Resolving whether inhalation of depleted uranium contributed to Gulf War Illness using high-sensitivity mass spectrometry.

ABSTRACT: Of the hypothesized causes of Gulf War Illness (GWI), a chronic multi-symptom illness afflicting approximately 25% of military personnel deployed to the 1991 Gulf War, exposure to depleted uranium (DU) munitions has attracted international concern. Past research has not tested the potential association of GWI with inhaled DU nor used isotope mass spectrometry of sufficient sensitivity to rigorously assess prior DU exposure. We applied a standard biokinetic model to predict the urinary concentration and uranium isotopic ratios for a range of inhalation exposures. We then applied sensitive mass spectrometry capable of detecting the predicted urinary DU to 154 individuals of a population-representative sample of U.S. veterans in whom GWI had been determined by standard case definitions and DU

SUBMITTER: Parrish RR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7893152 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature