Progression of intervention-focused research for Gulf War illness

Jeremy E. Chester; Mazhgan Rowneki; William Van Doren; Drew A. Helmer

doi:10.1186/s40779-019-0221-x

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Progression of intervention-focused research for Gulf War illness

REVIEW | Updated：2023-06-05

- Progression of intervention-focused research for Gulf War illness
- Military Medical Research Vol. 7, Issue 1, Pages: 104-121(2020)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.War Related Illness and Injury Study Center, Veterans Affairs New Jersey Healthcare System, 385 Tremont Avenue, East Orange, NJ 07018, USA
  2.War Related Illness and Injury Study Center, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 50 Irving St., Washington, DC, NW 20422, USA
  3.Rutgers University, New Jersey Medical School, 185 South Orange Avenue, Newark, NJ 07103, USA
- Author bio：
  
  * Jeremy.Chester@VA.gov
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1186/s40779-019-0221-x
  CLC：
- Published：2020-03
- Accepted：
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Cite this article as: Chester et al.: Progression of intervention-focused research for Gulf War illness. Mil Med Res, 2019, 6: 31
DOI：

Cite this article as: Chester et al.: Progression of intervention-focused research for Gulf War illness. Mil Med Res, 2019, 6: 31 DOI： 10.1186/s40779-019-0221-x.

摘要

Abstract

The Persian Gulf War of 1990 to 1991 involved the deployment of nearly 700

000 American troops to the Middle East. Deployment-related exposures to toxic substances such as pesticides

nerve agents

pyridostigmine bromide (PB)

smoke from burning oil wells

and petrochemicals may have contributed to medical illness in as many as 250

000 of those American troops. The cluster of chronic symptoms

now referred to as Gulf War Illness (GWI)

has been studied by many researchers over the past two decades. Although over $500 million has been spent on GWI research

to date

no cures or condition-specific treatments have been discovered

and the exact pathophysiology remains elusive. Using the 2007 National Institute of Health (NIH) Roadmap for Medical Research model as a reference framework

we reviewed studies of interventions involving GWI patients to assess the progress of treatment-related GWI research. All GWI clinical trial studies reviewed involved investigations of existing interventions that have shown efficacy in other diseases with analogous symptoms. After reviewing the published and ongoing registered clinical trials for cognitive-behavioral therapy

exercise therapy

acupuncture

coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)

mifepristone

and carnosine in GWI patients

we identified only four treatments (cognitive-behavioral therapy

exercise therapy

CoQ10

and mifepristone) that have progressed beyond a phase II trial. We conclude that progress in the scientific study of therapies for GWI has not followed the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research model. Establishment of a standard case definition

prioritized GWI research funding for the characterization of the pathophysiology of the condition

and rapid replication and adaptation of early phase

single site clinical trials could substantially advance research progress and treatment discovery for this condition.

关键词

Keywords

references

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