91outcomes.com

Gulf War Illness Clinical Trial Opportunity!

2022-12-11T17:46:00.004-05:00

(91outcomes.com) - An encouraging Clinical Trial opportunity for treating Gulf War Illness. Location is in the Tampa Bay, Florida area (the Roskamp Institute in Sarasota, FL).

Opportunity for ill Gulf War Veterans!

2022-12-07T12:06:00.002-05:00

This excellent Gulf War Illness medical research team has an active opportunity for 1991 Gulf War veterans in the Boston, Miami, and San Francisco areas.

The treatment-focused BBRAIN research network is headquartered at Boston University (BU).

Capitol Hill Forum on Gulf War Illness

2021-08-23T12:55:00.007-04:00

Today, Veterans for Common Sense, along with 14 other veterans and military service organization co-hosts, held a Capitol Hill Forum on Gulf War Illness.

The forum included Gulf War Illness researchers and clinicians funded by the Gulf War Illness CDMRP and included a Q&A period during the last 30 minutes.

The recorded video of the event was made immediately available on the INIM YouTube channel, here:

YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGONzZkVZyE

ACTION ALERT: 5 Minutes to Help Gulf War Illness Veterans

2021-06-08T11:55:00.005-04:00

ACTION NEEDED: Ask your two U.S. Senators to sign onto the "Baldwin 'Dear Colleague' Letter for Gulf War Illness treatment research funding" (FY 2022)

READ BELOW for more details before calling.

DEADLINE for sign on's: SENATE: Thursday, July 1, 2021

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(91outcomes.com - Updated June 8, 2021) - Key members of Congress have launched a renewed bipartisan initiative to continue the Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP) to develop treatments for Gulf War Illness.

The GWIRP is part of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) administered by the U.S. Department of Defense under Congressional direction.

VA and scientific estimates show that Gulf War Illness affects between one-fourth and one-third of the veterans of the 1991 Gulf War. The consensus among Gulf War Illness medical researchers is increasingly clear: With the a concerted national effort, effective treatments can likely be found.

In the U.S. Senate, longstanding GWIRP champion U.S. Senate by Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) again leads this year's push in the Senate continued funding for the unique, treatment-focused medical research program aimed at improving Gulf War veterans' health and lives.

This year’s successful House effort was led in the U.S. House by Rep. Jack Bergman, LtGen, USMC (Ret.) (R-MI) and Rep. Gregorio Sablan (I-NMI) and supported by 80 Members of the House. The Senate effort parallels that House effort.

The GWIRP is a unique federal program that continues to advance efforts to identify effective treatments for Gulf War Illness (GWI), better understand GWI’s pathophysiology, and identify objective biomarkers.  The GWIRP is making critically important advances in its mission to improve the health and lives of veterans debilitated and suffering from Gulf War Illness, including clinical trials for Gulf War Illness patients.  We need to ensure that these efforts continue for these veterans and for current and future U.S. forces at risk of similar exposures and outcomes.

Information below shows what you can do in just five minutes to support this critically important national effort to help our nation's Gulf War veterans.

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STEP-BY STEP, HOW YOU CAN HELP IN JUST 5 MINUTES:

1. CALL:

Call the Washington, DC offices [not their office(s) back in their district or home state] of your U.S. Senator
Ask for the legislative staff person who handles Department of Defense Appropriations (not VA, not Veterans Affairs).
If you get their voicemail, leave a detailed voicemail with your specific request (below).
You can FIND your two U.S. Senators here.

2. STATE the following:

Your name and that you are a constituent (meaning you live in the state that they represent).
Very briefly (in 1 or 2 sentences at most) state your connection to Gulf War Illness. [For example: "I'm among the one-third of Gulf War veterans suffering from Gulf War Illness". Or, "I'm the wife/husband/son/daughter/parent of a Gulf War veteran suffering from Gulf War Illness. Or, "I'm one of many other veterans besides those who served in the Gulf War and I'm also suffering from a debilitating like Gulf War Illness."]
State that there is a "Dear Colleague" letter that you are specifically requesting the Senator sign onto.
Provide the name of the "Dear Colleague" letter, the "Baldwin Dear Colleague Letter for Fiscal Year 2022 Gulf War Illness treatment research funding." [Note: there is no bill number -- this is a "Dear Colleague" request to get funding into a bill -- specifically the Fiscal Year 2022 Defense Appropriations Act]
State that this is to continue funding for this successful, treatment-focused research program.
State the sign-on deadline: Thursday, July 1, 2021.
[Staff contact, in case they ask, is: Mr. Ibrahim Hashi in the office of U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin]

3. ASK:

If you can email the staffer with a short one-pager about the program. This is very important. Then right away, email them the link to this document: About the GWIRP with SENATE Deadline (FY22)

Ask that the staff person follow-up with you to let you know the Senator's decision.

4. THANK the staff person for their time.

5. AFTER YOUR CALL:

If they say they will sign on, post a comment below this post with the name of the Senator and the name of the staffer and that they will or will not sign on.
Follow-up in 2-3 days to find out the status, if you haven't heard back.

TIPS:

Be polite
Be pleasant
Be urgent
Be respectful
Be convincing
Be brief
Be SPECIFIC with the REQUEST: Sign onto the "Baldwin" (U.S. SENATE) "Dear Colleague Letter for Fiscal Year 2019 Gulf War Illness treatment research funding"
**Do not argue with, get angry with, or threaten the staffer in any way. **

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ's)

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WHAT IS THE GOAL?

The overall goal of the program is to find effective treatments for the officially estimated quarter-of-a million veterans of the 1991 Gulf War and others who are still suffering from the debilitating effects of Gulf War Illness.

These veterans were directly impacted by a veritable toxic soup of hazardous exposures during the short but intense war, and the best efforts our nation can provide to assist them.

WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?

You can contact the Washington, DC office of your two U.S. Senators. See above for "5 quick and easy steps" to make your request. Some have an option to submit your comments from a quick form right on their webpage.

WHO IS LEADING THIS FUNDING EFFORT IN CONGRESS?

SENATE: In the United States Senate, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) is again leading the effort in the Senate.

HOUSE: In the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Gregorio Sablan (D-U.S. Territory of Northern Mariana Islands) and Rep. Jack Bergman, LTG, USMC (Ret.) (R-Michigan) co-led again this year. Both serve on the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and Ranking Member Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.) were among the supporters.

This is a fully bipartisan effort.

WHO IS SUPPORTING THIS?

In addition to the Senators and House Members, this year's request is supported by 25 veterans organizations including: Blinded Veterans Association, Burn Pits 360, California Communities Against Toxics, Cease Fire Campaign, Disabled American Veterans, Fleet Reserve Association, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Jewish War Veterans of the USA, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Military-Veterans Advocacy, National Veterans Legal Services Program, National Vietnam & Gulf War Veterans Coalition, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Reserve Organization of America, Sergeant Sullivan Circle, Service Women's Action Network, The Quinism Foundation, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, United Soldiers and Sailors of America, Veteran Warriors, Veterans and Military Families for Progress, Veterans for Common Sense, Veterans of Foreign Wars, VetsFirst, and Vietnam Veterans of America.

AT WHAT LEVEL SHOULD THE FUNDING BE SUPPORTED, AND WHY?

The effort is to support the treatment-focused Gulf War Illness research program within CDMRP. Prior funding levels and additional information about the program are available on this summary document: About the GWIRP with SENATE Deadline (FY22). This year's request is for $25 million, a small increase of $3 million over last year's appropriation.

WHEN SHOULD I CONTACT MY SENATORS' OFFICES?

Right away. The deadline is fast approaching. Typically, their offices need one or a few days to secure approval to sign-on.

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ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS

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WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT THE GULF WAR ILLNESS RESEARCH PROGRAM (GWIRP)?

The Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP), part of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP), is a Congressionally directed activity funded under the U.S. Department of Defense.

The GWIRP has a comprehensive website on the GWI program at: http://cdmrp.army.mil/gwirp . The GWIRP also publishes an overview of what is known scientifically about Gulf War Illness, called The Gulf War Illness Landscape, available on the GWIRP webpage.

Also see the GWIRP overview and related resources, including research updates, by Veterans for Common Sense (VCS), a leading national veterans' education and advocacy organization: http://veteransforcommonsense.org/gulf-war-illness-research-program-gwirp/.

WHAT IS RECENT RESEARCH SAYING ABOUT GULF WAR ILLNESS?

Recent research shows that chemical exposures are causally associated with Gulf War Illness. Psychiatric causes have been ruled out.

This paper reviews the recent medical literature on the health of 1991 Gulf War veterans, focusing particularly on the central nervous system and on effects of Gulf War toxicant exposures: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4724528/pdf/nihms746360.pd

See the GWIRP's "Gulf War Illness Landscape": http://cdmrp.army.mil/GWIRP

Houston Chronicle Editorial: Yes, Gulf War Illness is real. Biden may finally give troops a shot at help.

2021-03-11T15:08:00.001-05:00

David K. Winnett, Jr., of New Braunfels, listens as acupuncturist Michael Callaghan explains pain relief treatments, Monday, May 7, 2018. Winnett, 63, is a former Marine captain with 100 percent disability due to Gulf War Illness created by exposure to nerve gases and other toxic chemicals. Winnett, of New Braunfels, is a paraplegic after surgery related to a service-related back ailment.  JERRY LARA / San Antonio Express-News

SOURCE:  https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/Editorial-Yes-Gulf-War-Illness-is-real-Biden-16016096.php

“Delay, deny, wait until we die.”
That “little saying,” a Gulf War veteran [*who is the author of 91outcomes.com and the National Chair & Director of Veterans for Common Sense*] recently told an interviewer for the National Public Radio program “Here and Now,” is what you’re likely to encounter when you walk into a Veterans Administration hospital complaining of debilitating symptoms from your combat experience 30 years ago. The symptoms almost surely result from your exposure to pesticides used in Kuwait or air-borne toxins from massive open-air pits, some larger than a football field, where trash and human waste were burning. Anti-nerve agents you and your comrades were ordered to take also might be culprits.

“It’s all in your head,” you’re likely to hear, even though the symptoms may include chronic diarrhea, constant pain and fatigue, a persistent cough or serious breathing problems. Gulf War vets also are suffering from memory and neurological issues. They’re dying from lung cancer. No matter. The VA, claiming the absence of sufficient scientific evidence, denies more than 80 percent of claims related to what has come to be called Gulf War Illness, according to a 2017 analysis by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The same report noted that the VA estimates 44 percent of veterans who served in the Persian Gulf during 1990-1991 have medical issues related to the illness, and thousands of veterans who have since served in the Global War on Terror have reported similar conditions.

It seems we never learn that soldiers in combat sacrifice their lives for their country, even when they survive bombs and bullets. We owe them not only the best care available but also an inclination to trust that there is, in fact, a connection between what they experienced in wartime and what they’re enduring today.

The comedian Jon Stewart has become a spokesperson for service members dealing with Gulf War Illness, just as he became an outspoken advocate for firefighters and other first responders who plunged into the lethal, smoldering wreckage of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.

“War after war after war, we treat them as expendable,” Stewart told the Washington Post in an interview last fall. “And when they come home, we’re done with them. If an enemy did this to us, we’d … bomb them into oblivion. We did it to ourselves and we’re ignoring it.”

If the response to Gulf War Illness sounds like a dreary rerun, it’s because it is. For years, Vietnam War veterans exposed to the chemical defoliant Agent Orange had to combat similar levels of skepticism from the VA. Fortunately, things have changed for the better for the Vietnam vets. Today the VA presumes certain conditions are related to exposure based on deployment history rather than relying on veterans to prove they encountered the chemical at a certain place.

The estimated 3.5 million veterans of the Gulf War or the post-9/11 Global War on Terror who were potentially exposed to burn pits and pesticides must still prove any illness is connected to their service. It creates a hurdle that many affected veterans can’t get past, despite efforts by Congress over the years to improve their care.

Retired Marine Capt. David K. Winnett of New Braunfels [Texas], a disabled Gulf War veteran who has worked as a review panelist for congressionally directed medical research programs, has seen the struggle up close.

“On one hand you have Congress allocating millions of dollars to the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs each year for Gulf War Illness research while another arm of the government (the VA) continues to make it almost impossible for veterans of that war to have their illnesses service-connected,” he told the editorial board Wednesday. “I’ve been at both ends of the spectrum — a Veteran suffering from Gulf War Illness and an eight-year programmatic review panelist. … The bureaucratic BS needs to end."

Legislation co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, and U.S. Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., an emergency room physician, could signal a breakthrough. If their bill passes, the VA would drop the burden of proof and presume veterans with certain conditions had been exposed if they had service medals from either the Gulf War or the Global War on Terror or had been deployed to one of 34 countries named in the bill

U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., also has expressed support for toxic exposure-related legislation. Bost is the ranking Republican on the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee.

Recently, advocates for Gulf War and Global War on Terror veterans have found another powerful advocate in the White House. President Joe Biden has said he suspects toxic exposure may have been the cause of his son Beau’s fatal brain cancer. The younger Biden served with the Delaware Army National Guard at Balad Air Base in Iraq, where the U.S. military burned an estimated 140 tons of waste daily in open-air pits. He was diagnosed with stage 4 glioblastoma.

“Eighteen months he lived, knowing he was going to die,” Biden has said of his son, who died in 2015 at age 46.

During his presidential campaign, Biden promoted a plan to expand the list of presumptive health conditions to include exposure to burn pits and other environmental toxins, extend the claim eligibility period from one to five years, and to pump $300 million into research to better understand the impact of traumatic brain injury and toxic exposures.

“Burn pits are our generation’s Agent Orange,” Ruiz says. “We cannot wait or delay or deny. …”

The Gulf War ended 30 years ago last month. Later this year will mark 20 years since the first deployments following 9/11. Too many veterans are still suffering. Too many are dying. It’s past time we paid attention.

It’s time for action. We urge Biden, who ends his speeches by asking God to protect our troops, to get busy assisting in that endeavor.

***

Written By

The Houston Chronicle Editorial Board

SOURCE:  https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/Editorial-Yes-Gulf-War-Illness-is-real-Biden-16016096.php

We Are The Mighty: Researchers are making big progress in diagnosing Gulf War Syndrome

2021-03-04T16:21:00.001-05:00

SOURCE: We Are the Mighty (March 3, 2021), "Researchers are making big progress in diagnosing Gulf War Syndrome": https://www.wearethemighty.com/intel/researchers-are-making-big-progress-in-diagnosing-gulf-war-syndrome/

INTEL

Researchers are making big progress in diagnosing Gulf War Syndrome

Team Mighty

Posted On March 03, 2021 22:02:00

For decades after Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield, doctors, scientists and the Department of Veterans Affairs have all struggled to determine what happened to the roughly 25-30% of Gulf War veterans who suffer from a mysterious mix of symptoms from a seemingly unknown cause. The condition and its host of symptoms became known as Gulf War Syndrome, or Gulf War Illness, and wasn’t immediately recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

In 1997, Congress found that the VA and Department of Defense did not listen to Gulf War veterans affected by the series of illnesses associated with Gulf War Syndrome, acknowledging there was no “silver bullet” definition or diagnosis. They also blamed the VA for writing off the condition as post-traumatic stress disorder.

