VA Sends Latest Gulf War Illness Report to IOM for Review

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WASHINGTON (Dec. 1, 2008) -- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has
sent the October 2008 report from the VA Research Advisory Committee on
Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses to the National Academy of Sciences'
Institute of Medicine (IOM) for review and recommendations.

The October report from the advisory committee identified potential
causes for -- and asserted that research supports the existence of -- a
multi-symptom condition resulting from service in the 1990 - 1991 Gulf
War, which the committee identified as Gulf War Illness (GWI).

Because VA has traditionally and by law relied upon IOM for independent
and credible reviews of the science behind these particular veterans'
health issues, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake has
asked IOM to review the advisory committee's report before VA officially
responds to the report's conclusions.

"I appreciate the committee's work on this report, and I am eager to see
the results of further independent study into their findings," Peake
said. "Of course, VA will continue to provide the care and benefits our
Gulf War veterans have earned through their service, as we have for more
than a decade."

VA has long recognized conditions, granted benefits and provided health
care to Gulf War veterans suffering from a broad range of symptoms, even
though these conditions have not been scientifically recognized as a
specific disease or injury or GWI.

These include chronic fatigue, persistent rashes, hair loss, headaches,
muscle pain, joint pain, neurologic symptoms, neuropsychological
symptoms (such as memory loss), respiratory system symptoms, sleep
disturbances, gastrointestinal symptoms, cardiovascular symptoms,
abnormal weight loss and menstrual disorders.