Topic: Gulf War, ALS Link Suggested

Miami Herald
November 11, 2006
By Randolph E. Schmid, Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Military service, particularly in the Gulf War, may be linked to development of Lou Gehrig's disease, the Institute of Medicine said Friday.
The evidence, however, is limited and inconsistent, the institute said.
The degenerative nerve disease, formally known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, gradually destroys the ability to control movement. Patients lose their ability to move or speak, but their minds remain unaffected. Most victims die of respiratory failure within a few years.
According to the report, released as Veterans Day was being observed, five studies have been done on the subject.
Three indicated a higher rate of ALS among veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf War, one found a link to veterans who served prior to that war and one found no link at all.
''The evidence base to answer the question of whether military service increases a person's chances of developing ALS later in life is rather sparse, so we could not reach more definitive conclusions at this time,'' said Richard Johnson, chairman of the committee that wrote the report.
''Because ALS occurs so rarely, any individual veteran's chances of developing the disease are still low,'' he added. ALS affects between 20,000 and 30,000 Americans.
Johnson is a professor of neurology at the Johns Hopkins University school of medicine in Baltimore.
The individual studies had been previously reported, and the Department of Veterans Affairs asked the institute to review what was known and provide a new overview. The Institute of Medicine is an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, an independent research organization chartered by Congress to advise the government on science.
''The secretary will convene senior VA medical experts to study this report and make recommendations to the department,'' VA spokeswoman Lisette Mondello said Friday.
In its analysis, the institute said three studies indicated the chance of developing ALS as much as doubles for Gulf War veterans. Another study concluded that veterans who served prior to that war had 1 ½ times the ALS rate of nonveterans.