Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in Gulf War Veterans in Relation to Deployment Exposures.

Many 1990-1991 Gulf War Veterans (GWVs) were exposed to toxicants and environmental hazards during deployment, including oil well fire smoke, chemical/biological agents, pyridostigmine bromide (PB) pills, and pesticides. Multiple constituents of smoke are associated with increased risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (ASCVD), and other toxic exposures have been associated with autonomic and lipid dysfunction. We used data from the Gulf War Era Cohort and Biorepository Study of veterans deployed to Gulf War in 1990-1991 (n = 942).

Unraveling the genetics of gulf war illness in diverse participants enrolled in the million veteran program.

Gulf War Illness (GWI) is a multi-symptom chronic condition that affects Veterans who served in the 1990-1991 Gulf War (GW). To generate novel information about GWI pathogenesis, we used genome-wide data available from 33 523 Veterans of diverse ancestral backgrounds who served during the 1990-1991 Gulf War era (34% deployed). Polygenic score (PGS) analysis showed GWI pleiotropy for several traits with the strongest evidence for type-2 diabetes (T2D), anxiety, and depression.

Association of deployment characteristics and exposures with persistent ill health among 1990-1991 Gulf War veterans in the VA Million Veteran Program.

Background: Veterans of the 1990-1991 Gulf War have experienced excess health problems, most prominently the multisymptom condition Gulf War illness (GWI). The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Cooperative Studies Program #2006 "Genomics of Gulf War Illness in Veterans" project was established to address important questions concerning pathobiological and genetic aspects of GWI. The current study evaluated patterns of chronic ill health/GWI in the VA Million Veteran Program (MVP) Gulf War veteran cohort in relation to wartime exposures and key features of deployment, 27-30 years after Gulf War service.

PON1 Status in Relation to Gulf War Illness: Evidence of Gene-Exposure Interactions from a Multisite Case-Control Study of 1990-1991 Gulf War Veterans.

Background: Deployment-related neurotoxicant exposures are implicated in the etiology of Gulf War illness (GWI), the multisymptom condition associated with military service in the 1990-1991 Gulf War (GW). A Q/R polymorphism at position 192 of the paraoxonase (PON)-1 enzyme produce PON1 variants with different capacities for neutralizing specific chemicals, including certain acetylcholinesterase inhibitors.

Methods: We evaluated PON1 status and GW exposures in 295 GWI cases and 103 GW veteran controls.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Veterans With Gulf War Illness Evaluated at VA's War-Related Illness and Injury Study Center.

Introduction: Excess rates of Gulf War illness (GWI) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), two chronic multisymptom illnesses, have long been documented among nearly 700,000 veterans who served in the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War. We sought to report the prevalence, characteristics, and association of GWI and IBS decades after the war in a clinical cohort of deployed Gulf War veterans (GWVs) who were evaluated at the Department of Veterans Affairs' War Related Illness and Injury Study Center (WRIISC) for unexplained chronic symptoms.

Materials And Methods: We analyzed data gathered from clinical intake questionnaires of deployed GWVs who were evaluated at WRIISC clinics between 2008 and 2020.

"Holy cow, where do I sign up?" Attitudes of Military Veterans toward Epigenomic Biomarker Toxic Exposure Testing.

Background: With the signing of the PACT Act in 2022, there is great interest and investment in studying toxic exposures encountered during military service. One way to address this is through the identification of epigenomic biomarkers associated with exposures. There is increasing evidence suggesting that exposure to toxic substances may result in alterations to DNA methylation and resultant gene expression.

Characterizing 1991 Gulf War women veterans from the Boston Biorepository and Integrative Network for Gulf War Illness: Demographics, exposures, neuroimaging and cognitive outcomes.

: Gulf War Illness (GWI) is a debilitating multisymptom condition that affects nearly a third of 1990-91 Gulf War (GW) veterans. Symptoms include pain, fatigue, gastrointestinal issues, and cognitive decrements. Our work has shown that GWI rates and potential causes for symptoms vary between men and women veterans.

The prevalence of mild cognitive impairment in Gulf War veterans: a follow-up study.

Introduction: Gulf War Illness (GWI), also called Chronic Multisymptom Illness (CMI), is a multi-faceted condition that plagues an estimated 250,000 Gulf War (GW) veterans. Symptoms of GWI/CMI include fatigue, pain, and cognitive dysfunction. We previously reported that 12% of a convenience sample of middle aged (median age 52 years) GW veterans met criteria for mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a clinical syndrome most prevalent in older adults (e.

The Million Veteran Program 1990-1991 Gulf War Era Survey: An Evaluation of Veteran Response, Characteristics, and Representativeness of the Gulf War Era Veteran Population.

To address gaps in understanding the pathophysiology of Gulf War Illness (GWI), the VA Million Veteran Program (MVP) developed and implemented a survey to MVP enrollees who served in the U.S. military during the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War (GW).

Association of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease, Hypertension, Diabetes, and Hyperlipidemia With Gulf War Illness Among Gulf War Veterans.

Background: Approximately 30% of the 700 000 Gulf War veterans report a chronic symptom-based illness of varying severity referred to as Gulf War illness (GWI). Toxic deployment-related exposures have been implicated in the cause of GWI, some of which contribute to metabolic dysregulation and lipid abnormalities. As this cohort ages, the relationship between GWI and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is a growing concern.

Hormonal changes in veterans with Gulf War Illness.

Aims: Gulf War Illness (GWI) is a multi-system condition of complex etiology and pathophysiology without specific treatment. There is an overlap between the symptoms of GWI and endocrinopathies. This study aimed to identify hormonal alterations in 1990-91 Gulf War (GW) veterans and the relationship between GWI and hormonal dysregulation.

Association of Gulf War Illness-Related Symptoms with Military Exposures among 1990-1991 Gulf War Veterans Evaluated at the War-Related Illness and Injury Study Center (WRIISC).

Veterans with difficult-to-diagnose conditions who receive care in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system can be referred for evaluation at one of three specialty VA War-Related Illness and Injury Study Centers (WRIISC). Veterans of the 1990−1991 Gulf War have long experienced excess rates of chronic symptoms associated with the condition known as Gulf War Illness (GWI), with hundreds evaluated at the WRIISC. Here we provide the first report from a cohort of 608 Gulf War Veterans seen at the WRIISC who completed questionnaires on chronic symptoms (>6 months) consistent with GWI as well as prominent exposures during Gulf War deployment.

Associations of Immune Genetic Variability with Gulf War Illness in 1990-1991 Gulf War Veterans from the Gulf War Illness Consortium (GWIC) Multisite Case-Control Study.

Gulf War illness (GWI) encompasses a constellation of persistent debilitating symptoms associated with significant changes in central nervous system (CNS) and immune functioning. Currently, there is no validated biomarker for GWI risk susceptibility. Given the impact of immune responses linked to GWI symptomology, genetic variability that causes persistent inflammatory/immune alterations may be key.

Brain-Immune Interactions as the Basis of Gulf War Illness: Clinical Assessment and Deployment Profile of 1990-1991 Gulf War Veterans in the Gulf War Illness Consortium (GWIC) Multisite Case-Control Study.

The Boston University-based Gulf War Illness Consortium (GWIC) is a multidisciplinary initiative developed to provide detailed understanding of brain and immune alterations that underlie Gulf War illness (GWI), the persistent multisymptom disorder associated with military service in the 1990-1991 Gulf War. The core GWIC case-control clinical study conducted in-depth brain and immune evaluation of 269 Gulf War veterans (223 GWI cases, 46 controls) at three U.S.

A common language for Gulf War Illness (GWI) research studies: GWI common data elements.

Aims: The Gulf War Illness programs (GWI) of the United States Department of Veteran Affairs and the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program collaborated with experts to develop Common Data Elements (CDEs) to standardize and systematically collect, analyze, and share data across the (GWI) research community.

