Mysteries surround illnesses
Soldiers deserve to know what factors made them sick.

The latest report authorized by the federal government says that Gulf War syndrome doesn't exist.

Even if it's true that there's not a single illness that has made soldiers who served in the 1991 war sick, the report does acknowledge that those veterans who are sick are sicker than other veterans who did not serve in the Persian Gulf but who have the same illness.



The report, prepared by an Institute of Medicine committee, also found an elevated risk for the rare nerve disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, and for anxiety disorders, depression and substance abuse.

While the latest study doesn't point to one illness causing the many symptoms — including fatigue, memory loss, muscle and joint pain, rashes and sleep problems — at least it doesn't revert back to a position held for far too long by the government. That is, that the symptoms were due to psychological problems.

It wasn't until 2001 that the government finally stopped telling the sick vets that their problem was all in their heads and started offering disability and survivor benefits to those with Lou Gehrig's disease.

It's known, and the latest report recognizes, that while in the Gulf region, soldiers were exposed to a toxic brew of substances, including smoke from oil well fires, pesticides, depleted uranium ammunition and possibly the nerve agent sarin.

The next step is for further studies as to what kind of illnesses these substances could spawn, both separately and in combinations.

The government owes these soldiers explanations, and medical treatment and financial assistance where necessary. It also needs to learn from this experience so that any mistakes made the past are not repeated into the future in other military engagements.





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