War ills deserve treatment

Since the end of the Gulf War in 1991, medical science has debated the existence of Gulf War illness. In fact, the matter had become such a back-burner issue that research funding for the illness has declined dramatically since 2001.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Gulf War veterans have struggled with complex or concurrent symptoms such as persistent memory and concentration problems, chronic headaches, widespread pain, gastrointestinal problems and other chronic abnormalities.

The conclusions of a new government report on Gulf War illness should reverse the trend of dwindling research funding. Roughly one in four of the 697,000 U.S. veterans of the 1990-91 conflict suffers from Gulf War illness, the report concluded. "Scientific evidence leaves no question that Gulf War illness is a real condition with real causes and serious consequences for affected veterans," according to the congressionally mandated report, which was presented Monday to Secretary of Veteran Affairs James Peake.

Scientific experts and veterans who prepared the report believe the illness resulted from exposure to toxic chemicals, including pesticides and a drug administered to troops intended to protect them against nerve gas. The illness may also be linked to higher rates of Lou Gehrig's disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS) among more Gulf War veterans than veterans of other conflicts.

There is clearly need for expanded research into this illness considering that few of the affected veterans have recovered over time. The report does not exclude the possibility of other possible causes of Gulf War illness, such as close proximity to oil well fires or low-levelexposure to nerve agents.

Yet the nation owes this generation of veterans a greater commitment to research and care. Congress must find the means to restore funding cuts to the Veterans Administration so researchers can more fully understand the illness and treatments can be developed to assist service members who were sickened after their exposure to toxic agents while in service to our nation.