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Press Release
Gulf War Vets at No Higher Risk for Neuropathy, says VA Study
For Release September 20, 2004, 4 pm EST
Veterans who served in the Persian Gulf during the Gulf War are at no higher risk for peripheral neuropathy than veterans of the same era who did not serve in the Gulf, report Veterans Affairs (VA) researchers in the Sept. 28 issue of Neurology.
Researchers at 16 VA medical centers conducted in-depth medical and neurological exams on nearly 2,200 veterans and more than 1,000 of their spouses between 1999 and 2001. Peripheral neuropathy involves damage to nerves in the extremities, especially the feet. The first signs may include burning pain and loss of feeling in the toes and eventually the whole foot.
Previous studies of returning Gulf War veterans suggested they were more likely than non-deployed veterans to have the condition, possibly due to toxins, vaccinations or certain medications used during the war. Most of those studies, however, relied on reports of symptoms, not objective tests. Experts say peripheral-neuropathy symptoms may not always indicate actual damage to the nerves.
The new VA study, which included the most extensive neurological exams ever performed on Gulf War veterans, found no higher prevalence of peripheral neuropathy among those who served in operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield. The condition was seen in 6.3 percent of the 1,061 deployed veterans and 7.3 percent of the 1,128 non-deployed veterans tested in the study. The difference was not statistically significant.
"We see this study as good news for our veterans who served in the Gulf War, since it demonstrates that they were unlikely to have been exposed to substances that permanently damaged their peripheral nerves," said lead author Larry E. Davis, MD, chief of neurology at the Albuquerque VA Medical Center.
The men and women in the study underwent 12 or so hours of evaluation. The tests included histories, physical exams, blood work and nerve conduction studies, which use electrodes to gauge how well nerves relay electrical signals to muscles.
The same tests, minus the nerve conduction studies, were performed on 484 spouses of deployed veterans and 533 spouses of non-deployed veterans. The study included spouses on the theory that veterans may have brought home illness-causing germs or toxins. Only about 3 percent of spouses in either group showed signs of peripheral neuropathy.
The researchers ran the numbers again after excluding 44 veterans with underlying medical conditions that might cause neuropathy, such as diabetes or kidney failure. The results remained the same.
The investigators also analyzed a subgroup of deployed veterans who were at high risk for exposure to neurotoxins when U.S. forces blew up the Khamisiyah ammunition dump in 1991. The site was reported to have stored chemical weapons. The researchers found no difference between these personnel and other deployed veterans.
Collaborating with Davis and his team at the New Mexico VA Health Care System were neurologists and specialists in nerve-conduction testing at 16 VA sites. The study was coordinated by VA's Cooperative Studies Program Coordinating Center in Hines, Ill.
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