While PTSD symptoms are well-known, Gulf War Syndrome has a number of strange symptoms, including widespread pain and some heart conditions.

A Congressional committee went on to suggest a number of possible underlying causes of the condition that were present in the war zone, including depleted uranium dust and pyridostigmine bromide used to protect against chemical nerve agents. They blamed the VA for its lack of experience in environmental health and toxicology.

In that same committee meeting, the House of Representatives recommended a medical research body other than the VA or DoD look into the condition, and that’s exactly what happened.

A body of research has been conducted that has since shed new light on Gulf War Syndrome. The VA has since recognized a number of conditions that are now “presumptive,” meaning gulf War veterans don’t need to prove they happened as a result of military service. This includes:

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome)
Fibromyalgia
Gastrointestinal Disorders
Other undiagnosed conditions, such as weight loss, fatigue, unexplainable pain and some heart conditions
“Brain Fog”

Researchers at Georgetown University have also discovered physical evidence of the condition in the brains of Gulf War veterans. Nerve fibers connected to pain receptors in the brains of these veterans fire differently than in other humans. This means Gulf War veterans could feel pain while doing something as simple as changing a shirt.

The same researcher who conducted that study, Dr. James Baraniuk, also found that there may be two distinct subsets of Gulf War Illness. By scanning the brains of more than 30 Gulf War veterans before and after moderate exercise, Baraniuk noted changes in two areas of the brain, each correlating to a different set of symptoms.

One group experienced changes in the area of the brain responsible for processing pain, which was consistent with their symptoms. The other group, who reported cardiovascular symptoms, specifically, increased heart rates while doing something as simple as standing up did not have significant activity in that part of the brain.

Instead, the brain of the cardiac-centric group showed decreased activity in the cerebellum, the part of the brain responsible for fine motor control, cognition, pain, and emotion. Healthy patients showed no changes.

“While these findings present new challenges to treating people with Gulf War illness, they also present new opportunities,” said Stuart Washington, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow and lead author on the study.

CDMRP: Gulf War Illness - The Unwavering Mission of the GWIRP 30 Years after the Persian Gulf War

2021-03-02T16:16:00.001-05:00

SOURCE: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program, March 1, 2021: https://cdmrp.army.mil/gwirp/research_highlights/21gwirpmission_highlight

Gulf War Illness

The Unwavering Mission of the GWIRP Thirty Years after the Persian Gulf War

Posted March 1, 2021

Gulf War Veterans had the distinction of serving their country in a military operation that was a decisive victory. Despite this, many developed lasting health consequences that have been poorly understood, underestimated, and frequently denied. The unwavering mission of the CDMRP Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP) is to address the serious and persistent health problems affecting the military men and women who risked their lives for their country three decades ago.

Text Version

The GWIRP focuses funding on competitively peer-reviewed research that expeditiously identifies effective treatments and accelerates their clinical application, improves definition and diagnosis, and results in better understanding of pathobiology and symptoms of disease. The GWIRP Vision is improved health and lives of Veterans with GWI.

Retired Air Force Technical Sergeant (E6) Vera Roddy, served in the Air Force and Air Force Reserves from 1977- 1992 and was an activated reservist during Desert Storm with the 1st Tactical Aeromedical Staging Facility (1st TAC ASF) (Provisional) at King Khalid Military City, Saudi Arabia where she was stationed as a mental health technician. Roddy first began seeking treatment for mysterious symptoms while still at King Khalid in February of 1991.

Photo and text used with permission of Vera Roddy

“My interest in research started out as a quest for my own answers, a way to help my clinicians provide the best possible care for something they often have little knowledge of. The quest grew in search of answers for my brother and sister Gulf War Veterans. More recently, I have come to realize that the research we do has a direct effect on military force protection, operational effectiveness, and medical readiness. This became even more personal to me this year, as my granddaughter entered the ‘family business’ by enlisting in the U.S. Air Force. I always expected to be in the workforce until very late in life. I had to make a difficult choice ten years into this illness. I could no longer work and raise my children, so I dropped out of the workforce. Time is running out. We need answers and treatments now – not ten years from now. Gulf War Veterans are entering retirement years, and we have things we still want to do.”

The perception of overwhelming success of the first Gulf War, and clinicians’ lack of awareness of GWI, have led to barriers that inhibit dissemination of information about the disease. The impact of attitudes toward Veterans presenting with GWI symptoms, which may not be confirmed with standard laboratory tests, and misperceptions of the condition likely impact treatment plans and quality of life for these individuals. More than a quarter century after the ceasefire that marked the end of hostilities of the Gulf War, military personnel have suffered from lasting repercussions of chronic GWI that, in many cases, remain poorly managed. In the wake of symptom-based treatments that perhaps have fallen short of clearly understanding the pathways tied to the disease, the discoveries offered through the GWIRP represent encouraging steps toward speeding the development of effective treatments to Veterans. In addition, hope remains for effective diagnostic strategies and a consistent theory of what causes GWI. These may one day help to shield current and future U.S. military forces at risk of similar exposures and outcomes.

NPR: 30 Years Of Gulf War Illness: How U.S. Troops' Health Was Compromised By Toxic Exposures In Kuwait

2021-02-24T16:18:00.002-05:00

SOURCE: NPR's "Here & Now," February 23, 2021: https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2021/02/23/gulf-war-illness

30 Years Of Gulf War Illness: How U.S. Troops' Health Was Compromised By Toxic Exposures In Kuwait

Peter O'Dowd

Serena McMahon

10:53

February 23, 2021

In this Nov. 4, 1990 file photo, responding to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, troops of the U.S. 1st Cavalry Division deploy across the Saudi desert on during preparations prior to the Gulf War. (Greg English/AP/File)

This week marks 30 years since President George H.W. Bush announced the start of the ground war in Operation Desert Storm.

The two-month-long war, which ended Iraq's occupation of Kuwait, claimed the lives of 154 American troops.

These “debilitating health issues,” as Gulf War veteran Anthony Hardie describes it, became known as the Gulf War illness.

A congressionally mandated committee that investigated the illness says it was triggered by pesticides and medication that U.S. troops were ordered to take to protect them against nerve gas.

Hardie, a former staff sergeant in the U.S. Army, says his health problems commenced during his deployment to Kuwait and never subsided. He remembers the odors of chemical warfare agents while traversing a particular Iraqi bunker complex. He and his fellow Army comrades were ordered to take anti-nerve agent pills known as pyridostigmine bromide.

Two-thirds of his team became sick after ingesting the pills, he says. Today, Hardie still suffers from respiratory problems, fatigue and chronic diarrhea — health issues that never went away after first experiencing them in the Gulf, he explains.

At the time, he didn’t make the connection to the pesticides, but he did have a hunch about the pills.

“It was pretty obvious when we took them that we were getting sick from them,” he says.

Later, he says he realized after going through the bunker complex, he began “coughing up what looked like pieces of lung tissue” and eventually connected the dots.

Hardie sought medical treatment from the team’s medic, but soldiers often face obstacles to getting the best medical treatment under wartime conditions, he says.

Now working as an advocate with Veterans for Common Sense, Hardie says he’s heard similar stories from other Gulf War vets who also experienced symptoms while in combat and came back to U.S. soil with unresolved health problems that “simply just never went away.”

Dealing with Gulf War illness has been “extremely challenging,” he says, not only because of the toll it takes on the body but also the continuous fight for adequate health care and recognition from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“Unfortunately, VA continues to deny most Gulf War veterans' claims. We have a little saying about that — ‘delay, deny, wait until we die’ before they're approved,” he says.

The VA has told vets struggling with Gulf War illness that it’s “all in their heads,” Hardie claims.

There are hundreds of thousands of veterans like Hardie whose illness from toxic exposure is being ignored by the federal government.

Jim Binns, a Vietnam War veteran and advocate, knows this well. He chaired the committee that researched and investigated the pesticides and medication Gulf War troops endured. Binns says Hardie’s story is typical of what he’s heard over the past 30 years from other veterans.

“I became involved in this about 20 years ago because Congress was unhappy with the fact that the federal government was doing so little for these veterans who clearly had come home with major health problems, and it passed a law that created a committee to be appointed by the secretary of Veterans Affairs, which I chaired for 12 years,” he says.

Binns was optimistic in the beginning. It was just a matter of using research to prove veterans’ illnesses stemmed from toxic exposure in Kuwait, he says, and then once that was finished, he would start work on finding treatments.

“Instead, what we discovered was that the focus of government research efforts was to cover up the problem,” he says.

A recent example, he says, is how the VA’s major survey on Gulf War veterans’ health included questions on psychological health but nothing on Gulf War illness symptoms. He likens the situation to how the government dealt with the aftermath of wielding Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.

“Toxic wounds have — in all the recent wars, the wars of our memory — been the major health problem. More veterans suffer from them than from exposure to bombs and bullets,” Binns says. “The government consistently has refused to recognize these problems. They deny today 80% of Gulf War claims and burn pits claims.”

Money has to do with it, he says, but he narrows the problem down to the decision-makers involved.

“The people who initially denied that Agent Orange caused health problems are in many cases the same people who denied Gulf War issues and who today are denying that veterans who were exposed to burn pits in Afghanistan and Iraq suffer from health problems as a result,” he says.

Burn pits, utilized by the U.S. military to dispose of human waste and trash in war zones, can release toxicants into the air. In 2019, President Biden said he believes the death of his son Beau Biden to glioblastoma, a brain cancer, was a result of Beau Biden’s exposure to burn pits during his service in Iraq.

“He spent a year in Iraq and came back decorated. And because of his exposure to burn pits, in my view, I can't prove it yet, he came back with stage 4 glioblastoma,” Biden said. “Eighteen months he lived, knowing that he was going to die.”

Binns says if he was still in his government advising role today, he would try to tell the president he is correct in his conviction. If Biden demanded a thorough review of veterans and toxic exposure, Binns is sure the administration would discover there are positive changes that could be made to help vets struggling with Gulf War illness.

“It would be such a positive step for the government to take to become advocates and helpers of these heroes who have given their lives to their country, but their country refuses to care for them,” Binns says.

Hardie isn’t holding his breath on change coming anytime soon. It’s been decades dealing with ailments that “makes every aspect of living difficult,” he says.

Fatigue can send him back to bed multiple times a day. Days when he feels a hint of normalcy are few and far in between. But it doesn’t slow his fight for justice for as many as a third of Gulf War veterans and countless others suffering from toxic exposures like burn pits.

These veterans “need to be taken care of, both with effective treatments and the health care side” he says, and the VA needs to approve “their continually denied disability claims so that they can have some sort of adequate subsistence while they're battling these health issues.”

Alex Ashlock produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Jill Ryan. Serena McMahon adapted it for the web.

This segment aired on February 23, 2021.

Military.com: 30 Years After the Gulf War: Veterans and the Legacy of Toxic Wounds

2021-02-11T16:26:00.001-05:00

SOURCE: Military.com (February 10, 2021), "30 Years After the Gulf War: Veterans and the Legacy of Toxic Wounds": https://www.military.com/daily-news/opinions/2021/02/10/30-years-after-gulf-war-veterans-and-legacy-of-toxic-wounds.html

30 Years After the Gulf War: Veterans and the Legacy of Toxic Wounds

Burning oil well in field coated in spilled oil in Kuwait in the aftermath of Operation Desert Storm. (Getty Images/karenfoleyphotography)

10 Feb 2021

Military.com | By James H. Binns

James H. Binns, a Vietnam War veteran, chaired the congressionally mandated Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans Illnesses from 2002 to 2014.

America's memory of the 1991 Gulf War has faded, but we must remember the 697,000 U.S. veterans who drove the Iraqi army from Kuwait 30 years ago this month -- especially the one in four who lost their health to toxic exposures serving their country. That country refuses to care for them.

The inauguration of a president who personally understands the terrible consequences of toxic wounds to veterans and their families inspires hope that help may finally be coming.

The Gulf War was hailed at the time as a great victory, with U.S. casualtieslimited to 148 dead and 467 wounded. Today, we know that at least 175,000 American servicemen and women returned home with constant pain; fatigue; and gastrointestinal, memory and chronic neurological problems now referred to as Gulf War Illness. They will not be celebrating this anniversary.

All Americans should remember the Gulf War as these veterans do – just as we should remember that in every major conflict of the past half-century, casualties from toxic wounds have exceeded those from bombs and bullets.

American battle casualties in the post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan and Iraq currently total 5,458 dead and 53,250 wounded. More than 213,000 veterans have reported respiratory diseases, cancers and other protracted health problems to the Department of Veterans Affairs' registry for burn pits, the massive fire pits on U.S. bases where waste was incinerated with jet fuel.

In the Vietnam War, 58,000 U.S. service members died and 153,000 were wounded. But more than 650,000 Vietnam veterans suffer or have died fromillnesses related to Agent Orange.

Each of these tragedies has been a case of "friendly fire." Gulf War illness was triggered by anti-nerve gas pills the military ordered troops to take and pesticides sprayed to protect them from insect-borne diseases, according to reports of a congressionally mandated public advisory committee appointed by the secretary of Veterans Affairs. But the VA maintains that current evidence does not support a clear association.

"It never dawned on us that we may have done it to ourselves," acknowledged now-retired Lt. Gen. Dale Vesser, who led a Pentagon investigation. Low-level nerve gas released by U.S. destruction of Iraqi weapons facilities was also a likely factor.

In every instance, the government has resisted admitting responsibility for decades. It denied that Agent Orange exposure caused adverse health effects for 20 years after Vietnam -- 40 years for many illnesses. The VA currentlyrejects more than 80% of Gulf War illness claims, according to a Government Accountability Office investigation. It also denies 78% of burn pit claims.

This refusal to admit the problem has implications beyond not paying compensation and health care bills. Some toxic wounds such as brain cancer are death sentences. But others, such as debilitating gastrointestinal issues and migraines that never end, are potentially treatable with the right research. A 2010 National Academies of Sciences report called for a renewed national research effort to treat Gulf War illness. The recommendation echoed the 2008 recommendation of the research advisory committee appointed by the VA secretary. The VA ignored both.

Ill veterans have lobbied Congress to create a Gulf War illness treatment research program within the Department of Defense, which shows greatpromise despite its small budget. But the VA and DoD have spent far more onslanted studies designed to promote fictions that Gulf War illness is psychological and toxic substances aren’t toxic. Had this money been spent on the right targets, it is likely veterans would have access to effective treatments today.

