View clinical trials related to Persian Gulf Syndrome.
Filter by:The study addresses the pre-clinical promise of Montelukast (MLK) for improving brain function in veterans with Gulf War Illness (GWI). MLK, a US Food and Drug administration (FDA)-approved drug for asthma, has shown efficacy in an animal model of GWI to improve cognitive and mood function through modulation of leukotriene signaling and suppression of neuroinflammation.
The investigators goals are to identify blood lipids/metabolites that correlate with cognitive decline in the presence of the APOE ε4 allele among veterans with GWI. To determine the effect of dietary, medical and biological factors that influence lipid and metabolites in blood from GW veterans. To identify blood lipid/metabolite profiles that correlate with bioenergetics deficits and glial activation in the brains of GWI. To validate blood biomarker signatures of GWI using APOE genotyping and blood lipids/metabolites that correlate with the CNS dysfunction in GWI.
This clinical trial aims to confirm previous findings from a smaller study which demonstrated significant improvements in all symptoms among veterans with Gulf War Illness after one month on the dietary intervention. The main objectives of this study are: 1) to confirm previous findings of treatment response to the diet in a larger and more diverse group; 2) to examine how changes in the nervous system may be the reason for improvement; and 3) to identify markers which change in the blood after one month on the diet. Participants will have baseline measures collected and then will be randomized into the intervention or wait-listed control group, which they will follow for one month before being reassessed.
The goal of the GWIT Study is to assess whether growth hormone replacement therapy is a safe and effective treatment for veterans with Gulf War Illness (GWI) and adult growth hormone deficiency (AGHD). The main questions the study aims to answer are: 1. Is growth hormone effective at reducing fat in the trunk of the body and symptoms of GWI among veterans with GWI and growth hormone deficiency? 2. Do the results of the study suggest there is merit in pursuing a larger trial to examine the efficacy of growth hormone as a treatment for growth hormone deficiency among veterans with Gulf War Illness? To determine eligibility for the study, veterans will be asked to complete several assessments including questionnaires, blood tests, and a scan of the brain. Participants who qualify for the study will receive recombinant human growth hormone for 6-months. A body composition scan will be performed at Day1, Day 90, and Day 180 of the intervention. Questionnaires and cognitive tests will also be collected before and after the trial.
This mechanistic study will test if NAC affects chronic oxidative stress and depletion of antioxidants in GWI participants. Blood specimen collection and neuroimaging will be used to determine whether NAC affects serum glutathione (GSH) concentration and oxidative stress in the CNS when compared to placebo.
Up to one third of the 700,000 U.S. military veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf War have Gulf War Illness (GWI), a symptom complex characterized by a combination of chronic pain, cognitive impairment, debilitating fatigue, gastrointestinal complications, and other persistent symptoms. Epidemiologic studies of 1990-1991 Gulf War veterans have identified the short but intense combined exposure to insecticides (e.g., organophosphates, DEET, permethrin), pills with anti-nerve gas agent pyridostigmine bromide (PB), and low-level chemical nerve agents as likely candidates of GWI. Animal models have shown that these neurotoxicants could induce neuroinflammation which is marked by enhanced inflammatory cytokines, and activated microglia and astrocytes. Inflammation has been linked to GWI. Secondary effects of neuroinflammation and glia activation could be excessive glutamate-mediated neuronal activation. There is currently no treatment for symptoms of GWI. Ketamine is an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist. Besides blocking activation of NMDARs, a sub-anesthetic dose (0.5 mg/kg over 40 minutes) of ketamine could be an anti-inflammatory agent, and could protect microglia and astrocytes from being activated by inflammatory agents. This low dose of ketamine has also been shown to improve fatigue within 24 hours after a single infusion, and to improve inflammatory pain. This makes ketamine a feasible candidate for the treatment of inflammation-associated symptoms of GWI. This pilot study will examine if GWI is related to NMDAR functioning, testing effects of a single 40-minute intravenous infusion of 0.5 mg/kg of ketamine on GWI symptom severity in 21 veterans of the 1990-1991 Gulf War who meet Kansas case definition criteria of GWI.
The primary aim of this study is to determine if Gulf War Illness (GWI) likely involves neuroinflammation. The investigators hypothesize that GWI involves neuroinflammation. By assessing the five neuroinflammatory outcomes across the brain, the investigators can determine if there are focal or global signs of one or more neuroinflammatory markers in the brains of individuals with GWI. This neuroimaging technique may allow investigators and others to detect cases of GWI neuroinflammation, which would improve treatment decisions as well as the development of new targeted therapies. It is an ideal diagnostic tool because it has low patient risk, is noninvasive, can be used repeatedly in longitudinal studies, provides whole-brain coverage, yields multiple independent markers of inflammation, and can be employed at most hospitals and research neuroimaging suites.
The investigator proposes to perform a Phase I study assessing safety, efficacy, and biomarker response to the therapeutic interventions of Etanercept followed by mifepristone for veterans with Gulf War Illness. The investigator will conduct and repeat the exercise challenge before treatment and on therapy to assess the impact of the interventions on homeostatic regulation and the dynamic model identified in prior studies.
This study aims to look at the long term efficacy of using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in relieving Gulf War Illness related headaches and pain.
Gulf War Illness (GWI) veterans were divided into 2 pathophysiological groups based on their orthostatic tachycardia responses after submaximal exercise. Two thirds had normal increases of 10 to 15 beats per minute between recumbent and standing both before and after exercise. These were termed the Stress Test Originated Phantom Perception (STOPP) phenotype. In contrast, one third had increases in heart rate of more than 30 beats per minute indicating that exercise induced postural tachycardia; there were the Stress Test Activated Reversible Tachycardia (START) group. This study aimed to confirm the original findings of Rayhan (2013).