POSTED 12 DEC 2001
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In the first finding of a specific disease among Gulf War veterans, the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs jointly announced that these vets had a higher rate of the fatal neurological illness, ALS.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also called Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive and uniformly fatal movement disorder. While the results of the $1.3 million research project has not been published -- or peer reviewed either -- here's what it shows:
The 700,000 military veterans who served in the Gulf War have developed 40 cases of ALS.
About 1.8 million veterans who did not serve in the war developed 67 cases of ALS.
Gulf-war vets were almost twice as likely to develop ALS as other vets.
Different services had different risks: The higher risks appeared only in the Air Force and Army, not in the Navy and Marines.
What is not clear is the statistical reliability of the research -- how sure were the researchers of their results. The New York Times did quote John Feussner, chief of research and development at the Veterans Affairs Department, as saying, "The risk is elevated, and the risk is statistically significant."
What, if anything, the study might mean for treating this deadly disorder is unclear. Nor is it clear how Gulf War exposure might have caused the disease.
Indeed, no epidemiological study can say that Gulf War service caused the disease. The results merely indicate a correlation between Gulf War service and ALS.
Bibliography
ALS Press Conference, Hon. Anthony J. Principi, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Dec. 10, 2001.
U.S. Reports Disease Link to Gulf War, Sheryl Gay Stolberg, The New York Times, Dec. 11, 2001, p. A1.
©2001, University of Wisconsin, Board of Regents.