Gulf War Illness

[calypso]

As many of you know, there is a fair amount of overlap of dysautonomia with Gulf War Illness. I am at work tonight and came across this article on the AP wire. Thought I would share.

By SUZANNE GAMBOA ?

Associated Press Writer ?

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Veterans Affairs Department said Friday that it no longer will pay for studies that seek to show stress is the primary cause of mysterious ailments afflicting thousands of veterans of the 1991 Gulf War.

For years the federal government has pointed to stress as the likely reason for the sicknesses. But Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi said the VA will set aside up to $15 million for a year of Gulf War illness research and none of the money will be used to pay for studies that propose stress as the only explanation for the ailments.

?I?ve made it clear none of the $15 million will be allocated for studies related to stress,? Principi said. ?We are going to look at other possible theories as to what may be causing these undiagnosed symptoms.?

Principi?s decision comes as a result of a report issued Friday by an advisory committee he appointed.

The Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Illness spent the past two years reviewing recent studies and recommended the VA abandon stress studies and focus on toxic substances veterans encountered during the war.

?We must embrace the possibility that unconventional theories given the time and resources to test them may lead the way to resolving and understanding the unforseen and unsupposed battlefield conditions that existed in 1990, 1991 and which may have tunneled silently into the bodies of Gulf War veterans,? he said.

Many thousands of Gulf War veterans have experienced undiagnosed illnesses with symptoms such as chronic fatigue, loss of muscle control, diarrhea, migraines, dizziness, memory problems and loss of balance.

For years the government denied mysterious illnesses were linked to the war. After the Pentagon acknowledged at least some of the sicknesses were due to wartime service, a federal panel was appointed to look into the cause. It concluded in 1996 that combat-related stress was the most likely source, although it recommended pursuing other possible reasons.

In 1998, Congress required VA to create a Gulf War illness research panel, but that did not happen until Principi appointed the panel in January 2002.

Principi?s panel found that more recent studies suggest the veterans? illnesses are neurological, apparently linked to exposure to toxins such as the nerve gas sarin, the anti-nerve gas drug pyridostigmine bromide and pesticides military personnel encountered during the war.

Dr. Lea Steele, one of the panel members, said the studies indicate veterans the exposure have caused brain injury in some veterans and affected their autonomic nervous system, responsible for automatic body functions such as breathing and sleeping.

Stephan Fihn, the VA?s acting chief research and development officer, said the VA won?t narrow research to only investigations of the effects of toxic substances.

?We view it as still a controversial and unsettled issue,? he said. ?Although the committee thinks there are promising leads in neurotoxins this is just that ? leads. This is a detective story. There are no definite causes identified. We are turning to the scientific community and saying basically this is still an open question.?

In addition, Principi said he also is creating a Center for the Study of Gulf War Illnesses Treatment ?to help us investigate the little understood avenues of medical science that may one day lead to a breakthrough in our ability to treat Gulf War veterans.?

The $15 million is VA?s single largest allocation of research money for a specific area and amounts to a fifth of all new research grant awards for this fiscal year, he said.

Steve Smithson, the American Legion?s assistant director for veterans affairs and rehabilitation and a member of the committee, said the VA shift is a victory for Gulf War veterans.

?Progress has been slow in coming,? Smithson said.

??? ?

On the Net:

Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans? Illnesses: http://www1.va.gov/rac-gwvi/

[Guest tearose]

Wow. I didn't know this much about gulf war syndrome before. I don't yet understand the connection between the anti-nerve gas "pyridostigmine bromide" and mestinon but aren't they the same drug or at least very close? Could this actually have a long term negative effect on POTS people taking mestinon? Anyone out there know?

curious and concerned, tearose

[geneva]

This is a giant step forward or so it would seem for the thousands who have suffered so long and been told it is just from stress. WHY does it take so long for those in charge to move beyond stress and anxiety for those conditions they don't understand? Just rhetorical question.

Thanks for sharing the article.

[briarrose]

Sorry Calypso

I didn't realize you had posted a gulf war story. I was so flabergasted when I read the one off of CNN, I wanted to flip over and post it.

[StaceyYount]

Hey,

Have you guys read or seen anything by Dr. Garth Nicholson. He did a lot of investigation into Gulf War Illness and has published a lot about it. His web site is http://www.immed.org/

I can't think today or I would tell you more. But look into that.

Stacey

[opus88]

It's about time they quit trying to push that syndrome on "stress" or some kind of mental weakness or laziness! I've never believed it had anything to do with anything other than the chemicals they are exposed to there, the vaccinations they are forced to endure, and/or food they eat.

