damage, gastric damage, and the entire range of symptoms identified by gulf war veterans.

The following is the account of an incident that happened to a Naval Reserve consturction unit- I can not confirm that it is the same unit which Dr. Haley tested, but it is possible. When you read this, remember that it happened on 19 or 20 January (depending on which source you read). Being in a certain location on 20 January was named as a risk factor for Confusion Ataxia, the second and most severe syndrome identified by Dr. Haley! The quote is taken from www.mold-help.org...

At about 3:00 AM on the morning of January 19, a brilliant flash of red light appeared in the cloud-covered sky over the port of Al Jubayl. The flash was followed by a loud double-explosion and a shockwave powerful enough to knock over tents at Camp 13 and awaken the sleeping troops. According to one eyewitness, "The concussion was so strong that it knocked me to my knees." [1]

Almost immediately, the general-quarters alarm began to sound. Thomas Harper, communications chief for the Air Detachment, heard a warning message come over the camp radio net: "Alpha 6 Bravo (the unit’s call sign), we have a confirmed chemical agent." The radio then broadcast a message to all stations ordering the troops to don their gas masks and chemical-protective suits and proceed to bunkers. There was also a call for chemical decontamination teams. [2]

Near-panic broke out as the Seabees struggled to pull on their masks and rubberized suits. As the troops emerged from their tents and ran to the bunkers, they smelled a sharp, acrid odor and saw a dense yellowish mist floating over the camp. Many individuals did not mask in time or failed to achieve a good seal. They began to choke, and a few had profuse nasal secretions that fouled (clogged) their masks. Fred Willoughby felt his mouth, lips, and face go numb, a sensation similar to Novocain at a dentist’s office. Roy Morrow and Nick Roberts experienced a burning sensation on their exposed skin and a strange metallic taste, "like sucking on a penny." [3]

When the sun rose later that morning, Nick Roberts observed a thin coating of yellow powder on tents and vehicles. Other Seabees noticed that an area near the entrance to the commercial port of Jubayl had been cordoned off with yellow hazard tape, and that a fenced-in herd of animals nearby had died. Later that day, the battalion’s chemical officers collected each soldier’s chemical-protective suit and replaced it with a new one, the only time such a gear exchange took place during the war. Because of a shortage of equipment, routine replacement of chemical suits was extremely rare during the Gulf War, if it occurred at all.

Within a few days after the mysterious double-explosion, those Seabees who had experienced burning skin, facial numbness, and choking began to suffer from flu-like symptoms, including fever, sweating, diarrhea, and muscle cramps and spasms. Areas of skin that had been exposed during the incident broke out in rashes, welts, and small blisters, which eventually burst and turned into ulcerating sores that scabbed over and healed but later recurred. The Seabees’ joints also began to ache, and the pain became progressively worse. Several developed painfully swollen lymph nodes.

This website deals with the effects of Mycotoxins and the molds with which they are associated.
cmr.asm.org...

Mycotoxins are diverse secondary metabolites produced by fungi growing on a variety of foodstuffs consumed by both animals and humans (Table 2) (76). Clinical toxicological syndromes caused by ingestion of large amounts of mycotoxins have been well characterized in animals and range from acute mortality to slow growth and reduced reproductive efficiency. The effects on humans are much less well characterized

Reduced reproductive efficiency... sexual impotence was part of the symptoms included in Dr. Haley's syndromes.

Mycotoxins are probably responsible for a range of acute and chronic effects that cannot be attributed to fungal growth within the host (301) or allergic reactions to foreign proteins (370).

Thats why it's hard to identify.

The most notorious and best described of the mycotoxins are the aflatoxins... The aflatoxins are toxic, immunosuppressive, mutogenic, teratogenic, and carcinogenic, and their main target is the liver. Most have been classified as type 1 carcinogens

This is where the abdonimal pain and cases of liver cancer and necrosis are coming from. This also explains the ineffectiveness of vaccines and the problem with retro-virusses experienced by veterans, as well as the birth defects of their children.

In the Ukraine in the early 1930s, a unique disease of horses was recognized that was characterized by lip edema, stomatitis, oral necrosis... neurologic compromise (irritability, gait disturbance, and blindness), superinfections, and finally death (133). There was also a rare "atypical" form, which was primarily neurological and highly fatal, with areflexia (loss of sensorimotor reflexes), hyperesthesia (hypersensitivity to pain), hyperirritability, blindness, and stupor.

Mycotoxins are known to cause mood swings, confusion, a disturbance of motor skills- signs of GWS.

