Drug raises Gulf War vets' hopes
Sand-man
By NANCY ZUCKERBROD The Associated Press
Researchers are nearing the end of an 18-month nationwide study that may
tell whether an old antibiotic is the cure for a perplexing group of
illnesses known as "Gulf War Syndrome."
For a year, about 500 participants took doses of the antibiotic doxycycline
and a placebo administered through 30 clinics across the country, including
Charleston and Augusta, Ga.
Researchers then spent six months compiling information. Results could be
published as early as October.
"We're all very curious and in limbo right now," said Dr. Preston Church,
the study's principal investigator at Charleston's Ralph H. Johnson VA
Medical Center. "It has the potential to be a major plus or a major 'no'."
The antibiotic, more commonly used to treat such diseases as Rocky Mountain
Spotted Fever and malaria, was tested to determine its effectiveness against
mycoplasma, a blood bacteria.
Mycoplasma is theorized as the infectious cause of the variety of symptoms
experienced by Gulf War veterans, including fatigue, muscle and joint pain,
and memory and thinking problems.
All 500 participants tested positive for the mycoplasma bacteria in the
random study. But no definitive link between the organism and Gulf War
Syndrome has been established.
The government has spent $8 million on the study.
The Department of Veterans Affairs said that of the 500,000 U.S. veterans
who served in the Gulf War between August 1990 and July 1991, more than
3,000 have "Gulf War Syndrome," illnesses doctors can't diagnose but
believe to be linked to service in the Gulf War.
Fifteen people participated in the random antibiotic study through the
Charleston clinic, and 28 in Augusta, officials said.
What the results will show is anybody's guess, said Dr. Brian Catto, the
principle investigator in Augusta. "The study is coming to an end, that's
all we can say."
Gulf War veteran John P. Howard of Lancaster was skeptical about the study,
even though he said he's experienced some of the illness' symptoms.
"I have my doubts about some sort of a magical bullet for this from the
federal government. After all, it took them 25 years to acknowledge the
effects of Agent Orange after Vietnam."
Gulf veterans returned home complaining of headaches, chronic fatigue,
rashes, joint and muscular pain, memory loss, reproductive problems,
depression, and gastrointestinal problems.
Veterans have cited smoke from oil well fires, depleted uranium in U.S.
weaponry, vaccinations and exposure to chemical or biological weapons as
possible sources of exposure.
The government initially dismissed the illnesses as psychological, but the
Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs now acknowledge serious health
problems exist. Still they insist no single illness is responsible.
Nearly 200 government studies, nearly half of which are ongoing, have
reviewed the exposure theories. None has pinpointed a single cause.
Besides the antibiotic study, only one other has focused on a treatment.
That one examined the benefits of exercise and behavioral therapy on 1,100
veterans.
Along with testing positive for mycoplasma, participants in the antibiotic
study showed signs of chronic fatigue, memory loss
or muscle or skeletal pain. Half were given doxycycline, and half were
given a placebo. Participants were seen monthly by nurses, who also tracked
symptoms for the six months after the study ended.
There is anecdotal evidence the antibiotic works, said Dr. John Feussner,
chief research and development officer for the Veterans Health
Administration.
For example, Kay Bingham, study coordinator in Birmingham, Ala., said half
her patients felt better while taking the pills and felt worse without them,
but she doesn't know whether they were taking doxycycline or a placebo.
Bingham said many participants report family members experiencing similar
symptoms.
"We know that mycoplasmas are transmitted between contact with other
individuals," said Dr. Joel Baseman, a mycoplasma expert in San Antonio who
is doing the lab work for the study.
But Baseman said it's not certain that veterans are transmitting their
infections, or that the mycoplasma bacteria is even the cause of their
illnesses.
"We are trying very hard to do the solid science that will allow us to come
to a comfortable, scientifically based solution."
Staff Writer Roddie Burris contributed to this report.
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Kansas Veterans Home Page
http://www.geocities.com/kansasvet
Sand-man
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