Instead, the government has followed a policy that veterans call "deny until they die." It becomes a cost issue. When a National Academies of Sciences panelrecommended using the term "Gulf War illness," the VA’s undersecretary for compensation and benefits objected that it would "imply a causal link between service in the Gulf and poor health which could necessitate … disability compensation for veterans."

VA officials still reject the name.

This immoral policy is doomed to failure. Ultimately, the truth comes out, as the VA had to admit with Agent Orange. The government ends up paying immense compensation anyway, but it is too late to improve veterans' health and save some veterans lives.

There may still be cause to celebrate this anniversary. President Joe Biden hasexpressed deep concern about burn pit exposures and their likely role in the death of his son Beau. Congress has recently shown bipartisan displeasurewith burn pit claims outcomes, encouraged by former VA Secretary David Shulkin.

The time is ripe and long overdue for a total reversal of government attitudes toward toxic wounds.

-- The opinions expressed in this op-ed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Military.com. If you would like to submit your own commentary, please send your article to opinions@military.com for consideration.

Related Topics: Opinion Veteran Benefits Gulf War Veterans Health Care

Gulf War lllness Research Participation During COVID: Mission Critical

2021-01-13T13:43:00.002-05:00

Veterans Day Research Open House - Gulf War Illness, TBI, PTSD

2020-11-11T00:32:00.004-05:00

The Roskamp Institute in Sarasota, FL is hosting a *virtual* open house event on Veterans Day, November 11, 2020 with a special invitation to veterans and members of the military. All are welcome to attend this event.

Highlighting the work at The Roskamp Institute and Clinic and showcasing research programs on:

Traumatic Brain Injury

Gulf War Illness

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Also featuring a live Q-and-A with our top researchers on these topics.

For details and to RSVP for the event: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_otczati0RgeR_9iGfuUPNA

Gulf War Veteran Survey Now Open

2020-10-23T13:45:00.002-04:00

The Nova Southeastern survey study of Gulf War veterans is open for a limited time.

If you have already taken it already, don't take it again. There are two parts.

Survey Part 1 – https://redcap.nova.edu/redcap/surveys/?s=EHPDFDDRWY

Note you must take Part 1 to proceed to part 2. Survey Part 2 - https://redcap.nova.edu/redcap/surveys/?s=MCWFYKHR4D

There are certain illnesses that are associated with the men and women in service during the Gulf War, Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

These illnesses are today more commonly referred to as Gulf War illness (GWI) or have also been called by other names, including Chronic Multisymptom Illness (CMI).

During their time of service, many veterans may have been exposed to a variety of environmental, psychological and chemical hazards which are associated with GWI.

These include but are not limited to: vaccinations, oil well fires, chemical & biological weapons, psychological stress, sarin/nerve gas, depleted uranium, pesticides such as DEET, infectious diseases, pyridostigmine bromide (PB), CARC paint, sand, dust and other particulates, toxic embedded fragments, heat Injuries, occupational hazards and noise.

Part 2 expands on these issues and includes questions about Family members and COVID-19.

YOU WILL NOT BE CONTACTED UNLESS YOU REQUEST IT ON THE SURVEY.

Research Finds Gulf War Pesticide Associated with Immune Response in Gulf War Illness

2020-08-18T16:35:00.004-04:00

A permethrin metabolite is associated with immune responses in Gulf War Illness

(Sarasota, FL - Roskamp Institute) - Gulf War Illness remains difficult to diagnose and treat since exposure to Gulf War chemicals happened nearly 30 years ago. Many studies now provide strong support that pesticide exposure during the Gulf War is one of the key factors in causing GWI.

This recent work at the Roskamp Institute shows that the pesticides used during the 1991 Gulf War can cause the body to negatively react to its own proteins that play important roles in supporting bodily functions.

This negative reaction is similar to the reactions seen in autoimmune diseases, which result in our immune system mistakenly attacking proteins in our own bodies.

Until now, it has been largely unclear as to how Gulf War pesticides could have directly contributed to the autoimmune-type changes observed in veterans with GWI since pesticide molecules are too small for the immune system to register as a threat.

When the pesticide molecules enter the body, they are broken down into smaller particles, called metabolites. These metabolites are also too small by themselves to elicit a response from the immune system.

However, if those pesticide metabolites combine with proteins in the body, the new combination is called a hapten which can then be perceived by the immune system as a foreign threat, resulting in an autoimmune type reaction to haptenated proteins.

This hapten phenomena is often seen with the usage of certain medications like aspirin and antibiotics, where an individual may have an allergic immune response after taking those medications because of the drug haptens that form in their body.

A 2019 study published in the journal, Brain Behavior and Immunity (Joshi et al., 2019), shows that some of the common metabolites of GW pesticides do indeed form hapten and combine with natural proteins.

Those researchers found that antibodies, which are flags that the immune system uses to mark foreign threats to mount an attack, specific to those pesticide-haptens are present in our GWI mouse model long after the first pesticide exposure.

Such antibodies were also detected in veterans diagnosed with GWI, this time nearly 30 years after they would have been originally exposed to pesticides.

This corresponds with veterans’ self-reports of pesticide exposure during the Gulf War.

This evidence of pesticide exposure resulting in activating immune responses in both the brain and other body systems and the fact that veterans with GWI show autoimmune symptoms supports further study of the role of pesticide-related antibodies in GWI.

The goal of our upcoming studies is to identify exactly how Gulf War pesticides drive this autoimmune dysfunction.

The researchers are in the process of expanding their work and testing additional veterans with GWI to see if antibodies to different Gulf War pesticides or their metabolites are detected in veterans with GWI.

Once the mechanism has been identified, biological markers that are specific to GWI pesticide exposure can be identified in order to help with diagnosing GWI and for developing new means of interventions for veterans with GWI.

ABOUT THE ROSKAMP INSTITUTE GULF WAR ILLNESS STUDY

The study calls for the recruitment of 100 GW veterans. Volunteers will be seen one time for collecting information on their health and blood samples.

As with other diseases studied at the Roskamp Institute, scientists and clinicians there are always looking for new ways to understand and treat neurological illnesses that affect our military and veteran populations.

If you want to learn more about this and other clinical research studies being conducted at the Roskamp Institute, please call Megan Parks at (941) 256-8018 ext. 3008.

Link to the full journal article: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159119303290?via%3Dihub

Treatment Research Studies for 1990-91 Gulf War Veterans

2020-08-18T14:36:00.003-04:00

(91outcomes.com - August 18, 2020) There are several important resources for veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf War interested in participating in treatment research studies.

Individual Studies

There are numerous individual clinical trials and other studies around the U.S. that are actively recruiting veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf War. Below are several resources to find them.

ClinicalTrials.gov

ClinicalTrials.gov is an online searchable database of federally-funded clinical trials.

Results using the search terms, "Gulf War Illness"

Results using the search terms, "Gulf War"

GWIC-BU

The Gulf War Illness Consortium at Boston University (GWIC-BU) has been a collaborative effort comprised of multiple Gulf War Illness studies related to brain involvement in Gulf War Illness.

The GWIC-BU had sites in Boston, Miami, and Houston. It is funded by the Gulf War Illness CDMRP (GWIRP)

It is still recruiting healthy Gulf War veterans in Boston through September 2020.

GWICTIC

The Gulf War Illness Clinical Trials and Interventions Center (GWICTIC) is a collaborative research group with multiple Gulf War illness clinical trials (treatment trials).

Current GWICTIC study sites are actively recruiting veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf War, both with Gulf War Illness and healthy, including women veteran, in the following locations:

Nationwide (Bacopa study)
Nationwide (Glutathione study)
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Boston, MA
Durham, NC (Auto-antibody study)
East Orange, NJ/New York, NY
Houston, TX
Palo Alto, CA

The collaborating sites are both non-VA and VA and (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs).

New studies and study sites may continue to be added.

The GWICTIC is is headquartered at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale. It is funded by the Gulf War Illness CDMRP (GWIRP), which encourages researchers to collaborate with it.

WRIISC's

The VA's War Related Illness and Injury Study Centers (WRIISC's) serve as both clinical evaluation centers and as research hubs.

Study locations for WRIISC studies, both Gulf War and non-Gulf War, include:

The WRIISC's also provide Environmental Evaluation Assessments.

Action Alert Call on Your Senators to Continue Gulf War Treatment Research

2020-03-20T20:13:00.001-04:00

(91outcomes.com) - The treatment-focused Gulf War Illness research program expires at the end of this fiscal year. The goal is to continue to grow this critically important treatment development research for the nearly one-third of Gulf War veterans debilitated by Gulf War Illness.

It parallels the effort in the U.S. House that just concluded, led by Rep. Gregorio Sablan (D-NMI) and Rep. Jack Bergman, LtGen, USMC (Ret.) (R-Mich.) with 108 bipartisan cosigners including the leadership and many members of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee.

Contact your U.S. Senators' offices to sign onto the: "Baldwin Dear Colleague in support of FY21 funding for the Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP) within DoD’s CDMRP."

**Sign-On Deadline EXTENDED TO**: Close of Business, Tuesday, March 31, 2020.

Find your Senator: www.senate.gov/senators/contact

**Your quick phone call to your two U.S. Senators' offices will help make the difference in Congress deciding to continue this critical program for one more year. If not, it will expire at the end of this fiscal year.**

This FY21 request is supported by 25 veterans service and advocacy organizations, including:

Association of the United States Navy, Blinded Veterans Association, Burn Pits 360, Cease Fire Campaign, DAV (Disabled American Veterans), Fleet Reserve Association, High Ground Veterans Advocacy, Jewish War Veterans of the USA, Military Order of the Purple Heart, National Veterans Legal Services Program, National Vietnam & Gulf War Veterans Coalition, Non Commissioned Officers Association, ROA, Sergeant Sullivan Circle, Swords to Plowshares, The Quinism Foundation, TREA: The Enlisted Association, United Soldiers and Sailors of America - USASOA, Veteran Warriors, Veterans and Military Families for Progress, Veterans for Common Sense, Veterans of Foreign Wars, VetsFirst, Vietnam Veterans of America, Wounded Warrior Project

The final list of co-signers includes (as of Wednesday, April 1st):

Tammy Baldwin
Tina Smith
Tammy Duckworth
Elizabeth Warren
Kirsten E. Gillibrand
Gary C. Peters
Amy Klobuchar
Mazie K. Hirono
Ron Wyden
Richard Blumenthal
Jacky Rosen
Maria Cantwell
Jon Tester
Sheldon Whitehouse
Kyrsten Sinema
Edward J. Markey
Kamala D. Harris
Bernard Sanders
Dianne Feinstein
Debbie Stabenow
Robert Menendez
Cory A. Booker

The text of the Senate "Dear Colleague" is below.

****

Dear Colleague,

Senator Baldwin invites your boss to join her on a letter to SAC-D in support of FY21 funding for the Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP) within DoD’s CDMRP. The letter asks for “adequate funding” to continue the program and support its planned expansion into more advanced, larger-scale clinical trials, which is a mark of the program’s research progress helping our country’s Gulf War veterans. In FY20, the program received $22M as a separate topic/funding line in the DoD conference report. Adequate funding would fund one large-scale, Phase III clinical trial aimed at confirming the efficacy and safety of treatments for Gulf War Illness.

The letter lists the large number of VSOs supporting this effort. Reps. Bergman and Sablan are leading a similar effort in the House.

Please let me know if you have any questions and/or would like to chat. Unfortunately, Gulf War Veterans and Gulf War Illness do not receive the attention commensurate with their service and the need, respectively. This letter and the GWIRP goes a long way toward fixing that.

Deadline: Thursday, March 26

FY20 Cosigners: Baldwin, Tester, Blumenthal, Warren, Menendez, Wyden, Whitehouse, Markey, Sanders, Hirono, Duckworth, Rosen, Booker, Smith, Klobuchar, Peters, Harris, Stabenow, Brown, Gillibrand, Cantwell

Blake_Souter@baldwin

7-4419

March XX, 2020

The Honorable Richard Shelby

Chairman

Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense

113 Dirksen

United States Senate

Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Richard J. Durbin

Vice Chairman

Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense

711 Hart

United States Senate

Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chairman Shelby and Ranking Member Durbin:

As your Subcommittee begins work on the Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) Defense Appropriations bill, we respectfully request adequate funding for the Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP) within the Department of Defense (DoD) Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). We also thank you for providing the program $22 million in FY 2020.

By congressional design, the GWIRP is a unique medical research program narrowly focused on improving the health and lives of Veterans with Gulf War Illness. Reports by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and government committees have shown that: 1) Gulf War Illness (“GWI”), likely caused by toxic exposures, affects up to one-third of the nearly 700,000 veterans who served in the 1991 Gulf War; and 2) GWI’s debilitating symptoms typically include "some combination of widespread pain, headache, persistent problems with memory and thinking, fatigue, breathing problems, stomach and intestinal symptoms, and skin abnormalities."[1]

The GWIRP is narrowly focused on unraveling GWI’s underlying pathobiology, improving its definition and diagnosis, and developing treatments. While two-thirds of GWIRP-funded studies are still in progress, the growing body of results published in peer-reviewed scientific journals demonstrates steady advances toward the GWIRP’s goals. GWIRP-funded pilot studies shown as promising are now progressing to larger-scale clinical trials. These successes are the direct result of clear, treatment-focused congressional direction, stable appropriations, and effective management. Key recent GWIRP-funded results include:

§ The first direct evidence of neuroinflammation in veterans with GWI,[2] a treatable target.

§ Significantly different gut microbiome patterns in GWI, including greater plasma levels of an inflammatory cytokine and associated with significantly more reported GW chemical weapons exposure and GWI symptoms.[3]

§ A 25 percent reduction in key GWI symptoms by treating GWI with KPAX002, a proprietary combination designed to support mitochondrial function.[4]

Recognizing the GWIRP’s progress, the recommendations in the last Research Advisory Committee report remain instructive: "Congress should maintain its funding to support the effective treatment-oriented [GWIRP].”[5] The discoveries through the GWIRP continue to represent encouraging steps toward achieving the treatment goals articulated by the NAS: “to speed the development of effective treatments, cures, and, it is hoped, preventions" for current and future U.S. forces at risk of similar exposures and outcomes. Indeed, the GWIRP has served as a model of how to conduct treatment-oriented research to address a challenging illness and is succeeding where earlier programs failed. Its two-tier peer-reviewed and highly competitive process ensures the independence and value of the results produced. Unlike the VA’s research program, which only funds VA researchers, the GWIRP seeks out and funds the best research by any combination of government, academic, or private-sector researchers and research teams.

We respectfully request that you provide the necessary resources in the FY21 Defense Appropriations bill to support this vital and effective program as it progresses into more advanced, larger-scale clinical trials – a development indicative of the GWIRP’s steady progress, but one that comes with well-justified, added costs. Furthermore, it remains critical to the program's success and accountability that the GWIRP is retained as a stand-alone program within the CDMRP and not be combined as a topic area within broader, less-targeted research programs.