Sites of action include initiation of protein synthesis (scirpentriol, 15-acetoxyscirpendiol, DAS, verucarin A, and T-2 toxin) and elongation or termination (trichodermin, trichodermol, crotocol, trichothecolone, trichothecin, and verrucarol) (187, 258). Because of their potency in affecting protein synthesis, they may cause a predilection to other diseases, masking the underlying toxicosis

Remember the earlier source which mentioned increased protien and pH in semen, and the occurence of retro-viruses? The above quote makes sense in that light, doesn't it?

While S. chartarum produces several very toxic macrocyclic trichothecenes (32, 150-152, 183, 188), the levels at which these toxins are produced in laboratory cultures have never appeared sufficient to cause such profound toxic effects as have been observed in animals (188). Levels are also low in environmental samples. Chemical analysis of such samples is difficult due to intrinsic compound properties and secondary metabolite production; despite much work, most potential products are uncharacterized

Another indication of why it's hard to identify and treat. You could easily argue that it's not harmful, yet we know that it's harming animals. The same way the VA argues that GWS isn't from a harmful physical source, even though it's harming veterans.

The most famous purported case of mass human trichothecene toxicity was in fact due to Fusarium. The illness was initially dubbed "septic sore throat" and subsequently called alimentary toxic aleukia (ATA) (7, 193-195, 252, 253, 274, 369, 380, 408, 429). It occurred in Russia in the early 20th century, most notably prior to and during World War II, and was characterized by several stages. Initially, there was oral mucosal ulceration and gastroenteritis. Subsequently, there was pancytopenia accompanied by fatigue, vertigo, and hypotension. The illness had a substantial mortality rate, at least in part due to opportunistic bacterial infections developing in the later stages of the disease (53, 69, 370). One-third of family members who ate contaminated grain became ill, and one-third of those died; this was responsible for thousands of deaths. Where nutrition was good, morbidity and mortality were much lower

Gastric problems, fatigue, vertigo, hypotension, opportunistic diseases... sounds vaguely familiar.

Verruculogens and penitrem A may be "tremorgenic mycotoxins," responsible for tremors, ataxia, weakness, and convulsions in animals

What do you know... not just generic neurological problems, but a form of ataxia, just like Haley identified in GWS victims.

dwp.bigplanet.com... This website deals with the treatment of Mycotoxicosis. One thing I note is that this website refers the the symptoms as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFIDS). A little reading into my sources on GWS will reveal that CFIDS is often mentioned right along side, BECAUSE THE SYMPTOMS ARE THE SAME!


Wrapping up for the moment, I appologize for the length of this post. I did my best to consolidate 3 days worth of study into a single post without ommitting too much of many citations of evidence. I may edit this for neatness later.

I'll start by saying that doing this alone is getting really old. At this point even bad help would be better than none at all. Please somebody join? Don't make me beg.

That being said, I'm just gonna toss out some peripheral evidence dealing with the way the British Ministry of Defence is dealing with Gulf War Syndrome. They have acknowledged it and are taking their veterans welfare seriously (not something the US is particularly well known for).

I have found one article from the Guardian basically stating that the British Ministry of Defence is contradicting the official position of the American Department of Defense, as promoted by doctors at Bethesda.
I have edited this quotationg for length because it can be viewed in full here:
www.gulfweb.org... (a link to the guardian can also be found there to confirm the source).

Friday September 13, 2002

What has happened?
Doctors at the Gulf war illness research unit at Guy's, King's and St
Thomas's School of Medicine in London have today published research in the
British Medical Journal which indicates that self-reported ill-health among
veterans of the conflict cannot be fully explained by mental illness.

The five-year-long research involved questioning 12,000 British veterans
from the 1990-91 Gulf war and the 1992-97 Bosnian peace mission and
comparing results.
...

In June, National Gulf Veterans Family Association gave evidence at a US congressional subcommittee... saying that tests on veterans have found traces of depleted and enriched uranium in their blood and urine.

Illnesses among more than 5,000 British veterans have
also been linked to powerful immunisation tablets given to soldiers... and the use of corrosive organophosphates...

MoD doctors have denied in the past that there is any Gulf
war disease, and no government has acknowledged it exists.

So, the above article should be helpful to the investigation of DU, PB, and Organophosphates. Although mycotoxins seem like a strong candidate for being the cause, they may not be the sole cause.



On the other hand, a British doctor named Hall has apparently formed his own conclusion while giving evidence to the inquiry, and has been harsh, perhaps slanderous/libelous in his written testimony and oral discussion thereof. This article was contributed via U2U by ZeroDeep- thanks.

