12/7/2006 9:09:00 AM

Military service may be linked to Lou Gehrig's disease, report says
WASHINGTON (AP) - Military service, particularly in the Gulf War, may be linked to development of Lou Gehrig's disease, the Institute of Medicine said Friday.

The evidence, however, is limited and inconsistent, the Institute said.

The degenerative nerve disease, formally known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, gradually destroys the ability to control movement. Patients lose their ability to move or speak, but their minds remain unaffected. Most victims die of respiratory failure within a few years.

According to the report, five studies have been done on the subject.

Three indicated a higher rate of ALS among veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf War, one found a link to veterans who served prior to that war and one found no link at all.

'The evidence base to answer the question of whether military service increases a person's chances of developing ALS later in life is rather sparse, so we could not reach more definitive conclusions at this time,' said Richard T. Johnson, chair of the committee that wrote the report. 'Because ALS occurs so rarely, any individual veteran's chances of developing the disease are still low,' he added.
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