Thank you for your consideration of our request, which is supported by the Veterans for Common Sense, Blinded Veterans Association (BVA), Jewish War Veterans of the USA, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Non Commissioned Officers Association, the Quinism Foundation, TREA: The Enlisted Association, Veterans and Military Families for Progress, Fleet Reserve Association, Association of the United States Navy, Sgt. Sullivan Circle.

Sincerely,

Tammy Baldwin

Unites States Senator

[1] National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, “Gulf War and Health, Volume 8: Update of Health Effects of Serving in the Gulf War,” 2010; Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, “Gulf War Illness and the Health of Gulf War Veterans: Research Update and Recommendations, 2009-2013,” 2014.

[2] Zeynab A, Albrecht DS, Bergan C, Akeju O, Clauw DJ, Conby L, Edwards RR, Kim M, Lee YC, Protsenko E, Napadow V, Sullivan K, Loggia ML. (February 2020). In-vivo imaging of neuroinflammation in veterans with Gulf War illness. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2020.01.020

[3] Janulewicz, Patricia A.; Seth, Ratanesh K.; Carlson, Jeffrey M.; Ajama, Joy; Quinn, Emily; Heeren, Timothy; Klimas, Nancy; Lasley, Steven M.; Horner, Ronnie D.; Sullivan, Kimberly; Chatterjee, Saurabh. (2019). "The Gut-Microbiome in Gulf War Veterans: A Preliminary Report." Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 16, no. 19: 3751. http://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16193751. See also: “GWIRP-funded project expands exciting gut biome finding for Gulf War Illness”

[4] Holodniy M, Kaiser JD. (November 2019). Treatment for Gulf War Illness (GWI) with KPAX002 (methylphenidate hydrochloride + GWI nutrient formula) in subjects meeting the Kansas case definition: A prospective, open-label trial. J. of Psych. Rsch., 118: 14-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2019.08.003 . See also: “A Prospective Open-Label Clinical Trial of Methylphenidate plus a GWI-Specific Nutrient Formula in Patients with Gulf War Illness and Concentration Disturbances”.

[5] Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, “Gulf War Illness and the Health of Gulf War Veterans: Research Update and Recommendations, 2009-2013,” 2014.

Help Grow Gulf War Illness Treatment Research

2020-02-28T10:07:00.002-05:00

(91outcomes.com) - The treatment-focused Gulf War Illness research program expires at the end of this fiscal year. The goal is to continue to grow this critically important treatment development research for the nearly one-third of Gulf War veterans debilitated by Gulf War Illness.

Contact your Member of the U.S. House of Representatives to sign onto "The Sablan-Bergman Dear Colleague to Support FY21 funding for DoD-CDMRP Gulf War Illness Treatment Research. **Deadline Extended**: 6 PM on Friday, March 13, 2020.

**Your quick phone call to your Rep. will help make the difference in Congress deciding to continue this critical program for one more year. If not, it will expire at the end of this fiscal year.**

A parallel effort in the Senate, led by U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, will also begin in the coming weeks.

Find your Representative: www.house.gov/representatives

The text of the "Dear Colleague" is below.

This FY21 request is supported by 25 veterans service and advocacy organizations, including:

Association of the United States Navy, Blinded Veterans Association, Burn Pits 360, Cease Fire Campaign, DAV (Disabled American Veterans), Fleet Reserve Association, High Ground Veterans Advocacy, Jewish War Veterans of the USA, Military Order of the Purple Heart, National Veterans Legal Services Program, National Vietnam & Gulf War Veterans Coalition, Non Commissioned Officers Association, ROA, Sergeant Sullivan Circle, Swords to Plowshares, The Quinism Foundation, TREA: The Enlisted Association, United Soldiers and Sailors of America - USASOA, Veteran Warriors, Veterans and Military Families for Progress, Veterans for Common Sense, Veterans of Foreign Wars, VetsFirst, Vietnam Veterans of America, Wounded Warrior Project

Current cosigners include, as of 12:55 PM (ET), March 12, 2020:

	Last Name	First Name	District
1	Sablan	Gregorio Kilili Camacho	MP-00
2	Bergman	Jack	MI-01
3	Moore	Gwen	WI-04
4	Payne, Jr.	Donald M.	NJ-10
5	Hayes	Jahana	CT-5
6	Cicilline	David N.	RI-01
7	DeSaulnier	Mark	CA-11
8	Bost	Mike	IL-12
9	Beatty	Joyce	OH-03
10	Hastings	Alcee L.	FL-20
11	Welch	Peter	VT-AL
12	González-Colón	Jenniffer	PR-AL
13	Carson	André	IN-07
14	Panetta	Jimmy	CA-20
15	Larsen	Rick	WA-02
16	Plaskett	Stacey E.	USVI-AL
17	Kind	Ron	WI-03
18	Tipton	Scott R.	CO-03
19	Sánchez	Linda T.	CA-38
20	Veasey	Marc	TX-33
21	Vela	Filemon	TX-34
22	DeLauro	Rosa L.	CT-03
23	DeFazio	Peter A.	OR-04
24	Schakowsky	Jan	IL-09
25	Sires	Albio	NJ-08
26	Pingree	Chellie	ME-01
27	Rush	Bobby L.	IL-01
28	Horsford	Steven	NV-04
29	Johnson	Bill	OH-06
30	Davis	Danny K.	IL-07
31	Lynch	Stephen F.	MA-08
32	Radewagen	Aumua Amata C.	AS-00
33	Pappas	Chris	NH-01
34	Rice	Kathleen M.	NY-04
35	Casten	Sean	IL-06
36	Raskin	Jamie	MD-08
37	Grijalva	Raúl M.	AZ-03
38	Cárdenas	Tony	CA-29
39	Loebsack	Dave	IA-02
40	Lowenthal	Alan S.	CA-47
41	Delgado	Antonio	NY-19
42	Brownley	Julia	CA-26
43	Kuster	Ann McLane	NH-02
44	Speier	Jackie	CA-14
45	Suozzi	Thomas R.	NY-03
46	McGovern	James P.	MA-02
47	Roe, M.D.	David P.	TN-01
48	Davis	Susan A	CA-53
49	Omar	Ilhan	MN-05
50	Perlmutter	Ed	CO-07
51	Takano	Mark	CA-41
52	Ruiz, M.D.	Raul	CA-36
53	Yoho, DVM	Ted S.	FL-03
54	Gosar, D.D.S.	Paul A.	AZ-04
55	Shalala	Donna E.	FL-27
56	Axne	Cynthia	IA-03
57	Costa	Jim	CA-16
58	Lee	Susie	NV-03
59	Lee	Barbara	CA-13
60	Larson	John B.	CT-01
61	Keating	William R.	MA-09
62	Norton	Eleanor Holmes	DC-AL
63	Escobar	Veronica	TX-16
64	King	Peter	NY-02
65	Yarmuth	John	KY-03
66	Chu	Judy	CA-27
67	Brindisi	Anthony	NY-22
68	Soto	Darren	FL-09
69	Lamborn	Doug	CO-05
70	Lipinski	Daniel W.	IL-03
71	Dingell	Debbie	MI-12
72	DeGette	Diana	CO-01
73	García	Jesús G. “Chuy”	IL-04
74	Jackson Lee	Sheila	TX-18
75	Eshoo	Anna G.	CA-18
76	Bustos	Cheri	IL-17
77	Bilirakis	Gus M.	FL-12
78	Craig	Angie	MN-02
79	Richmond	Cedric L.	LA-02
80	Correa	J. Luis	CA-46
81	Peters	Scott	CA-52
82	Cisneros, Jr.	Gilbert R.	CA-39
83	Sewell	Terri A.	AL-07
84	Kim	Andy	NJ-03
85	Tlaib	Rashida	MI-13
86	Rouda	Harley	CA-48
87	Allred	Colin Z.	TX-32
88	Rodgers	Cathy McMorris	WA-05
89	Gabbard	Tulsi	HI-02
90	Espaillat	Adriano	NY-13
91	Luria	Elaine G.	VA-02
92	Johnson	Eddie Bernice	TX-30
93	Jayapal	Pramila	WA-07
94	Doggett	Lloyd	TX-35
95	Peterson	Collin C.	MN-07
96	Marshall, M.D.	Roger	KS-01
97	Scanlon	Mary Gay	PA-05
98	Gallego	Ruben	AZ-07
99	Kelly	Trent	MS-01
100	Katko	John	NY-24
101	Johnson, Jr.	Henry C. "Hank"	GA-04
102	Slotkin	Elissa	MI-08
103	Meeks	Gregory W.	NY-05
104	Davids	Sharice L.	KS-03
105	Crow	Jason	CO-06
106	Krishnamoorthi	Raja	IL-08
107	Brown	Anthony G.	MD-04
108	Sherrill	Mikie	NJ-11

109

Lisa

Blunt Rochester

DE-AL

====================================

Support FY21 funding for DoD-CDMRP Gulf War Illness Treatment Research

Sending Office: Honorable Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan
Sent By: Frances.Diaz

Request for Signature(s)

Deadline to sign on is Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Dear Colleague:

We invite you to join us in sending a letter to the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee urging continued support in FY 2021 for the treatment-focused Gulf War Illness Research Program within the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP).

The Gulf War Illness Research Program is a unique federal program with an unprecedented vision to achieve the “improved health and lives of Veterans who have Gulf War Illness.” The GWIRP continues to succeed in efforts to “fund innovative Gulf War Illness (GWI) research to identify effective treatment and accelerate their clinical application, improve definition and diagnosis, and better understand pathobiology and symptoms.” The GWIRP continues to demonstrate effectiveness in its mission to improve the health and lives of

Veterans debilitated and suffering from Gulf War Illness. We need to ensure these efforts continue for these Veterans as well as for current and future U.S. forces at risk of similar exposures and outcomes.

By congressional design, the Congressionally-directed Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP) is a unique medical research program narrowly focused on identifying treatments and diagnostic markers for Gulf War Illness (GWI).¹

The most recent report of the Congressionally-mandated Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses (RAC) recommended maintaining funding for this effective treatment-oriented program.

The FY 2020 GWIRP request was supported by 97 offices, including current House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Takano and Ranking Member Dr. Roe.

The FY2020 GWIRP request was supported by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Veterans for Common Sense, Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), AMVETS, Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), Blinded Veterans Association (BV A), The Retired Enlisted Association (TREA), Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), National Gulf War Resource Center, Burn Pits 360, Sgt. Sullivan Circle, National Vietnam & Gulf War Veterans Coalition.

The deadline to sign on is Tuesday, March 10, 2020. Please contact Frances Diaz at frances.diaz@, in Rep. Sablan’s office or Remy Fortin at remy.fortin@, in Rep. Bergman’s office for more information or to sign this letter.

Sincerely,

GREGORIO SABLAN JACK BERGMAN

Member of Congress Member of Congress

=======================================================================================================

March 17, 2020

The Honorable Pete Visclosky

Chairman

Subcommittee on Defense

Committee on Appropriations

H-405, The Capitol

Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Ken Calvert

Ranking Member

Subcommittee on Defense

Committee on Appropriations

1016 Longworth House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Visclosky and Ranking Member Calvert:

As your Subcommittee begins work on the Fiscal Year 2021 Defense Appropriations Bill, we respectfully request adequate funding for the Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP) within the Department of Defense (DoD) Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). We also thank you for providing the program $22 million in FY 2020.

By congressional design, the GWIRP is a unique medical research program narrowly focused on improving the health and lives of Veterans with Gulf War Illness. Reports by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and government committees have shown that: 1) Gulf War Illness (“GWI”), likely caused by toxic exposures, affects up to one-third of the nearly 700,000 Veterans who served in the 1991 Gulf War; and 2) GWI’s debilitating symptoms typically include "some combination of widespread pain, headache, persistent problems with memory and thinking, fatigue, breathing problems, stomach and intestinal symptoms, and skin abnormalities."[1]

· The first direct evidence of neuroinflammation in Veterans with GWI,[2] a treatable target.

· Significantly different gut microbiome patterns in GWI, including greater plasma levels of an inflammatory cytokine and associated with significantly more reported GW chemical weapons exposure and GWI symptoms.[3]

· A 25 percent reduction in key GWI symptoms by treating GWI with KPAX002, a proprietary combination designed to support mitochondrial function.[4]

Indeed, the GWIRP has served as a model of how to conduct treatment-oriented research to address a challenging illness and is succeeding where earlier programs failed. Its two-tier peer-reviewed and highly competitive process ensures the independence and value of the results produced. Unlike the VA’s research program, which only funds VA researchers, the GWIRP seeks out and funds the best research by any combination of government, academic, or private-sector researchers and research teams.

We respectfully request you provide the necessary resources in the FY21 Defense Appropriations Bill to continue this vital and effective program and to support its progress into more advanced, larger-scale clinical trials – a well-justified, added cost indicative of the GWIRP’s steady progress. It remains critical to the program's success and accountability that the GWIRP is retained as a stand-alone program within the CDMRP and not be combined as a topic area within broader, less-targeted research programs.

Thank you for your consideration of our request, which is supported by the Association of the United States Navy, Fleet Reserve Association, Jewish War Veterans of the USA, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Non Commissioned Officers Association, Sergeant Sullivan Circle, TREA: The Enlisted Association, Veterans for Common Sense.

Sincerely,

GREGORIO SABLAN JACK BERGMAN

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Veterans with Gulf War Illness have widespread brain inflammation, new study shows

2020-02-18T10:33:00.001-05:00

SOURCE: https://www.bostonherald.com/2020/02/17/veterans-with-gulf-war-syndrome-have-widespread-brain-inflammation-new-study-shows/

******

ARCHIVED ARTICLE:

By ALEXI COHAN | alexi.cohan@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald

PUBLISHED: February 17, 2020 at 7:40 p.m. | UPDATED: February 17, 2020 at 8:14 p.m.

Veterans with Gulf War Syndrome have

widespread brain inflammation, new study

shows

BOSTON, MA. – SEPTEMBER 20: Mass. General Hospital , September 20, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)

By ALEXI COHAN | alexi.cohan@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald

PUBLISHED: February 17, 2020 at 7:40 p.m. | UPDATED: February 17, 2020 at 8:14 p.m.

Veterans who fought against Iraq in the Gulf War and now battle debilitating symptoms of what’s been called Gulf War Syndrome have widespread inflammation in the brain, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital confirmed for the first time.

“We are documenting objective neurochemical changes in the brains of these people which is a way to validate their complaints,” said Marco Loggia, whose laboratory at MGH focuses on understanding brain inflammation and pain in humans.

The study included 23 veterans, 15 of whom had Gulf War Illness, as it is identified in the study, as well as 25 healthy patients without GWI. All of their brains were scanned using positron-emission tomography imaging which looked for elevated levels of a special protein that accumulates in the brain and spinal cord when there is inflammation.

