Gulf War Mice Veterans

20 some odd years of studys and counting.  why training on gulf war illness has been discontinued by VA Education department.  The funding for non human studies I see has been on going. See

A pharmacology professor from the University of Illinois College of Medicine has begun a study to determine whether a combination of medicines could will help veterans suffering from Gulf War Syndrome. Essentially, the disorder is a combination of ailments (including loss of muscle control, chronic fatigue and memory problems) that may mimic other disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

According to a report by the Peoria Journal Star's pjstar.com, Dr. Stephen Lasley is working with the Pentagon to discover how the conditions during the 1991 conflict affected veterans. This project will be the second he has worked on for the Department of Defense.

Dr. Lasley will inject mice with similar anti-nerve gasses and pesticides that soldiers were exposed to during the war as part of his experiment. He believes that a combination of these agents, combined with battlefield stress has lead to what is known as Gulf War Syndrome.

The project is very significant given that thousands of veterans suffered from the illness when they returned from the Gulf before it was officially recognized as an ailment. This could probably be attributable to the fact that there is no single cause or link to the illness. Lasley further believes that researchers have not considered how influential stress could be in triggering the disease.

While the research is a step in the right direction, new medications or directives for treating Gulf War Syndrome are not expected soon. However, veterans who believe they are suffering from this ailment may still petition for benefits. An experienced veterans' disability attorney can help facilitate the process.
Source: PJStar.com, Professor hoping to unlock mysteries of Gulf War Syndrome, August 17, 2012

Women in Desert Storm

Do you remember While stationed in Saudi Arabia before the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, female servicemembers were ordered to wear an abaya, a long black gown and a headscarf. ?

{EXCERPT The top American military officer defended the Department of Defense policy of encouraging female troops to wear headscarves while on duty in Afghanistan, despite criticism the practice makes "second-class warriors." "Those female service members ... do so as a personal choice," For years, some American military women have worn headscarves, similar to traditional Afghan hijabs, when interacting with local civilians. http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/04/headscarves-for-female-soldiers-in-afghanistan-defended/?iref=allsearch

Desert Storm Females are part American Women Veteran Org

We will never know the exact number of military women who return home from Desert Storm Era deplyment suffering from chronic multisympthoms illness.
That alone put strain marriages. Now divorced and ill it is much harder to work as head of household. Why has the VA and other Veterans Service Organizations
undererestimated the suport services our women veterans would need. We are still
suffering the consequences till very day.

For women in military, divorce is common enemy
By KIMBERLY HEFLING


Two failed marriages were the cost of war for Sgt. Jennifer Schobey.

The breaking point in her first marriage came when her husband deployed to Afghanistan, the last in a long line of separations they had endured as they juggled two military careers. Schobey married another combat veteran, but that union failed under the weight of two cases of post-traumatic stress disorder — his and hers. They are now getting divorced.

Separations. Injuries. Mental-health issues. All are added weights to the normal strains of marriage.

For women in the military, there's a cold reality: Their marriages are more than twice as likely to end in divorce as those of their male comrades — and for enlisted women, the figure is nearly three times higher.

About 220,000 women have served in Afghanistan and Iraq in roles ranging from helicopter pilots to police officers. Last year, 7.8 percent of women in the military got a divorce, compared with 3 percent of military men, according to Pentagon statistics. Among the military's enlisted corps, meaning they aren't commissioned officers, nearly 9 percent of women saw their marriages end, compared with a little more than 3 percent of the men.

Research indicates that military women also get divorced at higher rates than their peers outside the military, but military men divorce at lower rates than their peers, according to a journal article published last year by Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Brookings Institution. Directly comparing divorce rates between the military and civilian sectors is difficult because of the way the numbers are kept.

The percentage of military women getting a divorce has been consistently higher for at least a decade. Like all divorces, the results can be a sense of loss and a financial blow. For military women, a divorce can be a breaking point — even putting them at greater risk of homelessness down the road.

It has an effect, too, on military kids. The military has more single moms than dads, and an estimated 30,000 of them have deployed in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Why military women are more burdened by divorce is unclear, although societal pressure is likely a factor.