Have any of you heard about the link between soft drinks and this Gulf War problem? There is a strong indication that the sodas are leaching things from the cans - the cans are transported and/or stored in high heat, which creates a chemical reaction which for some people creates a toxic reaction that their body can't fight off. (It can happen locally as well, so don't ever purchase soft drinks that have been sitting out in the heat.)

[JLM]

Are you talking about diet soda, ie stuff with Nutrasweet? I won't touch anything with Nutrasweet in it with a 10 foot pole.

http://www.mercola.com/article/aspartame/fraud.htm

Today we have "Nutra-Sweet", which is widely used in a plethora of consumables, despite a demonstrated neurological reaction in some people. In February 1996, it was decided to also use the product name "Benevia". It is estimated that as many as 20,000,000 people cannot metabolize phenylalimine, and this inability is genetically inherited by children. The inability to metabolize phenylalinine can lead to mental retardation in children. This means a risk of retardation for millions of children. A multi-billion dollar enterprise, this substance is said to be "refined" from "natural"substances. Like other "refined" substances, it represents a health threat to the general public. No long term studies have been performed to evaluate the physiological effects of this substance, yet the public is lead to believe it is absolutely safe. Technically, the chemical is called aspartame, and it was once on a Pentagon list of biowarfare chemicals submitted to Congress. [1] Aspartame is in over 4,000 products worldwide and is consumed by over 200 million people in the United States alone. What follows is a skeletal examination of the chronology related to aspartame. A more detailed chronology is given later in this chapter based on information provided to us by the Aspartame Consumer Safety Network.

Aspartame is produced by G.D. Searle Company, founded in 1888 and located in Skokie, Illinois. Searle is now owned by others. It is about 200 times sweeter than the refined sugar that it is meant to replace, and it is known to erode intelligence and affect short-term memory. It is essentially a chemical weapon designed to impact populations en masse. It is an rDNA derivative made from two amino acids, L-phenylalanine, L-aspartic acid and methanol. Originally discovered during a search for an ulcer drug in 1966, it was "approved" by the FDA in 1974 as a "food additive".

Approval was followed by a retraction based on demonstrated public concern over the fact that the substance produced brain tumors in rats. According to the 1974 FDA task force set up to examine aspartame and G.D.Searle, "we have uncovered serious deficiencies in Searles operations and practices, which undermine the basis for reliance on Searle?s integrity in conducting high quality animal research to accurately determine the toxic potential of its products." The task force report concluded with the recommendation that G.D. Searle should face a Grand Jury "to identify more particularly the nature of the violations, and to identify all those responsible." [2]

In 1976, an FDA "task force" brought into question all of G.D. Searle?s aspartame testing procedures conducted between 1967 and 1975. The final FDA report noted faulty and fraudulent product testing, knowingly misrepresented product testing, knowlingly misrepresented findings, and instances of irrelevant animal research. In other word, illegal criminal activity. Understandably scared, Searle officials sought to suppress the FDA findings and obstruct justice. They turned to Nixon and Ford administration operative Donald Rumsfeld and elected him "chairman of the Searle organization." In 1977, the Wall Street Journal detailed the fact that Rumsfeld made efforts to "mend fences" by asking "what Searle could do" in the face of the changes. Also in 1977, Dr. Adrian Gross, a pathologist working for the FDA, uncovered evidence that G.D.Searle might have committed criminal fraud in withholding adverse data on aspartame. [3]

The FDA requested that U.S. Attorney Samuel Skinner be hired to investigate Searle?s aspartame testing procedures in January 1977. Samuel Skinner was the federal prosecutor responsible for convincing the Grand Jury to investigate whether Searle willfully and criminally withheld data that cast doubt on the safety of aspartame. In February 1977, Skinner met with Searle attorneys at the Chicago law firm of Sidney & Austin. Suddenly, newly elected President Carter announced that Skinner would not remain in office, and Skinner thereafter announced that he would be hired by Sidney & Austin. Obviously, Skinner then had to recuse himself from the Searle prosecution. The case was taken over by U.S. Attorney William Conlon, who essentially sat on the case, despite complaints from the Justice Department, which was urging that a grand jury be convened to prosecute Searle Company for falsifying Nutra-Sweet test data. Failing to preform his duty, Conlon also joined Searle?s law firm in January 1979.

Skinner?s defection from the FDA might have been prompted by the results of the review of the Searle studies. David Hattan, deputy director of the FDA Division of Toxicological Review and Evaluation, concedes that anyone reading the orginal FDA investigation reports is likely to be "shocked" by what they reveal. He says that the ensuing review of the Searle studies, in which he was involved from the time of his arrival in 1978, was one of the most thorough in the agency?s history. It included an unprecedented hearing before a public board of inquiry composed of experts from outside the agency. Arthur Hayes, Jr., then Commissioner of the FDA appointed by Reagan, agreed with Searle and the FDA?s Bureau of Foods (now the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition) that "an appropriate analysis of the data showed no significant increases in tumor incidence in rats exposed to aspartame or DKP, one of the breakdown products of aspartame. The board of inquiry rejected concerns that aspartame?s components could cause neurological damage.[4]

In 1981, under pressure from the soft drink lobby, FDA Commissioner Hayes approved the initial use of aspartane in dry foods and as a tabletop sweetner, discounting public complaints as anecdotal and ignoring three FDA scientists.[5] who voiced the fact that there were serious questions concerning brain tumor tests after having done an in-house study. Hayes was widely profiled as a man who believed that approval for new drugs and additives was "too slow" because "the FDA demanded too much information." Hayes also ignored the fact that the biased scientific studies paid for by Searle were faulty.[6] After leaving the FDA, Hayes took the post of senior medical consultant for the public relations firm retained by Searle..[7] A subsequent inquiry "found no improprieity".

In July 1983 it was approved for use in soft drinks in the United States, followed three months later by approval in Britain by the Ministry of Agriculture. All this was done despite the fact that the Department of Defense knew that aspartane was neurotoxic and harmful to human health. These facts were deliberately suppressed by the government. It is also interesting that in 1981 FDA scientist Dr. Robert Condon, in an internal government document, said "I do not concur that aspartame has been shown to be safe with respect to the induction of brain tumors." All safety was thrown aside because of pressure from Searle. Considering the connections the drug companies have to the medical and intelligence community, it would not be surprising that there were other factors involved in the pressure to adopt aspartame into the diet of the population.

In 1984, the Arizona Department of Health began testing soft drinks to ascertain the level of toxic deterioration by-products in soft drinks. It was determined that soft drinks stored in elevated temperatures promoted more rapid deterioration of aspartame into poisonous methyl alcohol (methanol). The FDA decided to ignore these results. Public complaints about the effects of aspartame began to come in. People complained of headaches, dizziness, vomiting, nausea, blurred vision, seizures, convulsions and a host of other reactions to aspartame.

Also in 1984, the Centers for Disease Control made the fraudulent announcement that "no serious, widespread" side effects of aspartame had been found. It was an outright lie, and this announcement was quickly followed by another from PepsiCo that it was dropping saccharin and adopting aspartame as the sweetener it all its diet drinks. Others followed suit, despite the January 1984 broadcast on CBS Nightly News where the chief scientist for the FDA task force investigating Searle publicly stated that Searle company officials made "deliberate decisions" to cloak aspartame?s toxic effects.

When a human consumes "Nutra-Sweet", it breaks down above 85? not only into its constituent amino acids, but into methanol, which further breaks down into formaldehyde, which is carcinogenic[8] and very toxic, as well as formic acid and a brain tumor agent called diketopiperazine (DKP). In a meek attempt to ward off further public inquiry, the FDA in 1984 announced that "no evidence has been found to establish that aspartame?s methanol by-product reaches toxic levels". This was a direct lie, since Medical World News reported in 1978, six years earlier, than the methanol content of aspartame is 1,000 times greater than most foods under FDA control. Furthermore, the methanol in aspartame is "free methanol", which is never found in nature. Methanol in nature is always accompanied by ethanol and other compounds which mitigate the methanol when introduced into the body.

In 1985, Searle Company was bought by Monsanto, the maker of other insidious substances that manage to find their way into human food, including Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH). Senator Metzenbaum, commenting on the FDA relative to the aspartame issue in 1985 said, "the FDA is content to have Searle conduct all safety tests on aspartame. That?s absurd."

Supreme Court Collusion in Aspartame Coverup Clarence Thomas Former Monsanto Lawyer

In 1986, the Washington Post reported that the Supreme Court refused to consider arguments that the FDA had not followed proper procedures in approving aspartame, despite arguments that the product "may cause brain damage." (Supreme Court obstructing Justice). Since Bush-nominated Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

is a former attorney for Monsanto [9],it is unlikely that hundreds of millions of people will find redress. There are also indications of ties between Monsanto and elements in the CIA.