The study found extensive inflammation in the brains of veterans with GWI, mostly in regions that are involved in functions such as memory, concentration and reasoning, which could serve as a guidepost for identifying and developing new therapies for people with the condition.

TOP ARTICLES1/5READ MORECORONAVIRUS FEAR TOUCHES OFF A GLOBAL RUN ON FACE MASKS

“That should motivate us to look at ways of treating Gulf War Illness using strategies such as targeting inflammation,” said Loggia, adding that many drug companies are currently working to make a treatment to reduce neuroinflammation.

About 30 percent of soldiers who fought in the 1991 Gulf War suffer from GWI, “Often these people are stigmatized,” said Loggia.

Patients suffer from chronic pain, fatigue, insomnia and issues with attention, memory and cognition.

“We don’t know exactly what happened to these veterans but there’s a series of possible culprits,” said Loggia.

Those possibilities include exposure to nerve gas, medicine given to protect against the neurotoxin, exposure to pesticides, extreme temperature changes, sleep deprivation and physical exertion during deployment, according to the study.

Loggia and other MGH researchers collaborated with the Gulf War Illness Consortium at Boston University, which helped them recruit Gulf War veterans from across the country.

Loggia described them as “a brotherhood” eager to help doctors and researchers. “They are comrades,” Loggia said.

The Gulf War, fought between August 1990 and February 1991, was waged by coalition forces from 34 nations led by the United States against Iraq in response to Iraq’s invasion and annexation of Kuwait.

The chronic symptoms of GWI may affect as many as 200,000 to 250,000 veterans out of the nearly 700,000 deployed to that region, according to the BU Gulf War Illness Consortium.

Many of the symptoms overlap with those of another condition, fibromyalgia, which led Loggia to perform the research.

Research by Loggia’s lab also implicated neuroinflammation in a number of additional conditions such as depression, anxiety, autism, multiple sclerosis and Huntington’s disease.

Highlights of Recent Gulf War Illness Research Findings

2020-02-12T10:30:00.001-05:00

Highlights of GWIRP 2019-20 Peer-Reviewed Published Findings

Updated February 12, 2020

New results from a GWIRP-funded brain-imaging study in Boston provide the first direct evidence of neuroinflammation in veterans with GWI. Based on early GWIRP-funded study results, a focus on identifying and confirming or denying the presence of persistent neuroinflammation in GWI has been a key GWIRP goal. These results provide the first objective evidence confirming the relevance of neuroinflammation in GWI and that treatments should indeed be targeted at countering this neuroinflammation.[1]

Another key area of GWIRP-funded research has been related to role of the gut-brain axis in GWI. A GWIRP-funded study also from Boston and also just published assessed the relationships between GWI, GI symptoms, gut microbiome and inflammatory markers in GWV from the Boston Gulf War Illness Consortium (GWIC). Results showed significantly different gut microbiome patterns among the GWI and control groups, including greater plasma levels of an inflammatory cytokine (TNF-RI) in the GWI+GI group, which was associated with significantly more reported chemical weapons exposure during the Gulf War and which reported significantly greater chronic pain, fatigue and sleep difficulties. Studies with larger samples sizes are needed to confirm these initial findings, which would be expected to suggest gut-related treatment targets.[2]

A GWIRP-funded study from Northern California published in November 2019 tested the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of KPAX002—a combination of methylphenidate hydrochloride plus a micronutrient formula designed to support mitochondrial function— another key area of significant GWI focus for treating GWI. The results were a 25% reduction in severity of multiple GWI symptoms including fatigue, cognitive symptoms, sleep problems, and pain, with an acceptable side effect profile. A larger randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial is necessary to determine if the observed pilot study benefit can be replicated in a larger sample size.[3]

Key areas of focus for GWIRP funding have also been unraveling GWI’s underlying pathobiology and improving definition and diagnosis, all with an eye towards treatment development. A GWIRP-funded study from San Diego published in July 2019 showed that despite differing exposure histories, significant, objectivedifferences between GWI and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) were found (“a metabolic phenotype of GWI was clearly distinguished from controls”), which show that common clinical symptoms like fatigue can have different chemical mechanisms and different diagnostic implications. Larger confirmation is needed.[4]

As GWIRP-funded treatment target identification and treatment development have showed significant advances – including through the two Gulf War Illness Consortia (GWIC) at Boston University and Nova Southeastern University; the Boston Biorepository, Recruitment, and Integrative Network (BBRAIN); and the newly-funded (FY18) Gulf War Illness Clinical Trials and Interventions Consortium (GWICTIC) – the GWIRP fine-tunes its funding strategy annually. The goals are to fund preclinical research to inform treatment targeting, fund high-risk/high-reward potential-treatment pilot studies, and then speed those that show success into larger clinical studies than can provide the statistical significance to translate successful treatments into the clinic for GWI patients. As the steady stream of peer-reviewed published study results continue to show, the GWIRP’s strategy is clearly working.

A research publication from VA’s Millennium Cohort Study Team early this year concluded that, “Gulf War veterans' increased risk of CMI/GWI persisted across the study period, highlighting the continued importance of screening and improving treatment options among this population.”[5] And, an October 2019 publication by VA WRIISC researchers concluded that, “Establishment of a standard case definition, prioritized GWI research funding for the characterization of the pathophysiology of the condition, and rapid replication and adaptation of early phase, single site clinical trials could substantially advance research progress and treatment discovery for this condition.”[6] These VA findings and recommendations strongly support the GWIRP’s active funding strategy, which is sharply focused on GWI’s pathobiology, definition and diagnosis, and a clear treatment development “pipeline.”

Finally, in early 2019 through a collaboration between the National Institutes of Health (NIH), CDC, VA, DoD GWIRP, and the GWI community, Common Data Elements (CDE) have been developed for GWI. “The goals of this effort are to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of clinical research studies and treatment, increase data quality, facilitate data sharing and aggregation of information across studies, and help educate new clinical investigators.” [7] The GWIRP’s enforced use of these CDEs is expected to add valuable data to ongoing efforts to refine the GWI case definition and develop objective GWI markers.

[1] Zeynab A, Albrecht DS, Bergan C, Akeju O, Clauw DJ, Conby L, Edwards RR, Kim M, Lee YC, Protsenko E, Napadow V, Sullivan K, Loggia ML. (February 2020). In-vivo imaging of neuroinflammation in veterans with Gulf War illness. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2020.01.020 “Our study provides the first direct evidence of brain upregulation of the neuroinflammatory marker TSPO in veterans with GWI and supports the exploration of neuroinflammation as a therapeutic target for this disorder.”

[2] Janulewicz, Patricia A.; Seth, Ratanesh K.; Carlson, Jeffrey M.; Ajama, Joy; Quinn, Emily; Heeren, Timothy; Klimas, Nancy; Lasley, Steven M.; Horner, Ronnie D.; Sullivan, Kimberly; Chatterjee, Saurabh. (2019). "The Gut-Microbiome in Gulf War Veterans: A Preliminary Report." Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 16, no. 19: 3751. http://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16193751. See also: “GWIRP-funded project expands exciting gut biome finding for Gulf War Illness”

[3] Holodniy M, Kaiser JD. (November 2019). Treatment for Gulf War Illness (GWI) with KPAX002 (methylphenidate hydrochloride + GWI nutrient formula) in subjects meeting the Kansas case definition: A prospective, open-label trial. J. of Psych. Rsch., 118: 14-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2019.08.003 . See also: “A Prospective Open-Label Clinical Trial of Methylphenidate plus a GWI-Specific Nutrient Formula in Patients with Gulf War Illness and Concentration Disturbances”.

[4] Naviaux RK, Naviaux JC, Li K, Wang L, Monk JM, Bright AT, Koslik HJ, Ritchie JB, Golomb BA. (July 2019). Metabolic features of Gulf War illness. PLoS ONE 14(7): e0219531. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0219531

[5] Porter B, Long K, Rull RP, Dursa EK, for the Millennium Cohort Study Team. (2020). “Prevalence of Chronic Multisymptom Illness/Gulf War Illness Over Time Among Millennium Cohort Participants, 2001 to 2016.” J. of Occup. & Environ. Med. 62(1):4–10, January 2020. http://DOI.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000001716

[6] Chester JE, Rowneki M, Van Doren W, Helmer DA. (2019) “Progression of intervention-focused research for Gulf War illness.”Mil Med Res. 2019 Oct 18;6(1):31. http://doi.org/10.1186/s40779-019-0221-x.

[7] https://cdmrp.army.mil/gwirp/research_highlights/19gwi_cde_initiative_highlight.aspx Also see: Jeffrey MG, Krengel M, Kibler JL, Zundel C, Klimas NG, Sullivan K and Craddock TJA (2019) Neuropsychological Findings in Gulf War Illness: A Review. Front. Psychol. 10:2088. http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02088.

5 Questions about Presumptions for Gulf War and Undiagnosed Illnesses

2019-08-29T00:11:00.002-04:00

New drug GVT progresses in research aimed at helping Gulf War Illness and other neurodegenerative diseases

2019-08-17T01:49:00.001-04:00

(91outcomes.com - August 17, 2019) - A small pharmaceutical company has taken positive findings from a Gulf War Illness (GWI) treatment research pilot study and now working on the next steps to test it to verify that it may indeed help alleviate Gulf War Illness symptoms.

The original work on this formulation was funded through a Fiscal Year 2013 treatment study by the treatment-focused, veteran-driven Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP) funded by Congress at the request of ill Gulf War veteran advocates and within the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP).

The press release by Back Pharmaceuticals is below, followed by the original project abstract summarizing what they had hoped to find when first funded.

The study was one of many funded by the GWIRP aimed at unraveling GWI's underlying biological mechanisms and developing effective treatments to reduce GWI symptoms and shift dysfunctioning systems in GWI closer to normal.

More information about the GWIRP and its efforts, including the Gulf War Illness Landscape (scheduled to be updated late 2019) is available online at: http://cdmrp.army.mil/GWIRP

***
PRESS RELEASE, August 16, 2019

SOURCE:

https://www.prweb.com/releases/bach_pharma_inc_developing_new_drug_gvt_to_treat_veterans_suffering_from_gulf_war_illness_and_millions_of_people_suffering_from_neurodegenerative_diseases/prweb16499968.htm

ARCHIVED TEXT:

North Andover MA's Bach Pharma Inc. has developed a new drug GVT that has high hopes of treating Gulf War Illness and other neurodegenerative diseases. Now, the company is facing the challenge of competing with large pharma companies to get the drug released.

NORTH ANDOVER, MASS. (PRWEB) AUGUST 14, 2019

Bach Pharma, Inc., a company based in North Andover, Massachusetts, is continuing its research and development of its drug platform GVT (Monosodium Luminol), created to treat and cure multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Gulf War Illness (GWI), ALS, and Parkinson’s disease among others. Overwhelming data from multiple animal studies have proven that GVT has the potential to help millions of people suffering from neurodegenerative diseases, specifically focusing on Veterans who suffer the effects of Gulf War Illness and related conditions.

In 2001, CEO Mark Henry, working with real estate developer Harold Brooks was able to recognize the immense potential for a drug platform they discovered while searching for drugs to help critically ill people survive. The major accomplishment for Henry was locating and bringing together eight founders were able to attract research institutions all over the world and convince them to work together to help mankind. While never intending to compete with the massive pharmaceutical corporations – the founders realized that this product, GVT, could make a huge difference to millions suffering the effects of Neurodegenerative Diseases. Henry recalls that, “What we experienced in the late 1990s was just short of a miracle. We continue to witness the powerful benefits from these products every day. With new data we discover new medical opportunities.”

Bach Pharma Inc’s primary medical product is GVT which is designed to act as a redox buffer in the patients’ brain cells – minimizing and potentially reversing the effects of Gulf War Illness in Veterans. As of 2019, it is believed that over 250,000 US Veterans suffer from some form of GWI and its associated complications including Parkinson’s disease and ALS.

Having successfully demonstrated effectiveness in several GWI animal models, Bach Pharma is in the midst of a $2.2M capital raise in order to fund the next stage of preclinical testing, specifically a toxicology study for the Veteran’s Administration. Individual Investors, Foundations and Veteran Organizations have already committed over $500,000 to this project. Once the toxicology studies are completed, Bach will qualify for an additional $8 million commitment from the US Department of Defense for additional testing of GVT.

COO Christopher LaFarge believes that GVT will be a safe and effective solution for the millions suffering from Neurodegenerative Diseases, “We have proven that neurodegenerative diseases, GWI, radiation exposure, and other related diseases share a common theme, namely oxidative stress, and that GVT has enormous potential to help millions live reasonably normal lives.”

About Bach Pharma, Inc.: Bach Pharma, Inc. (BACH), a privately held research and development pharmaceutical company, directs the development of therapies for degenerative neurological illnesses. The company’s lead candidate GVT is a novel cytoprotective agent that has powerful anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which research has shown can reverse oxidative stress, restore intracellular redox homeostasis and quell inflammation. Due to its strong safety profile along with its ability to cross the retinal and the blood-brain barriers and enter cells of the central nervous system, GVT has the potential to treat serious diseases of the central nervous and immune systems and dramatically reduce the cost of global health care.
BACH is a proud member of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council and a host company for the Massachusetts Life Science Center Internship Challenge.

****

PUBLIC ABSTRACT, Fiscal Year 2013

SOURCE: https://cdmrp.army.mil/search.aspx?LOG_NO=GW130037

ARCHIVED TEXT:

Gulf War Illness (GWI), observed in nearly 30% of the 700,000 Persian Gulf War-1 (PGW-1) veterans, is characterized by multiple chronic health problems, which also include brain-related impairments. The most conspicuous brain impairments include learning difficulties, inability to make new memories, depression, anxiety, and lack of concentration. Multiple possible causes have been suggested for this disease over the last two decades. A detailed report by the VA Research Advisory Committee (VA-RAC) on GWI suggests that the symptoms exhibited by a major fraction of PGW-1 veterans are most likely owed to an exposure to chemicals such as pyridostigmine bromide (PB) and pesticides such as DEET and permethrin (PM) during the war. These exposures were believed to have occurred due to the following circumstances: First, to reduce the devastating effects of a possible nerve gas attack during the war, the troops were given pyridostigmine bromide (PB) as a prophylactic treatment. Second, pesticides such as DEET and PM were widely used by troops on skin and uniforms to combat insects and rodents in the region. Causes of GWI in some veterans likely also include exposure to chemical weapons (especially for those veterans who were stationed near the chemical weapon depot demolitions).

