The role of the brainstem in sleep disturbances and chronic pain of Gulf War and Iraq/Afghanistan veterans.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Gulf War Illness is a type of chronic multisymptom illness, that affects about 30% of veterans deployed to the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War. Veterans deployed to Iraq/Afghanistan after 2000 are reported to have a similar prevalence of chronic multisymptom illness. More than 30 years after the Persian Gulf War, Gulf War Illness still has an unexplained symptom complex, unknown etiology and lacks definitive diagnostic criteria and effective treatments. Our recent studies have found that substantially smaller brainstem volumes and lower fiber integrity are associated with increased sleep difficulty and pain intensity in 1990-91 Persian Gulf War veterans. This study was conducted to investigate whether veterans deployed to Iraq/Afghanistan present similar brainstem damage, and

SUBMITTER: Zhang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10800562 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature