By Brenda Tilke

Researchers continue to build their case that gulf war syndrome, or gulf war disease, as some now term it, actually does exist, and MR spectroscopy scans may provide crucial evidence.

At the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas, radiologists performed the scans on veterans who complained of symptoms associated with the syndrome. The results showed that the veterans had significantly lower levels of the chemical NAA (N-acetyl-aspartate) in the brain stem and basal ganglia, suggesting a loss of neurons in those areas.

"Some of these patients are profoundly disabled," said Dr. James L. Fleckenstein, a professor of radiology at UT Southwestern. "There are stories of some real heroes who now barely are able to drive to the store."

The existence of gulf war syndrome remains controversial. As many as 100,000 of the 700,000 soldiers who served in the Persian Gulf War in 1990 and 1991 have complained of a set of symptoms that includes memory loss, balance disturbances, sleep disorders, depression, exhaustion, body pain, chronic diarrhea, and concentration problems. These veterans may have been exposed to a mix of chemicals that Fleckenstein and others refer to as the "toxic chemical cocktail."

The Texas study was double-blinded, giving strength to the validity of the MR spectroscopy scans, Fleckenstein reported.

"I now call this the gulf war disease," he said. "The chemical NAA is an important indicator of healthy brain function."

The evidence of decreased NAA through MR spectroscopy can help researchers determine clinical signs of the problem, rather than relying solely on patient-reported symptoms.