Gulf war inquiry checks evidence for libel

James Meikle, health correspondent
Tuesday August 17, 2004
The Guardian

The independent inquiry investigating whether illnesses among veterans of the first Gulf war were related to their service is taking legal advice about whether it should publish claims from a doctor who said many veterans he examined on behalf of the Ministry of Defence were liars.
Tony Hall, employed for a year on the MoD's medical assessment programme, said many veterans were obese, smoked nicotine or were alcoholic when he presented evidence to Lord Lloyd's inquiry. Others smoked cannabis, had criminal records for violence after drinking or had difficulty keeping jobs.

He named individuals, prompting the inquiry secretariat to examine whether he had committed libel in his written statement and slander in his oral evidence last week.

The MoD, which has refused to allow any serving ministers, officials or service personnel to give oral evidence, said it had contacted the inquiry and "discussed" Dr Hall's evidence.

"Our interest stems from a complaint received from a veteran who is named in Dr Hall's evidence who was concerned about medical confidentiality."

A spokeswoman added: "We would not want to influence Lord Lloyd in any way."

She said Dr Hall's views were "not the views of the MoD".

The inquiry is being held in public and journalists have been regularly handed copies of written evidence, although the Guardian and other media did not attend the session at which Dr Hall spoke. He sent his evidence to the Daily Telegraph. The Guardian has also seen a copy.

Dr Hall trained in London but moved to the US and was drafted into the army. When he returned to Britain he joined the MoD's medical assessment programme to investigate whether there were Gulf-related illnesses at St Thomas' hospital in London.

In his evidence he said he had taken detailed histories of 460 veterans and measured the height, weight and body mass of 222 of them. Of these, 60% were overweight "and indeed 20% were obese".

He called for a ban on contact sports, "smoking nicotine, cannabis, coc aine, magic mushrooms and the use of any other recreational drugs" and alcohol on military premises.

He continued: "The Gulf war syndrome ... is not due to physical disease. A few individuals may have developed a disease due to such factors as vaccinations, depleted uranium, etc, but the plight of Iraqi civilians is much more acute than that of soldiers who spent four days in a war zone. The Gulf war veterans who have complained to the press, thereby breaching their own right to confidentiality, are liars."

Dr Hall told the Guardian he had been suspended half way through his year's contract on December 10 1997, and was sent on "gardening leave" by the MoD after complaints about him. But the MoD had continued to pay him £1,000 a week until his contract ended.

His allegations were condemned as "unprofessional" by the medical adviser to veterans who believe their illnesses are war-related.

Malcolm Hooper, who was at the hearing, said: "He exposed the medical assessment programme as the sham it was."

1987
Department of Defense admits that, despite a treaty banning research and development of biological agents, it continues to operate research facilities at 127 facilities and universities around the nation.

now i know you are thinking what does this have to do with Gulf War Syndrome but bear with me.

1994With a technique called "gene tracking," Dr. Garth Nicolson at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX discovers that many returning Desert Storm veterans are infected with an altered strain of Mycoplasma incognitus, a microbe commonly used in the production of biological weapons. Incorporated into its molecular structure is 40 percent of the HIV protein coat, indicating that it had been man-made.

This Is GWS in its early stages.

1994 Senator John D. Rockefeller issues a report revealing that for at least 50 years the Department of Defense has used hundreds of thousands of military personnel in human experiments and for intentional exposure to dangerous substances. Materials included mustard and nerve gas, ionizing radiation, psychochemicals, hallucinogens, and drugs used during the Gulf War.

1995 Dr. Garth Nicolson, uncovers evidence that the biological agents used during the Gulf War had been manufactured in Houston, TX and Boca Raton, Fl and tested on prisoners in the Texas Department of Corrections.

Now i thought experimentation was limited to animals which is still evil but it doesnt surprise me that they use prisoners, and it wouldnt surprise me if soldiers are used. which is really evil.

1996 Department of Defense admits that Desert Storm soldiers were exposed to chemical agents.

1997 Eighty-eight members of Congress sign a letter demanding an investigation into bioweapons use & Gulf War Syndrome.

Now i think Gulf War syndrome is caused by a number of things including Depleted Uranium ammunition like what was fired from the A10 and the M1A1 Tank. But I also think it was possibly caused by human experimenation.

everything came from here.
experimentation

Now i suggest someone do a Boolean search of ats, then google it. How about somebody tries to find someone with Gulf War syndrome that is still living and interview them. Maybe go up to the library. In the mean time i am going to see what i can get with FOIA and then check out these 88 congressman and see if i can get a few names for The Vagabond to write to. BTW thank you for letting me join.