Thus, it is widely believed that the neurological symptoms in a vast majority of Gulf War veterans are owed to a synergistic interaction of chemicals PB, DEET, and PM, or interaction of one or more of these chemicals with war-related stress. Indeed, studies performed in our laboratory using a rat model showed that combined exposure to low doses of chemicals PB, DEET, and PM, with or without mild stress, for 4 weeks, causes considerable dysfunction of the hippocampus, a region of the brain important for maintenance of normal memory and mood function. These include learning difficulties, reduced ability for making and retrieving new memories, increased depressive and anxiety-like behavior. Importantly, these changes were associated with chronic inflammation and greatly reduced neurogenesis (daily generation of new neurons) in the hippocampus. Because daily addition of new neurons to the hippocampus circuitry is an important process that contributes towards formation of new memories and maintenance of normal mood function, it is likely that greatly reduced hippocampal neurogenesis at least partly underlies the memory and mood impairments observed in this GWI model.

I think I might have Gulf War Illness, what should I do?

2019-08-10T18:52:00.001-04:00

(91outcomes.com) - If you think you might have Gulf War Illness (GWI), below are some basic suggested steps.

1) Read this overview about GWI:

Review this "state of the science" overview of Gulf War Illness (GWI): https://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.cortex.2015.08.022.

While it's fairly technical, skim and read the parts you can understand. You can also share this with your doctor or others.

Does it sound like you meet the following GWI criteria?

"The Kansas definition of GWI requires that cases have moderately severe or multiple chronic symptoms in at least three of six categories: fatigue/sleep problems, pain, neurological/cognitive/mood symptoms, respiratory complaints, gastrointestinal problems or skin symptoms (Steele, 2000) [lasting at least 6 months in duration]. Veterans who have severe psychiatric disorders or other medical conditions that might predict similar symptoms are excluded."

Most 1991 Gulf War veterans with GWI have had the symptoms for a very long time. Many had their symptoms begin during or soon after Gulf War deployment.

2) Get a comprehensive WRIISC exam:

Whether or not you can answer "yes" to #1 above, ask your VA primary care for a referral to the VA's WRIISC for hard-to-diagnose symptoms: https://www.warrelatedillness.va.gov

3) Participate in GWI Clinical Treatment Research:

If yes to #1, participate in GWI research. Some studies are allowed to provide results to study subjects, while others are not. The reasons why and why not are beyond the scope of this short article.

However, participating will often give you better insight into your health condition, and also stand to significantly help you and all other ill Gulf War veterans. I

f the study is a treatment trial, you may also have early access to try a potentially effective treatment.

4) File a VA Claim:

If yes to #1 and after #2 has been completed, work with a veterans service organization (VSO) or county veterans service officer (CVSO) experienced in Gulf War claims to file an appropriate claim.

Here's a good write-up from a veterans claims law firm, but you don't have to use them or a lawyer, just never file a VA claim on your own -- always use professional help, ideally a VSO experienced in Gulf War claims. https://cck-law.com/types-of-va-disabilities/gulf-war-syndrome/

You can usually find VSO's at the VA Regional Office (VARO) that services your state: https://www.benefits.va.gov/benefits/offices.asp

About half the states have CVSO's: https://www.nacvso.org/find_service_officers

Some States also provide state-funded veterans service staff to assist with claims: http://www.nasdva.us/Links.aspx

There are also many law firms that can help you appeal denied claims and may sometimes help with original claims filing.

5) File for Disability:

If you're totally disabled and unable to work, you may also be able to file for disability through Social Security, and if applicable through your current employer. Again, those are beyond the scope of this short article.

Funding Pre-Announcement - Gulf War Illness Treatment Research Grant opportunities

2019-04-10T14:13:00.001-04:00

SOURCE: CDMRP, April 10, 2019

****

---------- Original message ---------
From: Communications@cdmrp.org <Communications@cdmrp.org>
Date: Wed, Apr 10, 2019 at 11:00 AM
Subject: JUST RELEASED! FY19 GWIRP, LRP, MRP and VRP Pre-Announcements

This e-mail is to notify the research community of recently released pre-announcements for the Gulf War Illness, Lupus, Melanoma, and Vision Research Programs managed by the Department of Defense office of Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) https://cdmrp.army.mil/pubs/press/cdmrp_presses to allow investigators time to plan and develop ideas for submission to the anticipated FY19 funding opportunities.

FY19 funding opportunities are anticipated for the following programs:

Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP)

* Idea Award

* Idea Development Award

* Clinical Evaluation Award

* Therapeutic/Biomarker Trial Award

* Patient-Provider and Health Communications Award

* New Investigator Award

Lupus Research Program (LRP)

* Concept Award

* Impact Award

Melanoma Research Program (MRP)

* Concept Award

* Idea Award

* Team Science Award

* Translational Research Award

Vision Research Program (VRP)

* Focused Translational Team Science Award

* Investigator-Initiated Research Award

* Translational Research Award

Descriptions of each of the anticipated funding opportunities, eligibility, key mechanism elements, and funding can be found in the Program pre-announcement. FY19 pre-announcements can be found in the CDMRP home page features at https://cdmrp.army.mil . Subsequent notifications will be sent when the program announcements/funding opportunities are released.

Please do not respond directly to this message. To be added or removed from this email list please use the “Subscribe/unsubscribe” to program specific news and updates at https://ebrap.org.

…………………………………………………………………………………

CDMRP also provides news and updates through Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Follow CDMRP on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheCDMRP

Follow CDMRP on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CDMRP

Subscribe to CDMRP on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/CDMRP

GWIRP-funded study finds elevated rates of 7 chronic health conditions in Gulf War Veterans

2019-03-18T22:49:00.003-04:00

(91outcomes.com – March 18, 2019) – Newly published results of a study of a large cohort of U.S. veterans of the 1991 Gulf War show a higher risk of numerous chronic health conditions, as compared to the general population. The excess risk was linked to reported exposure to Gulf War chemical weapons or an experimental drug troops were forced to take without informed consent.

Seven of nine surveyed conditions were shown to be at elevated risk among the veterans, including high blood pressure (HBP), high cholesterol, heart attack, diabetes, stroke, arthritis and chronic bronchitis.

For veterans reporting chemical weapons exposure, they showed higher risk of HBP, diabetes, arthritis, and chronic bronchitis. Those who reported taking pyridostigmine bromide (PB) nerve agent protective pills (NAPP’s), showed increased risk of heart attack and diabetes.

“Gulf War veterans are showing accelerated aging patterns resulting in more and earlier chronic medical conditions than the general population of civilians,” says study senior author Kimberly Sullivan, research assistant professor of environmental health. “There is precedent for this type of toxicant-induced disorder in veterans from other wars. For instance, many Vietnam veterans developed chronic conditions of high blood pressure, diabetes, and many types of cancers that were related to exposure to Agent Orange.”

Results also varied by sex. FDC males reported higher rates of the seven conditions compared to the control group, while female veterans showed an increased rate of diabetes but a diminished risk of HBP. During the Gulf War, 93 percent (93%) of U.S. troops were male, with seven percent (7%) female.

The new study built on previous research that found higher rates of numerous conditions among 1991 Gulf War veterans as compared to control populations: chronic multi-symptoms illness including Gulf War Illness (GWI), fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and functional gastric disorders (FGID’s); neurologic conditions including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), brain cancer, repeated seizures, neuralgias and neuritis, and chronic migraine headaches; and other conditions including arthritis, various lung diseases, eye or vision problems, HBP, and heart disease.

The study compared data from 448 U.S. veterans of the 1991 Gulf War from the Fort Devens cohort(FDC), including 47 female GWV’s, with a comparison group of 2,949 population-based 2013–2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) cohort. The FDC has become one of the largest research cohorts of 1991 Gulf War veterans and the subject of numerous studies.

The study was funded by the Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP), part of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) within the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Health Program. Led by Dr. Maxine Krengel, with the publication authored byDr. Clara Zundeland overseen by Dr. Kimberly Sullivan, the team of researchers included scientists and clinicians from the Boston University (BU) Schools of Medicine (BUSM) and Public Health (BUSPH), the VA Boston Healthcare System, and the Medical College of Georgia.

Dr. Steven Coughlin, the research team’s epidemiologist, was formerly chief epidemiologist for the VA. He resigned due to cited ethical concerns related to VA covering up adverse health findings among Gulf War and other veterans with toxic exposures. As a result, hewas awarded the Research Integrity Award from the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology, and the Deployment Health Researcher of the Year Award from the Sergeant Sullivan Center in Washington, DC.

The study, entitled, “Rates of Chronic Medical Conditions in 1991 Gulf War Veterans Compared to the General Population,” was published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

CITATION AND LINK TO THE FULL STUDY: Zundel, C.; Krengel, M.; Heeren, T.; Yee, M.; Grasso, C.; Janulewicz Lloyd, P.; Coughlin, S.; Sullivan, K., "Rates of Chronic Medical Conditions in 1991 Gulf War Veterans Compared to the General Population." Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(6), 949; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16060949.

Boston University: Gulf War Veterans “Aging” Faster

2019-03-18T22:43:00.004-04:00

SOURCE: Boston University School of Public Health, Michelle Samuels reporting, March 18, 2019

https://www.bu.edu/sph/2019/03/18/gulf-war-veterans-aging-faster/

ARCHIVED ARTICLE:

Gulf War Veterans “Aging” Faster

POSTED ON: March 18, 2019 TOPICS: cardiovascular disease, chemical exposure, chronic diseases, diabetes, gulf war, gulf war illness, GWI, hypertension, joint pain, stroke, veteran health, veterans

Veterans of the Gulf War march in the 2018 National Memorial Day Parade in Washington, DC.

About 200,000 veterans of the 1991 Gulf War continue to suffer from Gulf War Illness (GWI), a set of symptoms including chronic pain, fatigue, and memory impairment caused by sarin chemical warfare agent, pesticides, and pyridostigmine bromide (PB) pills meant to protect soldiers from nerve gas during deployment.

Decades later, these exposures may also be causing higher rates and earlier onset of chronic medical conditions in Gulf War veterans than their non-veteran peers, according to a new study coauthored by School of Public Health and School of Medicine researchers.

The study, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, found Gulf War veterans reported high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart attack, diabetes, stroke, arthritis, chronic bronchitis, and other chronic conditions at rates normally associated with people about a decade older than them. Veterans who reported being exposed to chemical warfare agents and taking PB pills had especially high rates of heart attack and diabetes.

The researchers compared the prevalence in 2013 and 2014 of nine chronic medical conditions in two cohorts: 448 members of the Ft. Devens Cohort, the earliest and longest-running study of Gulf War veterans; and 2,949 non-Gulf War veteran participants of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) matching the age range and other demographics of the veterans.

They found that male Gulf War veterans were more likely to report high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart attack, arthritis, and chronic bronchitis than their non-veteran male peers. Female veterans were less likely to report high blood pressure than their non-veteran female peers, but 19.5 percent more likely to report diabetes.

Veterans who reported war-related chemical weapons exposure were three times more likely to report diabetes than veterans who had not been exposed. Veterans who reported taking the prophylactic anti-nerve agent PB pills during deployment were 12 times more likely to report a heart attack than veterans who did not take the pills, and were also more likely to have diabetes. “This is the first study that we are aware of in Gulf War veterans to report these toxicant exposures to be related to increased prevalence of these chronic conditions,” says study lead author Clara Zundel, a doctoral student at the School of Medicine.

The researchers also compared male Gulf War veterans in their 40s, 50s, and 60s with their non-veteran counterparts in the same age ranges (there were not enough female veterans in the sample to do the same for women). They found that male veterans in their 40s were 27 times more likely to report a heart attack, male veterans in their 50s had significantly higher rates of arthritis and chronic bronchitis, and male veterans in their 60s were five times more likely to report a stroke than male non-veterans in the same decades of life. The veterans in each age group reported many of these conditions at rates similar to or even higher than non-veterans a decade older than them.

“Collectively, these results indicate that toxic wounds from GW deployment-related exposures appear to be associated with more than the chronic health symptoms of GWI, but also with chronic conditions of aging,” the authors wrote.

The study was co-authored by Timothy Heeren, professor of biostatistics, and Patricia Janulewicz Lloyd, assistant professor of environmental health. The study was led by Maxine Krengel of the School of Medicine, and the other co-authors were Megan Yee and Claudia Grasso of the VA Boston Healthcare System and Steven Coughlin of the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.

—Michelle Samuels

URGENT ACTION ALERT -- Gulf War Illness Treatment Research in Congress

2019-03-18T06:02:00.004-04:00

Updated April 4, 2019

(91outcomes.com) -- For the last several years, there has been gradually building momentum to develop treatments for Gulf War Illness, a debilitating chronic health condition that science has shown to affect between one-fourth and one-third of the veterans from the 1991 Gulf War and that likely resulted from a combination of toxic exposures.

SPECIFIC ACTION NEEDED: The current targeted effort seeks co-signers in Congress before the fast approaching deadline for "Dear Colleague" letters to continue funding for the treatment-focused Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP). It is a unique, congressionally-directed program (CDMRP) aimed at improving the health and lives of veterans with Gulf War Illness.

Last year, one-fifth of Congress signed on in support, including 83 Members of the House and 20 U.S. Senators. (FY19, calendar year 2018). This year, we saw that increase in the House to 97 Members, while the Senate effort is still in progress.

A list of the current cosigners and the actual text of the Dear Colleague letter are posted below. Read below for more details before calling your ~~Congressperson and~~ Senators.

1) U.S. House of Representatives. Contact the Washington, DC office of your Congressman/Congresswoman and ask for him/her to sign onto the "Sablan-Bergman Dear Colleague letter for the Gulf War Illness Research Program" (FY20, DoD-CDMRP).

House Deadline: Thursday, March 28, 2019

2) U.S. Senate. Contact the Washington, DC office of your U.S. Senator and ask for him/her to sign onto the "Baldwin Dear Colleague letter for the Gulf War Illness Research Program" (FY20, DoD-CDMRP).

Senate Deadline: Friday, April 5, 2019

******

STEP-BY STEP, HOW YOU CAN HELP IN JUST 5 MINUTES:

1. Find your federal representatives in Congress. You have one Representative in the House who represents the Congressional district in which you live and two U.S. Senators who represent your entire state.

~~HOUSE: Find your Congressman/Congresswoman in the U.S. House of Representatives here (near the top right corner, enter your zip code).~~
SENATE: Find your two U.S. Senators here.

2. Call their Washington, DC office (not any of the in-state offices) and ask for the legislative staff person who handles Department of Defense appropriations (DoD, not VA, not Veterans Affairs). For example:

"May I please speak with the legislative staff person who handles DoD appropriations?"

3. State your name and that you are a constituent. For example:

"My name is Norman Schwartzkopf. I'm a constituent who lives in Tampa."

