While the use of chemical weapons has been confirmed in Syria, American experts have studied the effects of exposure to these products during the war in Iraq. Gulf War Syndrome is a real disease, from which nearly 250,000 veterans of the Iraq conflict suffered between 1990 and 1991. Symptoms can range from multiple pains to headaches, memory loss and breathing difficulties.
In a second expert report, the Research advisory committee, mandated by the US Congress, confirms that this disease is caused by chemical agents and not by the psychological stress of combat. The first report, published in 2008, linked this syndrome to exposure to toxic chemicals such as pesticides and a drug prescribed to protect soldiers from nerve gas.
Products promote brain tumors
“Numerous studies on the brain, using imaging systems and electroencephalograms, have provided further indications that central nervous system dysfunctions are a key symptom of this syndrome”, explained doctor Roberta White , main author of the first report, quoted by theAFP. MRIs performed on the soldiers have shown that exposure to sarin and cyclosarin gases would cause cognitive impairments.
The new study confirms that the psychological stress is in no way related to the disease. But exposure to certain toxic products would have favored the appearance of brain tumours. In the report, the researchers also talk about the work done for treatment, such as dietary supplements, intranasal insulin and a technique that affects breathing, reports AFP.