Main Methods: A collective working group of GWI advocates, Veterans, clinicians, and researchers convened to provide consensus on instruments, case report forms, and guidelines for GWI research. A similar initiative, supported by the National Institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) was completed for a comparative illness, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), and provided the foundation for this undertaking.

Gulf War illness in the Gulf War Era Cohort and Biorepository: The Kansas and Centers for Disease Control definitions.

Aims: This study characterizes Gulf War Illness (GWI) among U.S. veterans who participated in the Gulf War Era Cohort and Biorepository (GWECB).

Neuroimaging Markers for Studying Gulf-War Illness: Single-Subject Level Analytical Method Based on Machine Learning.

Gulf War illness (GWI) refers to the multitude of chronic health symptoms, spanning from fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, and neurological complaints to respiratory, gastrointestinal, and dermatologic symptoms experienced by about 250,000 GW veterans who served in the 1991 Gulf War (GW). Longitudinal studies showed that the severity of these symptoms often remain unchanged even years after the GW, and these veterans with GWI continue to have poorer general health and increased chronic medical conditions than their non-deployed counterparts. For better management and treatment of this condition, there is an urgent need for developing objective biomarkers that can help with simple and accurate diagnosis of GWI.

Alterations in high-order diffusion imaging in veterans with Gulf War Illness is associated with chemical weapons exposure and mild traumatic brain injury.

The complex etiology behind Gulf War Illness (GWI) has been attributed to the combined exposure to neurotoxicant chemicals, brain injuries, and some combat experiences. Chronic GWI symptoms have been shown to be associated with intensified neuroinflammatory responses in animal and human studies. To investigate the neuroinflammatory responses and potential causes in Gulf War (GW) veterans, we focused on the effects of chemical/biological weapons (CBW) exposure and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) during the war.

The Multiple Hit Hypothesis for Gulf War Illness: Self-Reported Chemical/Biological Weapons Exposure and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

The Gulf War Illness Consortium (GWIC) was designed to identify objective biomarkers of Gulf War Illness (GWI) in 1991 Gulf War veterans. The symptoms of GWI include fatigue, pain, cognitive problems, gastrointestinal, respiratory, and skin problems. Neurotoxicant exposures during deployment, such as pesticides, sarin, and pyridostigmine bromide pills have been identified as contributors to GWI.

Recent research on Gulf War illness and other health problems in veterans of the 1991 Gulf War: Effects of toxicant exposures during deployment.

Veterans of Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield - the 1991 Gulf War (GW) - are a unique population who returned from theater with multiple health complaints and disorders. Studies in the U.S.

Butyrylcholinesterase genotype and enzyme activity in relation to Gulf War illness: preliminary evidence of gene-exposure interaction from a case-control study of 1991 Gulf War veterans.

Background: Epidemiologic studies have implicated wartime exposures to acetylcholinesterase (AChE)-inhibiting chemicals as etiologic factors in Gulf War illness (GWI), the multisymptom condition linked to military service in the 1991 Gulf War. It is unclear, however, why some veterans developed GWI while others with similar exposures did not. Genetic variants of the enzyme butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) differ in their capacity for metabolizing AChE-inhibiting chemicals, and may confer differences in biological responses to these compounds.

Complex factors in the etiology of Gulf War illness: wartime exposures and risk factors in veteran subgroups.

Background: At least one-fourth of U.S. veterans who served in the 1990-1991 Gulf War are affected by the chronic symptomatic illness known as Gulf War illness (GWI).

The transcendent experience: conceptual, theoretical, and epidemiologic perspectives.

This paper provides a conceptual, theoretical, and empirical overview of the concept of the transcendent experience. The principal goal is to formalize a scientific field around the study of dimensions, determinants, and health outcomes of transcendence. This is accomplished through posing several fundamental questions and then answering them as concisely as possible in light of current theory and existing empirical research.