4. After you reach the legislative assistant who handles Defense (DoD) appropriations, Request the Congressman/Congresswoman/Senator sign onto the specific "Dear Colleague" letter (there is no bill number -- this is a "Dear Colleague" request to get funding into a bill, specifically the Fiscal Year 2020 Defense Appropriations Act). If you get their voicemail, leave a detailed voicemail with your specific request (below). For example:

~~HOUSE:~~ ~~"I'm calling to request that Congressman Smith sign onto the~~ "Sablan-Bergman Dear Colleague letter for the Gulf War Illness Research Program" (FY2020, DoD).

SENATE: "I'm calling to request that Senator Jones sign onto the "Baldwin Dear Colleague letter for the Gulf War Illness Research Program" (FY2020, DoD).

5. Briefly tell them you are a Gulf War veteran (or the loved one of a Gulf War veteran). For example:

"I'm also a Gulf War veteran myself."

6. Give the staff person some important details. They should have a copy of the Dear Colleague request in their system, but if not:

The deadline to sign-on is: (see the top of this article for deadlines)
The staff contacts are:

~~House: Ms. Frances Diaz in the office of Rep. Gregorio Sablan (D), and Mr. Remy Fortin in the office of Rep. Jack Bergman (R)~~
Senate: Mr. Blake Souter in the office of Senator Tammy Baldwin.

7. Ask if the staffer would like you to email a short one-pager about the program.

8. Thank the staff person for their time. Ask that the staff person if they would please follow-up with you to let you know the Senator's ~~or Congressman's/Congresswoman's~~ decision.

TIPS:

Be professional
Be nice
Be brief
Be specific (as described above)
Do not argue or get angry with the staffer under any circumstance. There are often many factors and processes involved in decisions to sign-on. Message us if there are any unusual issues.

=======================

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ's)

1) WHAT IS THE GOAL?

The goal is to get as many members of Congress as possible to co-sign before the deadline.

The goal of the GWIRP is improved health and lives of veterans with Gulf War Illness.

2) WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?

Call or message ~~your Congressperson in the U,S. House and~~ your two U.S. Senators for your state.

See above for quick and easy steps to make your request.

3) WHO IS LEADING THIS FUNDING EFFORT IN CONGRESS?

This is a fully bipartisan effort.

Rep. Gregorio Sablan (D-U.S. Territory of Northern Mariana Islands), and

Rep. Jack Bergman, LTG, USMC (Ret.) (R-Michigan) are co-leads. Both serve on the U.S. House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Mark Takano (D-California) and Ranking Member Rep. Phil Roe, M.D. (R-Tennessee) were the first House co-signers.

U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) is leading the bipartisan effort for the Senate.

4) AT WHAT LEVEL SHOULD THE FUNDING BE SUPPORTED, AND WHY?

The request is for sufficient continuation funding for this successful, unique, and important program.

5) WHY IS THIS PROGRAM NEEDED?

Reports by the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine (IOM)2 (pp. 10, 260-64) and the Congressionally-mandated VA Research Advisory Committee (RAC) on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses3 emphasize that:

“effective treatments, cures, and, it is hoped, preventions” for GWI can “likely be found,” “…through a concerted national effort and rigorous scientific input.”

In addition, important discoveries made by the GWIRP may also help protect current and future U.S. military service members at risk of similar toxic exposures. (RAC 2014, pp. 1, 4, 5, 13, 78, 83; IOM 2010, pp. 10, 260-64.)

6) WHO SUPPORTS THIS PROGRAM?
Many national veterans service organizations (VSO's) have supported the GWIRP.

The Congressionally-mandated Research Advisory Committee (RAC) on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses and the Independent Budget called for support for this program in their reports.

VSO supporters (updated as new supporters are added) for FY20 include:

1	Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)
2	Veterans for Common Sense
3	Disabled American Veterans (DAV)
4	Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA)
5	Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)
6	AMVETS
7	Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA)
8	Blinded Veterans Association
9	The Enlisted Association (TREA)
10	Military Officers Association of America (MOAA)
11	Fleet Reserve Association
12	Association of the United States Navy (AUSN)
13	Air Force Sergeants Association (AFSA)
14	National Gulf War Resource Center
15	Burn Pits 360
16	Sgt. Sullivan Circle
17	National Vietnam and Gulf War Coalition

From previous years:

FY2019 VSO supporters included: Veterans of Foreign Wars, Veterans for Common Sense, National Gulf War Resource Center, National Vietnam and Gulf War Coalition, Burn Pits 360, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, AMVETS, Vietnam Veterans of America, Jewish War Veterans of the USA, Fleet Reserve Association, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States, and the Air Force Association.

FY18 VSO supporters included: The American Legion; AMVETS; Burn Pits 360; Disabled American Veterans (DAV); Lung Cancer Alliance; National Gulf War Resource Center (NGWRC); National Vietnam & Gulf War Veterans Coalition; Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA); Sergeant Sullivan Circle; Veterans for Common Sense (VCS); Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW); and Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA).

FY17 VSO supporters included: the American Legion; AMVETS; Association of the U.S. Navy (AUSN); Burnpits360; Disabled American Veterans (DAV); Lung Cancer Alliance; National Gulf War Resource Center (NGWRC); National Vietnam & Gulf War Veterans Coalition; Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA); Sergeant Sullivan Circle; Toxic Wounds Task Force; Veterans for Common Sense (VCS); Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW); Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA).

The FY15 Independent Budget Veterans Service Organizations (IBVSO’s, composed of AMVETS, DAV, PVA, VFW, and 53 other organizations that serve veterans) stated that the GWI CDMRP, “has made great strides in the short time it has been operating.”^{(pp. 126-27)}

7) WHEN SHOULD I CALL MY SENATORS'/CONGRESSPERSON'S OFFICE?

Right away. The deadline is fast approaching. Typically, their offices need a few days to secure approval to sign-on.

8) WHEN IS THE DEADLINE?

Refer to the top of this article for the deadline to sign-on.

9) WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION?

The Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP) is a Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP), a Congressionally directed activity funded under the U.S. Department of Defense and separate from the VA.

GWIRP official website: http://cdmrp.army.mil/GWIRP

GWIRP program booklet: http://cdmrp.army.mil/gwirp/pbks/gwirppbk2018.pdf

GWIRP "The Gulf War Illness Landscape" (the state of the science on GWI): https://cdmrp.army.mil/gwirp/pdfs/GWIRP_Landscape.pdf

About the GWIRP (published by Veterans for Common Sense): https://www.scribd.com/document/402231039/2019-About-the-Gulf-War-Illness-Research-Program-GWIRP-FY20

10) WHAT DOES RECENT RESEARCH SAY ABOUT GULF WAR ILLNESS?

In addition to the resources listed above, recent research shows that a combination of toxic exposures are likely the cause of Gulf War Illness. Psychiatric causes have been ruled out.

This paper reviews the recent medical literature on the health of 1991 Gulf War veterans, focusing particularly on the central nervous system and on effects of Gulf War toxicant exposures:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4724528/pdf/nihms746360.pdf

11) WHO IS CURRENTLY SIGNED ON?

This list is updated daily.

SENATE (out of 100 Senators total):

Last Name First Name State

1 Baldwin Tammy WI

3 Blumenthal Richard CT

13 Booker Cory NJ

11 Duckworth Tammy IL

17 Harris Kamala CA

10 Hirono Mazie HI

15 Klobuchar Amy MN

5 Markey Edward J. MA

6 Menendez Robert NJ

16 Peters Gary C. MI

12 Rosen Jacky NV

9 Sanders Bernie VT

14 Smith Tina MN

18 Stabenow Debbie MI

2 Tester Jon MT

4 Warren Elizabeth MA

8 Whitehouse Sheldon RI

7 Wyden Ron OR

HOUSE (out of 435 Members total) -- The 97 Members of the House who cosigned this year are: (FINAL LIST)

Last Name First Name District

1 Beatty Joyce OH-03

2 Bergman Jack MI-01

3 Bilirakis Gus M. FL-12

4 Bost Mike IL-12

5 Brindisi Anthony NY-22

6 Brown Anthony G. MD-04

7 Brownley Julia CA-26

8 Buchanan Vern FL-16

9 Bustos Cheri IL-17

10 Cárdenas Tony CA-29

11 Carson André IN-07

12 Chu Judy CA-27

13 Cicilline David N. RI-01

14 Cisneros, Jr. Gilbert R. CA-39

15 Clarke Yvette D. NY-09

16 Correa J. Luis CA-46

17 Crow Jason CO-06

18 Davis Susan A CA-53

19 Davis Danny K. IL-07

20 DeFazio Peter A. OR-04

21 DeGette Diana CO-01

22 DeLauro Rosa L. CT-03

23 Delgado Antonio NY-19

24 DeSaulnier Mark CA-11

25 Dingell Debbie MI-12

26 Doggett Lloyd TX-35

27 Dunn Neal P. FL-02

28 Escobar Veronica TX-16

29 Eshoo Anna G. CA-18

30 Espaillat Adriano NY-13

31 Gabbard Tulsi HI-02

32 Gallego Ruben AZ-07

33 Garcia Jesús G. 'Chuy" IL-04

34 González Colón Jenniffer PR-00

35 Gosar, D.D.S. Paul A. AZ-04

36 Grijalva Raúl M. AZ-03

37 Hastings Alcee L FL-20

38 Hayes Jahana CT-05

39 Horsford Steven NV-04

40 Hunter Duncan CA-50

41 Jackson Lee Sheila TX-18

42 Johnson Bill OH-06

43 Johnson, Jr. Henry C. "Hank" GA-04

44 Katko John NY-24

45 Keating William R. MA-09

46 Kim Andy NJ-03

47 Kind Ron WI-03

48 Krishnamoorthi Raja IL-08

49 Kuster Ann McLane NH-02

50 Lamborn Doug CO-05

51 Larsen Rick WA-02

52 Larson John B. CT-01

53 Lee Barbara CA-13

54 Lipinski Daniel W. IL-03

55 Loebsack David IA-02

56 Lowenthal Alan S. CA-47

57 Luria Elaine G. VA-02

58 Lynch Stephen F. MA-08

59 Marshall, M.D. Roger KS-01

60 McGovern James P. MA-02

61 McMorris Rodgers Cathy WA-05

62 Moore Gwen WI-04

63 Omar Ilhan MN-05

64 Panetta Jimmy CA-20

65 Pappas Chris NH-01

66 Payne, Jr. Donald M. NJ-10

67 Perlmutter Ed CO-07

68 Peters Scott CA-52

69 Peterson Collin C. MN-07

70 Pingree Chellie ME-01

71 Plaskett Stacey E. VI-00

72 Radewagen Aumua Amata C. AS-00

73 Raskin Jamie MD-08

74 Rice Kathleen M. NY-04

75 Richmond Cedric L. LA-02

76 Roe, M.D. Phil TN-01

77 Rouda Harley CA-48

78 Ruiz, M.D. Raul CA-36

79 Rush Bobby L. IL-01

80 Sablan Gregorio Kilili Camacho MP-00

81 Sánchez Linda T. CA-38

82 Scanlon Mary Gay PA-05

83 Schakowsky Jan IL-09

84 Shalala Donna E. FL-27

85 Sherrill Mikie NJ-11

86 Sires Albio NJ-08

87 Slotkin Elissa MI-08

88 Soto Darren FL-09

89 Speier Jackie CA-14

90 Takano Mark CA-41

91 Tipton Scott R. CO-03

92 Tlaib Rashida MI-13

93 Veasey Marc TX-33

94 Vela Filemon TX-34

95 Welch Peter VT-AL

96 Yarmuth John KY-03

97 Yoho, DVM Ted S. FL-03

12) WHAT DOES THE "DEAR COLLEAGUE" LETTER ACTUALLY SAY?

The text of the Sablan-Bergman (House) and Baldwin (Senate) Dear Colleague letters is below. They are naturally very similar.

****
SENATE FY20 DEAR COLLEAGUE:

MARCH xx, 2019

The Honorable Richard Shelby The Honorable Richard Durbin

Chairman                                                     Vice Chairman

Subcommittee on Defense                                       Subcommittee on Defense

Committee on Appropriations                                   Committee on Appropriations

119 Dirksen Senate Office Building 113 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, DC  20510                                             Washington, DC  20510   

Dear Chairman Shelby and Vice Chairman Durbin:

Thank you for your continued support for the Gulf War Illness Research Program (GWIRP) within the Department of Defense (DoD) Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), including the $22 million provided in Fiscal Year (FY) 2019. As your Subcommittee begins work on the FY 2020 DoD Appropriations Bill, we are writing to share details of the program and to respectfully request that you include adequate funding to continue the GWIRP’s successful work on behalf of Gulf War veterans.

By congressional design, the GWIRP is a unique medical research program narrowly focused on a vision of improved health and lives of Veterans who have Gulf War Illness (GWI).[1] Successive reports by the congressionally-mandated Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses (RAC) and the National Academy of Sciences (NASEM) have shown that: 1) Gulf War Illness (GWI) is a physical condition – likely caused by toxic exposures – that affects up to one-third of the nearly 700,000 veterans who served in the 1991 Persian Gulf War; 2) Debilitating GWI symptoms typically include "some combination of widespread pain, headache, persistent problems with memory and thinking, fatigue, breathing problems, stomach and intestinal symptoms, and skin abnormalities."[2]^(p.2),[3]

While two-thirds of GWIRP studies are still in progress, the positive news is that there is a growing body of GWIRP-funded study results, many published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, that demonstrates steady advances of GWIRP’s goals of identifying underlying mechanisms, diagnostic markers, and treatments.¹ For example, the GWIRP-funded consortia at Boston University and Nova Southeastern University identified several potential treatments through their interdisciplinary preclinical and computational biology research projects; those treatments will now be tested in the Gulf War Illness Clinical Trials and Interventions Consortium (GWICTIC), which will include five clinical trials at seven study sites (three VA) to target GWI’s inflammation, energy production, and immune function issues.[4] And, the GWIRP-funded Boston Biorepository, Recruitment, and Integrative Network (BBRAIN) will aggregate biological samples and data to further advance GWI diagnostic marker efforts.⁴These successes are the direct result of clear treatment-focused congressional direction, stable appropriations for the GWIRP, and effective GWIRP management.

Recognizing the program's progress, the last RAC report's recommendations remain instructive:

"Congress should maintain its funding to support the effective treatment-oriented [GWIRP]."^2(p.14) These gradually building scientific results continue to represent encouraging steps toward achieving the 2010 NASEM treatment goals "to speed the development of effective treatments, cures, and, it is hoped, preventions"^3(p.1) for current and future U.S. forces at risk of similar exposures and outcomes. Indeed, the GWIRP has served as a model of how to conduct treatment-oriented research to address a challenging illness and is succeeding where earlier programs failed. Its two-tier peer-reviewed and highly competitive process ensures the independence and value of the results produced. While VA’s research program is intramural (it only funds VA researchers), GWIRP is not similarly constrained and seeks to find and fund the best research by any combination of government, academic, or private-sector research teams.