[edit on 30-8-2004 by phantompatriot]

I think i just found something related to the bill passed by congress, I think i found the results of the research. it has some names at the beginning, not the congressman but guys that were part of the research.

GWS research

PERSIAN GULF VETERANS COORDINATING BOARD
RESEARCH WORKING GROUP MEMBERS

Department of Defense:
Robert E. Foster, Ph.D.
John Mazzuchi, Ph.D.
Lt. Col. James R. Riddle, USAF, BSC
CAPT Michael E. Kilpatrick, MC, USN

Department of Veterans Affairs:
John R. Feussner, M.D. (Chair)
Timothy Gerrity, Ph.D.
Han Kang, Dr. P.H.
Frances Murphy, M.D., M.P.H.

Department of Health and Human Services:
CDR Drue Barrett, USPHS
CDR Patrick McNeilly, USPHS
M. Moiz Mumtaz, Ph.D.
Sheila Newton, Ph.D.

Environmental Protection Agency:
Robert McGaughy, Ph.D.

maybe you want to get in touch with these guys TV.


and i also found this.

link nothing direct but its somewhat related.

[edit on 30-8-2004 by phantompatriot]

[edit on 30-8-2004 by phantompatriot]

Hey The Vagabond i got you your first name pertaining to the bill that was part of the passing of the bill.

S.1005
Title: An original bill making appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1998, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Stevens, Ted [AK] (introduced 7/10/1997) Cosponsors (None)
Related Bills: H.R.2266
Latest Major Action: 7/15/1997 Passed/agreed to in Senate. Status: Passed Senate with amendments by Yea-Nay Vote. 94-4. Record Vote No: 176.
Senate Reports: 105-45

Senator Ted Stevens is the first guy, he is Senator to alaska. i got more coming.

ted stevens related bills


related bills


bill report


original page

EDIT: im not so sure if this is the right bill anymore, im getting confused.

more stuff pertaining to the bill

this research is getting confusing.

[edit on 30-8-2004 by phantompatriot]

[edit on 30-8-2004 by phantompatriot]

Forgive me if I'm not jolly in this post. My computer has $hitcanned 4 attempts at this post now, to the tune of about 3 hours out of my day.

Forgive me if I don't tie my sources together in detail for that reason.

Anyway, I'll start with my thanks for the work you've done this week. I haven't had internet access at all for a week or I would have responded sooner.

You didn't have the wrong bill- the bill was a defense appropriations bill. The part about GWS was an ammendment offered by Congressman Bernie Sanders. That's who goes on my mailing list . That ammendment did not make it onto the bill.

There was another bill that was signed into law... HR 4110, which can be seen at the last link in your 3rd post was designed to cover many veterans issues. Among those issues, it gave the VA primary authority over the research on GWS and required cooperation with the NAS. Unfortunately, the VA has used its authority to continually assert a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder explanation for Gulf War Syndrome. This has been shown rather foolish by the progress made in the British MoD to address the medical basis of GWS.


I'm sorry to say that I can't find any confirmation on the link from your first post. The link from that list (www.healthnewsnet.com...) doesn't even exist anymore. I still haven't seen the letter signed by 88 congressmen, so I will probably be inquiring to Bernie Sanders. (there was a letter mentioned on Sanders' page, but I could not actually view it). You might search his webpage bernie.house.gov...

The PDF you sent me wasn't too important. It was a JOC counter terrorism excerise between FBI, military, and various other authorities which had GWS relevance because it involved a hazmat situation on a military base.

The Health and Human Services as well as EPA names from your 3rd post may be useful. I'm going to hit them up about mycotoxicosis. It wasn't mentioned anywhere in the link, even though more dubious explanations (like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity- illnesses that are as subject to debate as GWS regarding their very existence).


I'm going to look into Dr. Nicolson and his Gene Tracking technique. I would like to start nailing down names and dates and events for the Mycotoxin aspect of the project so that I can get off of that part.

For goal 4 I am anxious for some concrete info on the Rockerfeller report and what allegations were made regarding drugs used on troops during the gulf war.

I would also be thrilled if you could verify the claims on the link from your first post (especially the bit about Mycotoxin Incognitas containing 40% of the HIV protien coat). That would technically be my job though, and i will be looking into it. I'm not into strict division of labor- we can meddle in eachothers affairs, but we really do need some witness reports on the vaccinations and any and all government acknowledgements of what was given and to whom it was given.

We will have another member very soon. Parrhesia is coming in to take goal 2. I get the impression that this team will be able to accomplish quite a bit in the coming days. I'm anxious to know if Verity is with us- I know all to well that we can't always post when we want to, but Verity if you read this please let us know you still want to be on the team.

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