University of Illinois Fraudulent Study on Aspartame

In August of 1987, the University of Illinois, a recipient of funding from Monsanto, issued a study "exonerating aspartame of causing seizures in laboratory animals." The fact that they were paid by Monsanto automatically invalidates the results. U.S. Senate hearings in 1987 showed that G.D.Searle used "psychological strategy" to get regulators at the FDA "into a yes-saying habit" to "bring them into a subconscious spirit of participation." .[10] More than half of 69 medical researchers polled by the FDA in 1987 said they were concerned about aspartame?s safety.[11]

FDA Ignores Complaints of Neurological Symptoms

In 1989, the FDA received over 4,000 complaints from people who described adverse reactions. Because the FDA conveniently lists aspartane as a "food additive", it removes the legal requirement for adverse effect reporting to any Federal agency and the necessity for safety monitoring processes. Research also indicates that aspartame, when combined with glutamine products (such as MSG, widely used in foods) increase the likelihood of brain damage occurring in children.[12]

Aspartame Affecting Airline Pilots

Some of the more interesting developments in 1989 surfaced in the Palm Beach Post on October 14th, where an article by Dr. H.J. Robert described several recent aircraft accidents involving confusion and aberrant pilot behavior caused by ingestion of products containing aspartame.[13] Soft drink makers were notified of this problem in 1991. It is interesting to note that after Samuel Skinner left Sidney & Austin, Searle?s law firm, he was appointed Secretary of Transportation. Hence, he was in charge of the FAA, just in time to head off complaints from pilots affected by aspartame. His wife was employed by Sidney & Austin. Later as George Bush?s Chief of Staff in 1991, during the Gulf War, he was in a position to head off all inquiries relative to asparatame, no matter where they were directed - to the FDA, FAA or Department of Defense. This constitutes criminal negligence and racketeering. George Bush, of course, was an ex-director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

British News: "Nutrasweet Tests Faked"

On July 20, 1990, an article in the national British newspaper The Guardian, entitled "NutraSweet test results ?faked?", revealed that the British government had finally been persuaded to review the safety of aspartame after "receiving a dossier of evidence highlighting its potential dangers." According to The Guardian, the dossier alleged that laboratory tests were falsified, tumors were removed from laboratory animals and animals were ?restored to life? in laboratory records.[14] The dossier against NutraSweet was compiled by Erik Millstone, a lecturer at the Science Policy Research Unit at Sussex University and author of two books on food additives. It was based on thousands of pages of evidence, much of which was obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. The COT, Committee on Toxicity, was at the time looking into consumption of artificial sweeteners and did not possess the key documents covering alleged mishandling of the safety tests which Millstone was asked to provide.

The British Ministry of Agriculture and Department of Health have never revealed the evidence upon which approval was given in England for the distribution of aspartame, maintaining that "these are matters of commercial confidence." The British government does not testing of its own but relies on safety tests provided by the manufacturer, which of course constitutes a conflict of interest. The 1990 article quoted the British Department of Health as saying "NutraSweet is not a health hazard on the available evidence, but people do suffer ?ideosyncratic reactions? to food additives." Interestingly, it was pointed out that three out of 14 members of the Committee on Toxicity have direct or indirect links with the artificial sweetener industry, according to David Clark, the Labour Party Agriculture spokeman, who requested a Parliamentary Answer to address questions of conflict of interest. Aspartame is also sold in England under the product name "Canderel." In 1990, the market for asparatame in England was estimated at ?800 million.

Aspartame

Dosing of the Military in the Gulf War

During the 1991 Gulf War, all military personnel were provided free supplies of aspartame-laced soft drinks together with experimental vaccines, nerve gas antidotes and personal insecticides. They were also treated to direct biochemical warfare compounds. The result is Gulf War Syndrome, which is communicable and deadly, and 50,000 military personnel and their dependents are wasting away before our eyes. Criminal negligence? Of course. Criminal conspiracy? Yes. Genocide? Probably - we?re waiting to see.

Aspartame Alters Brain Chemicals That Affect Behavior

Independent tests on animals have shown that aspartame alters brain chemicals that also affect behavior. The chemical nature of aspartame was also shown to defeat its own alleged "purpose" as a "diet aid", since high doses instill a craving for calorie-laden carbohydrates. Then, the aspartame-carbohydrate combination further increases the effect of aspartame on the brain.[15]

Fraudulent Claims of Aspartame as a "Diet Aid"

Interestingly, even the American Cancer Society confirmed that users of artificial sweeteners gained more weight than those who didn?t use the products, further undermining the supposed "purpose" for the existence of aspartame in the food.[16] Haven?t we heard this kind of criminal fraud before?