"It's a strange situation, where there's a fair amount of equality in terms of their military roles," said David Segal, director of the Center for Research on Military Organization at the University of Maryland. "As the military increasingly treats women the same as it treats men in terms of their work expectations, however, society still expects them to fulfill their family roles. And that's not equally balanced between men and women."

One notion is that although more traditional men join the military, women who are attracted to military life are less conventional — and perhaps less willing to stay in a bad marriage.

About half of all married women in the military are married to a fellow service member, compared with less than 10 percent of military men. Although it can be an advantage to be married to someone who understands military life, balancing two military careers poses challenges.

Former Army Sgt. Daniela Gibson, an Afghan war veteran, knows that. Gibson, 24, spent more than four years apart from her military husband and thousands of dollars on long-distance phone calls as they each did war deployments, training and moves. She said it's tough to not feel insecure about your own marriage as you watch others falling apart around you and see fellow service members cheating on their spouses, which she says is all too frequent during deployments.

"Even just rumors of cheating can really affect you," Gibson said.

Gibson left the military after she got pregnant. She is now raising their 1-year-old in Mannheim, Germany, while her husband continues his military career. Fortunately, she said, they were able to make their marriage work.

"It was really hard. We've gone through a lot of difficult points in the relationship, and sometimes we weren't even sure how it was going to end up. But at the end I think it made us closer because it kind of made us prove to ourselves how much we wanted it," Gibson said. "We weren't about to just give up."

Female service members married to civilians face their own challenges. The rate of divorce of military women is higher for those married to civilians, said Benjamin Karney, a UCLA psychology professor who studied the issue for the Rand Corp. Research has found that husbands of female service members were less likely to be employed than military wives.

"You've got to look at the realities of what military life is like on the family, and it really is kind of set up around a traditional married model of a husband and a wife that runs the house, if you will," said Kimberly Olson, a retired Air Force colonel who leads Grace After Fire, a support organization for female veterans.

When divorce does happen, it only adds to the stress faced by an already stressed-out population.

Staff Sgt. Robin D. Duncan-Chisolm, 47, of Upper Marlboro, Md., was deployed to Iraq last year with the District of Columbia National Guard while she was getting a divorce. She said she worried the entire time that she would lose custody of her teenaged son or lose the house she and her husband had shared.

"I was able to smile … but inside I had a lot of turmoil I needed to have resolved, things I needed to bring closure to," Duncan-Chisolm said.

She credits her friendships and support in the Guard with helping her get through the divorce. She and her son were able to take advantage of support programs offered through the Guard's Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program to help with her transition home.

Former Army Sgt. 1st Class Tashawnya McCullough, 38, said she didn't have that support when she returned from Iraq in 2004 to her post in Germany. Divorced at the time from a service member she says cheated on her, lonely and struggling with her combat experience, she turned to alcohol. It took two months for her to get her girls, then ages 4 and 11, from the United States, where one lived with her ex-husband and the other with friends.

"My home was so quiet it drove me nuts, and I was by myself. It really affected me horribly. I was not doing well," McCullough said. "I was just trying to not feel or think about anything. I had a really hard time with drinking."

McCullough eventually got help for her drinking, remarried and found work in Texas with Grace After Fire helping other female veterans.

Each of the military services today offers a variety of programs focused on strengthening or enriching marriage. The Army, for example, offers a program called Strong Bonds, which provides relationship help to married couples as well as single soldiers. It also offers "resiliency" classes for spouses of both sexes.

Despite these efforts, Christina Roof, national acting legislative director of AMVETS, said there are not enough programs targeting divorce among female service members. She said some husbands just don't feel comfortable being surrounded by wives as part of military family support programs, but they need to be educated about issues their wives may face when they return from war.

"I think that stress of a woman coming home … and the man having no real training of someone sitting down and saying this is what it might be like when your wife gets back — that's just a recipe for disaster," Roof said.

Genevieve Chase, a staff sergeant in the Army Reserves who founded American Women Veterans, said she hears complaints from female service members who say how hard it is for their civilian husbands to understand what they do and feel accepted. "Unfortunately, male military spouses don't get any credit or recognition," she said.

http://www.americanwomenveterans.org/

How does VA help patient with attention disfunction?