We respectfully request that you provide the necessary resources to continue this vital and effective program in the FY20 DoD Appropriations Bill. Furthermore, it is critical to the program's success and accountability that it remains a stand-alone program within the CDMRP and not be combined as a topic area within broader, less-targeted research programs.

Thank you for your consideration of our request, which is supported by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Veterans for Common Sense, Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), AMVETS, Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), Blinded Veterans Association, The Enlisted Association (TREA), Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), Fleet Reserve Association, Association of the United States Navy (AUSN), Air Force Sergeants Association (AFSA), National Gulf War Resource Center, Burn Pits 360, Sgt. Sullivan Circle, and the National Vietnam and Gulf War Coalition.

Sincerely,

****

HOUSE FY20 EDC and DEAR COLLEAGUE:

Support FY20 funding for DoD-CDMRP
Gulf War Illness Treatment Research

Deadline to sign on is Thursday, March 29 2019

Dear Colleague:

We invite you to join us in sending a letter (text below) to the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee urging continued support in FY 2020 for the treatment-focused Gulf War Illness Research Program within the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). 

The Gulf War Illness Research Program is a unique federal program with an unprecedented vision to achieve,“improved health and lives of Veterans who have Gulf War Illness.” The GWIRP continues to succeed in efforts to “fund innovative Gulf War Illness (GWI) research to identify effective treatment and accelerate their clinical application, improve definition and diagnosis, and better understand pathobiology and symptoms.”As specified in more detail in the letter, the GWIRP continues to demonstrate its effectiveness in its mission to improve the health and lives of veterans debilitated and suffering from Gulf War Illness.  We need to ensure that these efforts continue for these veterans and for current and future U.S. forces at risk of similar exposures and outcomes.

The FY 2019 GWIRP request was supported by 83 offices, including current House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Takano and Ranking Member Roe, as well as then-Ranking Member Tim Walz and signed onto the letter.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars and Veterans for Common Sensesupport this funding request.

The deadline to sign on is March 28, 2019. Please contact  Frances Diazat in Rep. Sablan’s office or Remy Fortin in Rep. Bergman’s office for more information or to sign this letter. 

Sincerely,

GREGORIO SABLAN JACK BERGMAN

Member of Congress                                               Member of Congress

----------------------------------------------------------------------

April 1, 2019

The Honorable Pete Visclosky The Honorable Ken Calvert

Chairman                                                     Ranking Member

Subcommittee on Defense                                      Subcommittee on Defense

Committee on Appropriations                                   Committee on Appropriations

H-405, The Capitol, 1016 Longworth House Office Building

Washington, DC  20515                                             Washington, DC  20515   

Dear Chairman Visclosky and Ranking Member Calvert:

As your Subcommittee begins work on the Fiscal Year 2020 Defense Appropriations Bill, we respectfully request adequate funding for the Gulf War Illness Research Program within the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). We
also thank you for providing the program $22 million in Fiscal Year 2019.

By congressional design, the GWIRP is a unique medical research program narrowly focused on the vision of improving the health and lives of Veterans with Gulf War Illness.

Reports by the congressionally-mandated Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses (RAC) and the National Academy of Sciences (NASEM) have shown that: 1) GWI is a
physical condition - likely caused by toxic exposures - that affects up to one-third of the nearly
700,000 veterans who served in the 1991 Persian Gulf War; 2) Debilitating GWI symptoms typically include "some combination of widespread pain, headache, persistent problems with
memory and thinking, fatigue, breathing problems, stomach and intestinal symptoms, and skin abnormalities." [1 • 2]

Two-thirds of GWIRP studies are still in progress. However, the positive news is that
there is a growing body of GWIRP-funded study results, many published in peer-reviewed
scientific journals, that demonstrate steady advances of GWIRP's goals of identifying underlying mechanisms, diagnostic markers, and treatments. For example, the GWIRP-funded consortia at
Boston University and Nova Southeastern University identified several potential treatments
through their interdisciplinary preclinical and computational biology research projects. Those
treatments will now be tested in the Gulf War Illness Clinical Trials and Interventions
Consortium, which will include five clinical trials at seven study sites to target OWi's
inflammation, energy production, and immune function issues.[3] Additionally, the GWIRP-funded Boston Biorepository, Recruitment, and Integrative Network will aggregate biological samples
and data to further advance GWI diagnostic marker efforts. These successes are the direct result of clear, treatment-focused congressional direction, stable appropriations for the GWIRP, and effective GWIRP management.

Recognizing the program's progress, the most recent RAC report's recommendations remain instructive: "Congress should maintain its funding to support the effective treatmentoriented [GWIRP]."[4] The discoveries through the program continue to represent encouraging steps toward achieving the 2010 NASEM treatment goals "to speed the development of effective treatments, cures, and, it is hoped, preventions" for current and future U.S. forces at risk of similar exposures and outcomes. Indeed, the GWIRP has served as a model of how to conduct treatmentoriented research to address a challenging illness and is succeeding where earlier programs failed. Its two-tier peer-reviewed and highly competitive process ensures the independence and value of the results produced. Unlike the VA's GWI research program which only funds VA researchers, GWIRP seeks out and funds the best research by any combination of government, academic, or private-sector research teams.

We respectfully request that you provide the necessary resources to continue this vital and effective program in the FY20 Defense Appropriations Bill. Furthermore, it is critical to the program's success and accountability that it remains a stand-alone program within the CDMRP and not be combined as a topic area within broader, less-targeted research programs.

Thank you for your consideration of our request, which is supported by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Veterans for Common Sense, Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), AMVETS, Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), Blinded Veterans Association (BV A), The Retired Enlisted Association (TREA), Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), National Gulf War Resource Center, Bum Pits 360, Sgt. Sullivan Circle, National Vietnam & Gulf War Veterans Coalition.

Sincerely,

GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN        JACK BERGMAN

Member of Congress                                             Member of Congress

MARK TAKANO PHIL ROE, M.D.

Member of Congress                                              Member of Congress

...with 97 total Members of Congress cosigning.

[1]Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, “Gulf War Illness and the Health of Gulf War Veterans: Research Update and Recommendations, 2009-2013,” 2014.

[2]National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, “Gulf War and Health, Volume 8: Update of Health Effects of Serving in the Gulf War,” 2010.

[3]GWIRP: https://cdmrp.army.mil/gwirp/research_highlights/18klimas_highlight

[4]Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, “Gulf War Illness and the Health of Gulf War Veterans: Research Update and Recommendations, 2009-2013,” 2014

*****

--Anthony Hardie, 91outcomes.com Author and Gulf War veteran advocate.

	Last Name	First Name	State
1	Baldwin	Tammy	WI
3	Blumenthal	Richard	CT
13	Booker	Cory	NJ
11	Duckworth	Tammy	IL
17	Harris	Kamala	CA
10	Hirono	Mazie	HI
15	Klobuchar	Amy	MN
5	Markey	Edward J.	MA
6	Menendez	Robert	NJ
16	Peters	Gary C.	MI
12	Rosen	Jacky	NV
9	Sanders	Bernie	VT
14	Smith	Tina	MN
18	Stabenow	Debbie	MI
2	Tester	Jon	MT
4	Warren	Elizabeth	MA
8	Whitehouse	Sheldon	RI
7	Wyden	Ron	OR

	Last Name	First Name	District
1	Beatty	Joyce	OH-03
2	Bergman	Jack	MI-01
3	Bilirakis	Gus M.	FL-12
4	Bost	Mike	IL-12
5	Brindisi	Anthony	NY-22
6	Brown	Anthony G.	MD-04
7	Brownley	Julia	CA-26
8	Buchanan	Vern	FL-16
9	Bustos	Cheri	IL-17
10	Cárdenas	Tony	CA-29
11	Carson	André	IN-07
12	Chu	Judy	CA-27
13	Cicilline	David N.	RI-01
14	Cisneros, Jr.	Gilbert R.	CA-39
15	Clarke	Yvette D.	NY-09
16	Correa	J. Luis	CA-46
17	Crow	Jason	CO-06
18	Davis	Susan A	CA-53
19	Davis	Danny K.	IL-07
20	DeFazio	Peter A.	OR-04
21	DeGette	Diana	CO-01
22	DeLauro	Rosa L.	CT-03
23	Delgado	Antonio	NY-19
24	DeSaulnier	Mark	CA-11
25	Dingell	Debbie	MI-12
26	Doggett	Lloyd	TX-35
27	Dunn	Neal P.	FL-02
28	Escobar	Veronica	TX-16
29	Eshoo	Anna G.	CA-18
30	Espaillat	Adriano	NY-13
31	Gabbard	Tulsi	HI-02
32	Gallego	Ruben	AZ-07
33	Garcia	Jesús G. 'Chuy"	IL-04
34	González Colón	Jenniffer	PR-00
35	Gosar, D.D.S.	Paul A.	AZ-04
36	Grijalva	Raúl M.	AZ-03
37	Hastings	Alcee L	FL-20
38	Hayes	Jahana	CT-05
39	Horsford	Steven	NV-04
40	Hunter	Duncan	CA-50
41	Jackson Lee	Sheila	TX-18
42	Johnson	Bill	OH-06
43	Johnson, Jr.	Henry C. "Hank"	GA-04
44	Katko	John	NY-24
45	Keating	William R.	MA-09
46	Kim	Andy	NJ-03
47	Kind	Ron	WI-03
48	Krishnamoorthi	Raja	IL-08
49	Kuster	Ann McLane	NH-02
50	Lamborn	Doug	CO-05
51	Larsen	Rick	WA-02
52	Larson	John B.	CT-01
53	Lee	Barbara	CA-13
54	Lipinski	Daniel W.	IL-03
55	Loebsack	David	IA-02
56	Lowenthal	Alan S.	CA-47
57	Luria	Elaine G.	VA-02
58	Lynch	Stephen F.	MA-08
59	Marshall, M.D.	Roger	KS-01
60	McGovern	James P.	MA-02
61	McMorris Rodgers	Cathy	WA-05
62	Moore	Gwen	WI-04
63	Omar	Ilhan	MN-05
64	Panetta	Jimmy	CA-20
65	Pappas	Chris	NH-01
66	Payne, Jr.	Donald M.	NJ-10
67	Perlmutter	Ed	CO-07
68	Peters	Scott	CA-52
69	Peterson	Collin C.	MN-07
70	Pingree	Chellie	ME-01
71	Plaskett	Stacey E.	VI-00
72	Radewagen	Aumua Amata C.	AS-00
73	Raskin	Jamie	MD-08
74	Rice	Kathleen M.	NY-04
75	Richmond	Cedric L.	LA-02
76	Roe, M.D.	Phil	TN-01
77	Rouda	Harley	CA-48
78	Ruiz, M.D.	Raul	CA-36
79	Rush	Bobby L.	IL-01
80	Sablan	Gregorio Kilili Camacho	MP-00
81	Sánchez	Linda T.	CA-38
82	Scanlon	Mary Gay	PA-05
83	Schakowsky	Jan	IL-09
84	Shalala	Donna E.	FL-27
85	Sherrill	Mikie	NJ-11
86	Sires	Albio	NJ-08
87	Slotkin	Elissa	MI-08
88	Soto	Darren	FL-09
89	Speier	Jackie	CA-14
90	Takano	Mark	CA-41
91	Tipton	Scott R.	CO-03
92	Tlaib	Rashida	MI-13
93	Veasey	Marc	TX-33
94	Vela	Filemon	TX-34
95	Welch	Peter	VT-AL
96	Yarmuth	John	KY-03
97	Yoho, DVM	Ted S.	FL-03

91outcomes.com

Gulf War Illness Clinical Trial Opportunity!

Opportunity for ill Gulf War Veterans!

Capitol Hill Forum on Gulf War Illness

**ACTION ALERT**: 5 Minutes to Help Gulf War Illness Veterans

See the GWIRP's "Gulf War Illness Landscape": http://cdmrp.army.mil/GWIRP

See also the Veterans for Common Sense webpage about the GWIRP that includes research updates: http://veteransforcommonsense.org/gulf-war-illness-research-program-gwirp/

Houston Chronicle Editorial: Yes, Gulf War Illness is real. Biden may finally give troops a shot at help.

“Delay, deny, wait until we die.”

We Are The Mighty: Researchers are making big progress in diagnosing Gulf War Syndrome

INTEL

Researchers are making big progress in diagnosing Gulf War Syndrome

CDMRP: Gulf War Illness - The Unwavering Mission of the GWIRP 30 Years after the Persian Gulf War

Photo and text used with permission of Vera Roddy

NPR: 30 Years Of Gulf War Illness: How U.S. Troops' Health Was Compromised By Toxic Exposures In Kuwait

Military.com: 30 Years After the Gulf War: Veterans and the Legacy of Toxic Wounds

30 Years After the Gulf War: Veterans and the Legacy of Toxic Wounds

Gulf War lllness Research Participation During COVID: *Mission Critical*

Veterans Day Research Open House - Gulf War Illness, TBI, PTSD

Gulf War Veteran Survey Now Open

Research Finds Gulf War Pesticide Associated with Immune Response in Gulf War Illness

ABOUT THE ROSKAMP INSTITUTE GULF WAR ILLNESS STUDY

Treatment Research Studies for 1990-91 Gulf War Veterans

Individual Studies

GWIC-BU

GWICTIC

WRIISC's

**Action Alert** Call on Your Senators to Continue Gulf War Treatment Research

Help Grow Gulf War Illness Treatment Research

Veterans with Gulf War Illness have widespread brain inflammation, new study shows

Highlights of Recent Gulf War Illness Research Findings

[6] Chester JE, Rowneki M, Van Doren W, Helmer DA. (2019) “Progression of intervention-focused research for Gulf War illness.”Mil Med Res. 2019 Oct 18;6(1):31. http://doi.org/10.1186/s40779-019-0221-x.

5 Questions about Presumptions for Gulf War and Undiagnosed Illnesses

New drug GVT progresses in research aimed at helping Gulf War Illness and other neurodegenerative diseases

North Andover MA's Bach Pharma Inc. has developed a new drug GVT that has high hopes of treating Gulf War Illness and other neurodegenerative diseases. Now, the company is facing the challenge of competing with large pharma companies to get the drug released.

I think I might have Gulf War Illness, what should I do?

Funding Pre-Announcement - Gulf War Illness Treatment Research Grant opportunities

GWIRP-funded study finds elevated rates of 7 chronic health conditions in Gulf War Veterans

Boston University: Gulf War Veterans “Aging” Faster

Gulf War Veterans “Aging” Faster

**URGENT ACTION ALERT** -- Gulf War Illness Treatment Research in Congress

ACTION ALERT: 5 Minutes to Help Gulf War Illness Veterans

Gulf War lllness Research Participation During COVID: Mission Critical

Action Alert Call on Your Senators to Continue Gulf War Treatment Research

URGENT ACTION ALERT -- Gulf War Illness Treatment Research in Congress