The major selling point of aspartame is as a diet aid, and it has been demonstrated that the use of this product actually causes people to consume more food. Normally, when a significant quantity of carbohydrate are comsumed, serotonin levels rise in the brain. This is manifested as a relaxed feeling after a meal. When aspartame is ingested with carbohydrates, such as having a sandwich with a diet drink, aspartame causes the brain to cease production of serotonin, meaning that the feeling of having had enough never materializes. You then eat more foods, many containing aspartame, and the cycle continues. Monsanto?s profit from its NutraSweet Division was $993 million in 1990.

Governments Continue Suppression and Coverup on Aspartame

In 1991, the National Institutes of Health.[17] listed 167 symptoms and reasons to avoid the use of aspartame , but today it is a multi-million dollar business that contributes to the degeneration of the human population, as well as the deliberate suppression of overall intelligence, short-term memory[18] and the added contribution as a carcinogenic environmental co-factor. The FDA and the Centers for Disease Control continue to receive a stream of complaints from the population about aspartane. It is the only chemical warfare weapon available in mass quantities (should keep the cone-heads happy) on the grocery shelf and promoted in the media. It has also been indicated that women with an intolerance for phenylalinine, one of the compoents of aspartame, may give birth to infants with as much as a 15% drop in intelligence level if they habitually consume products containing this dangerous substance.[19]

FAA Collusion in Suppression of Facts on Aspartame

The March 1995 issue of The Pacific Flyer published a pro-aspartame article in which it stated, "the Federal Aviation Administration conducted its own cognitive research and, according to experts, found no contraindications that would prevent pilots, or anyone, from ingesting aspartame." This flies in the face of consistent reports from pilots who maintain they have suffered severe and dangerous repercussions in the air after drinking soft drinks containing aspartame. Virtually every time, symptoms disappeared when aspartame-laced drinks were discontinued.[20] Over 600 pilots have reported this problem.

FDA "Findings" on Aspartame Remain Based on Faked Tests

So, the faked Searle tests remain. The FDA bases its findings on the faked Searle tests, and the Journal of the American Medical Association, examining the FDA findings, based on the faked Searle tests, announced "the consumption of aspartame poses no health risk for most people." Searle officials argue that the use of aspartame as an artificial sweetener "has been officially approved not only by the FDA, but by foreign regulatory agencies and the World Health Organization" - based on Searle-sponsored aspartame research, not independently conducted tests.

Symptoms of Aspartame Intoxication: Minimal to Severe

The symptoms of aspartame intoxication include severe headaches, nausea, vertigo, insomina, loss of control of limbs, blurred vision, blindness, memory loss, slurred speech, mild to severe depression often reaching suicidal levels, hyperactivity, gastrointestinal disorders, seizures, skin lesions, rashes, anxiety attacks, muscle and joint pain, numbness, mood changes, loss of energy, menstrual cramps out of cycle, hearing loss or ringing in the ears, loss or change of taste, and symptoms similar to those in a heart attack. In addition, aspartic acid chelates (combines) with chromium - which is a necessary element for proper operation of the thyroid gland. People who consume large quantities of aspartame may end up with a false diagnosis of Graves disease and suffer allopathic irradiation of their thyroid gland for no reason. Complaints about aspartame represent 80-85% of all food complaints registered with the FDA. More than 6,000 complaints have been made concerning the effects of aspartame. Thirty independent doctors and scientists have conducted research on the adverse effects of aspartame or have compiled supporting data against its use.The use of NutraSweet? or Equal? should be seriously curtailed or stopped.

Aspartame Use Part of Planetary Biomedical Genocide

The fact that tons of aspartame is pumped into the world population each year, knowingly and deliberately, especially with the historical and documented record of fraud and misrepresentation, constitutes a conspiracy of the highest order, as well as criminal negligence. The rewards of continued use are increased profits for the medical and pharmaceutical industries and chemical companies who produce aspartame and treat people suffering from the effect of it. Aspartame is the only biochemical warfare product on grocery shelves. And, the band plays on ....

Plenty more on Google if you look.

Concerning carbohydrate cravings. Think about this, which is something I never noticed before because I wasn't really looking: Have you ever noticed all the severly overweight people swilling down DIET soda? It obviously doesn't work, as confirmed by this article.

[JLM]

http://www.wnho.net/history_of_aspartame.htm

[opus88]

Thanks for posting that, JLM!

I won't touch sweeteners - haven't for many years. The sweetener controversy is completely separate from the canned soft drinks trouble. But what a double whammy for those drinking canned soda while involved in the war!

I have to laugh at the whole diet drink thing. The number of people I see with a diet drink to go along with their cheeseburger, fries and fried apple pie amazes me! In reality, the sweeteners spur the appetite, making people crave more food (especially carbs) instead of less. Such a racket, all under the phony auspices of health . . .