Helping those with Attention Deficit Disorder stay organized

BALTIMORE - One big New Year's Resolution is getting organized. All month long, Good Morning Maryland @ 9, has been showing ways you can get organized.

We understand it is tough enough, but imagine living with Attention Deficit Disorder and organizing can really be challenging.
http://www.getit2gether.com/

Wednesday on Good Morning Maryland @ 9, Rose Zappa-Jehnert from Get it 2gether Organizational Services talked about some ways you can stay organized, especially if you suffer from ADD. She should know, she started her business thanks to helping her daughter who has ADD.

To hear and see some of the suggestions Zappa-Jehnert has for you, click on the video box to the left of this article. We have also provided a link to her website to the left for your information.

http://www.abc2news.com/dpp/lifestyle/helping-those-with-attention-deficit-disorder-stay-organized

I Wanted My Brain Back using VA system

I Wanted My Brain Back”
What happens when you’re a PhD economist and you suddenly can’t remember things or think straight? One woman’s story of perseverance reveals some of the mysteries of the brain.

By Sherri Dalphonse Published Thursday, March 01, 2007


It was a beautiful June Saturday afternoon. Anne Forrest steered her white Acura onto Memorial Bridge. The Lincoln Memorial rose before her.

Back from a business trip to Panama, Anne had picked up her cat from a colleague at the Environmental Law Institute, a nonprofit where she worked as an economist.

After crossing the bridge, she bore right at the Lincoln Memorial and dropped down toward Rock Creek Parkway. She craned her head to the left, watching for her chance to merge onto the parkway.

As Anne waited, a woman in an SUV hit her from behind. Both drivers got out to inspect the damage—Anne’s car had a dent in the back—and exchange information. A Park Police officer took an accident report. Anne felt shaken but looked fine; she got in her Acura and drove on.

“Who knew?” she says. “But that changed my entire life.”

The next day, June 15, 1997, Anne went to the Texas State Society Father’s Day picnic with Michael Crider, a man she was dating. Both Anne and Michael had grown up in Texas. One of their first dates, a year earlier, had been at this annual event.

Anne spent part of the picnic on the phone, trying to resolve a problem at work, but couldn’t grasp what her boss was saying.

Early Monday morning, she woke up feeling cold, nauseated, and with “the worst headache I have ever had.” At work, Anne would start to dial a phone number but couldn’t get through all the digits. She told colleagues about her accident and her headache. They urged her to see a doctor.

The primary-care physician thought Anne had whiplash. He wanted to see her twice a week to keep her under observation.

Two weeks later, Anne was on I-270, driving to church, when her right foot and right arm went numb.

“That was my wake-up call,” she says.

Neurologist Lewis Eberly diagnosed it as a mild traumatic brain injury.

When Anne’s car was rear-ended, it started a chain reaction in her head. The brain is made up of millions of nerve cells connected by fibers called axons. When Anne’s head was thrust from side to side and front to back, some axons—which carry messages between brain cells—were torn or twisted.

Traumatic brain injury has been called a “silent epidemic.” Each year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say, 1.4 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury, or TBI—often in car accidents, falls, or sports mishaps. Experts believe the number of TBIs is higher because the estimate reflects only emergency-room visits, and many patients never go to a hospital.

Three-quarters of cases are concussions or mild brain injuries. “Mild” means the patient was never unconscious or wasn’t unconscious for a long time. The results can be anything but mild.

If brain injury is an “epidemic,” why is it a silent one? “Because many of us have sustained a concussion, and two-thirds of individuals who sustain a concussion are back to normal by three months,” says Gregory O’Shanick, medical director for the Brain Injury Association of America.

But many who sustain a head injury have problems remembering things and concentrating. Accidents can be so minor that neither doctor nor patient makes the connection. Your teenage son is having difficulty at school? Must be inattention, not that hockey injury. You’re 50 and forgetting things? Must be age, not that fall off a bicycle months ago.


http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/benefits/exams/disexm58.htm

Unless a veteran comes to medical facility bloody. Most PCP will not send patient/vet
for neuro exam and assume the damage is done.

Capacity to manage financial affairs
Mental competency, for VA benefits purposes, refers only to the ability of the veteran to manage VA benefit payments in his or her own best interest, and not to any other subject. Mental incompetency, for VA benefits purposes, means that the veteran, because of injury or disease, is not capable of managing benefit payments in his or her best interest. In order to assist raters in making a legal determination as to competency, please address the following:


a.What is the impact of injury or disease on the veteran's ability to manage his or her financial affairs, including consideration of such things as knowing the amount of his or her VA benefit payment, knowing the amounts and types of bills owed monthly, and handling the payment prudently? Does the veteran handle the money and pay the bills himself or herself?

b.Based on your examination, do you believe that the veteran is capable of managing his or her financial affairs? Please provide examples to support your conclusion. If you believe a Social Work Service assessment is needed before you can give your opinion on the veteran's ability to manage his or her financial affairs,

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc096180

Overlap in the symptoms of residual effects of concussion, PTSD, depression, and chronic pain is well recognized and is the rationale for an interdisciplinary approach. The majority of veterans who are screened have been determined not to have BI, yet many have symptoms that are evaluated and treated — according to clinical practice guidelines developed by a panel of experts, including Hoge.2 Mental health services are integrated into these programs, and patient education regarding an expected positive outcome is a cornerstone intervention.

Signs and Symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Gulf War Vets

•According to the Veteran's Health Administration, no single, clearly identified diagnosis or type of exposure has emerged that explains the various health problems some veterans of the Gulf War experience. Nevertheless, there are signs and symptoms Gulf War veterans should be aware of that are attributed to chronic fatigue syndrome. These symptoms may be intermittent with no identifiable pattern and can be severe.

Psychological Problems
•Gulf War veterans suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome may experience psychological problems. Symptoms can be unpredictable and may be mild to severe. These include depression, irritability, anxiety disorder and sudden panic attacks. Loss of memory and difficulty with concentration may also occur.

Physical Pain
•Chronic fatigue syndrome is characterized by ongoing pain that has no identifiable cause. This can include severe headaches and pain in the abdomen, jaw or chest. Unexplained muscle pain and sore throat are also noted symptoms.

Sleep Disorders
•Sleep problems can be a sign of chronic fatigue syndrome. These may include an inability to sleep regularly accompanied by chills and night sweats. Often, when sleep occurs, it is not refreshing or deep, and the veteran may wake up feeling exhausted.

Other Symptoms
•Nausea, irregular heartbeat, visual disturbances and physical stiffness are also signs of chronic fatigue syndrome. Unexplained flu-like symptoms, such as sore throat, chronic cough and dry mouth, may occur. These symptoms can result in cognitive dysfunction, bronchitis, asthma, substance abuse and sexual issues. Because there is a relationship between participation in the Gulf War and chronic fatigue syndrome, veterans experiencing symptoms should seek medical help.

http://www.ehow.com/list_6331327_signs-syndrome-gulf-war-vets.html
Read more: Signs and Symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Gulf War Vets | eHow.com
http://www.ehow.com/list_6331327_signs-syndrome-gulf-war-vets.html#ixzz13lVelmC8

Gulf War Ills May Be Clue to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Tuesday January 30 8:17 PM ET
Gulf War Ills May Be Clue to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

By John Schieszer

SEATTLE (Reuters Health) - Important similarities exist between Gulf
War (news - web sites) illness and
chronic fatigue syndrome, and those similarities may help unlock some
of the mysteries behind these enigmatic
illnesses, experts on the syndrome said at a conference here.

``The symptoms of both are very similar,'' said Dr. Lea Steele, who is
with the Persian Gulf War Veterans
Health Initiative. ``I think they both encompass different disease
pathways, and so some of those disease
pathways may overlap in Gulf War veterans and civilian patients with
chronic fatigue syndrome.''

In an interview with Reuters Health, Steele said that looking into the
differences and similarities between these
two illnesses may lead to new treatments for both conditions.
Furthermore, veterans with Gulf War illness will
probably find they are better accepted and their symptoms better
managed by physicians who are also treating
chronic fatigue syndrome patients.

``The chronic fatigue syndrome doctors are the ones with probably the
most expertise in dealing with the
symptoms,'' explained Steele, who presented her findings at the
American Association for Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome (AACFS) 5th International Conference.

Gulf War illness is defined as an elevated level of symptoms in at
least 3 of 6 defined symptom domains
(fatigue/sleep problems, pain, neuro/cognitive/mood symptoms,
gastrointestinal symptoms, respiratory
symptoms, and skin symptoms), in the absence of other conditions that
could account for those symptoms.

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) symptoms bear some similarity to those
associated with Gulf War illness and
earlier research has suggested that some Gulf War veterans actually had
chronic fatigue syndrome and not a
new illness, Steele noted.

``What my study found was that although there is definitely some
symptomatic overlap between the two
conditions, Gulf War veterans are actually distinct from chronic
fatigue syndrome patients. They have some of
the symptoms but Gulf veterans are more likely to report neurologic
symptoms, and they are more likely to
report more gastrointestinal problems and more likely to report skin
and rash conditions,'' Steele said.

She conducted her study among 1,548 veterans of the Persian Gulf War.
Chronic fatigue syndrome was found
in 7% of Persian Gulf veterans. However, the specific pattern of
symptoms reported by veterans who met
criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome differed from that reported by
chronic fatigue syndrome patients in the
general population.

For example, chronic headache, diarrhea, skin rashes and night sweats
were more prominent among Gulf War
veterans meeting CFS criteria than in CFS patients generally.

``Ultimately, this will increase interest in this area,'' said Dr.
Leonard Jason, who is a professor of clinical
psychology at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. ``Groups of
activists are now going to Congress saying we
need to have services for people with Gulf War illness and the Veterans
Administration will do that work. And
clearly then that sets up the foundation for those people who didn't go
to war and are also sick.''

Currently, there are no approved treatments for either of these
conditions and physicians are only able to
provide symptomatic relief. The causes of both illnesses are still
considered a mystery.

CFS is marked by unrelenting exhaustion, muscle pain, cognitive
disorders that patients call ``brain fog,'' and a
myriad of other physical symptoms. It is believed that about 800,000
Americans have CFS, the majority of
them women. Steele says most patients with both of these illnesses are
not receiving proper care.

``It is true. A lot of chronic fatigue syndrome and Gulf War illness
patients have a hard time finding a doctor
who knows how to help them very much,'' Steele said. ``It used to be
that they even had a hard time finding a
doctor who really believed they were really sick and not just having
some kind of mental disorder.''
--

http://personal.lig.bellsouth.net/lig/j/i/jimmoss

or:

http://www.afn.org/~afn64689/

Is Brain Fog treated by VA -gulf war

I have see a lot articles and studies on gulf war veterans which have noticed Impaired Cognitive Function which many vets called Brain Fog.
I have seen studies saying this Brain Fog is aggravated by poor quality of sleep. (see blow)
I have seen studies which chronic pain aggravates ones brain fog/ Impaired Cognitive Function (see blow)
I have seen studies which say Stress like PTSD as aggravates our brain fog.
(see blow)
I question how many vets with Mild brain injury or concussions are left with Impaired Cognitive Function/Brain Fog ?
I question why Dr. Haley imaging studies has not address these issues of brain function ?
I question why the VA-RAC-GWI has not recommended studies to address this symptom - brain fog, which is in the top 10 of 33 symptom list created by the IOM and Congress ?

Impaired cognitive performance in patients with chronic burnout syndrome
Biological Psychology
Volume 69, Issue 3, July 2005, Pages 271-279
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T4T-4DTKS8H-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=8c3a141c12938f0c318fb6b0afd59cb2
########

Poor Sleep Is Associated With Impaired Cognitive Function in Older Women: Blackwell et al. 61 (4): 405 -- Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
PubMed Citation
# # #

Chronic pain can alter the brain
The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
61:405-410 (2006)
© 2006 The Gerontological Society of America
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23017866/
#########

Cognitive Functioning Under Stress:
Evidence from Informal Caregivers of Palliative Patients
J Palliat Med. 2007 June; 10(3): 749–758.
# # # #

A Cause of Depression, Effects of concussions can be long term
Effects of concussions can be long term
also see: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/31/AR2007053101608.html
www.medscape.com/viewarticle/558116
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=247140

unexplained chronic pain in GW vets Illness

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