Steele Lea, Klimas Nancy, Krengel Maxine, Quinn Emily, Toomey Rosemary, Little Deborah, Abreu Maria, Aenlle Kristina, Killiany Ronald, Koo Bang-Bon, Janulewicz Patricia, Heeren Timothy, Clark Allison N, Ajama Joy, Cirillo Joanna, Buentello Gerardo, Lerma Vanesa, Coller Janet K, Sullivan Kimberly
Veterans Health Research Program, Beth K. and Stuart C. Yudofsky Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Institute for Neuroimmune Medicine, Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314, USA.
Brain Sci. 2021 Aug 26;11(9):1132. doi: 10.3390/brainsci11091132.
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. sites that included clinical assessments, brain imaging, neuropsychological testing, and analyses of a broad range of immune and immunogenetic parameters. GWI cases were similar to controls on most demographic, military, and deployment characteristics although on average were two years younger, with a higher proportion of enlisted personnel vs. officers. Results of physical evaluation and routine clinical lab tests were largely normal, with few differences between GWI cases and healthy controls. However, veterans with GWI scored significantly worse than controls on standardized assessments of general health, pain, fatigue, and sleep quality and had higher rates of diagnosed conditions that included hypertension, respiratory and sinus conditions, gastrointestinal conditions, and current or lifetime depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Among multiple deployment experiences/exposures reported by veterans, multivariable logistic regression identified just two significant GWI risk factors: extended use of skin pesticides in theater (adjusted OR = 3.25, = 0.005) and experiencing mild traumatic brain injury during deployment (OR = 7.39, = 0.009). Gulf War experiences associated with intense stress or trauma (e.g., participation in ground combat) were not associated with GWI. Data and samples from the GWIC project are now stored in a repository for use by GWI researchers. Future reports will present detailed findings on brain structure and function, immune function, and association of neuroimmune measures with characteristics of GWI and Gulf War service.
位于波士顿大学的海湾战争疾病联盟（GWIC）是一项多学科倡议，旨在深入了解构成海湾战争疾病（GWI）基础的大脑和免疫变化。GWI是一种与1990 - 1991年海湾战争期间服役相关的持续性多症状疾病。GWIC核心病例对照临床研究在美国三个地点对269名海湾战争退伍军人（223例GWI患者，46名对照）进行了深入的大脑和免疫评估，包括临床评估、脑成像、神经心理学测试以及对广泛的免疫和免疫遗传参数的分析。GWI患者在大多数人口统计学、军事和部署特征方面与对照相似，尽管平均年龄小两岁， enlisted人员与军官的比例更高。体格检查和常规临床实验室检查结果基本正常，GWI患者与健康对照之间差异不大。然而，在一般健康、疼痛、疲劳和睡眠质量的标准化评估中，患有GWI的退伍军人得分明显低于对照，并且被诊断出患有高血压、呼吸道和鼻窦疾病、胃肠道疾病以及当前或终生抑郁症和创伤后应激障碍的比率更高。在退伍军人报告的多次部署经历/暴露中，多变量逻辑回归仅确定了两个显著的GWI风险因素：在战区长期使用皮肤杀虫剂（调整后的OR = 3.25， = 0.005）和在部署期间经历轻度创伤性脑损伤（OR = 7.39， = 0.009）。与强烈压力或创伤相关的海湾战争经历（例如参加地面战斗）与GWI无关。GWIC项目的数据和样本现在存储在一个储存库中，供GWI研究人员使用。未来的报告将展示关于脑结构和功能、免疫功能以及神经免疫指标与GWI特征和海湾战争服役之间关联的详细研究结果。
