Gulf War illness not in veterans' heads, but in their mitochondria

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-03/uoc--gwi032414.php

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 27-Mar-2014

Contact: Scott LaFee
University of California - San Diego

Gulf War illness not in veterans' heads, but in their mitochondria

Researchers at the UC San Diego School of Medicine have demonstrated for the first time that veterans of the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War who suffer from "Gulf War illness" have impaired function of mitochondria – the energy powerhouses of cells.

The findings, published in the March 27, 2014 issue of PLOS ONE, could help lead to new treatments benefitting affected individuals – and to new ways of protecting servicepersons (and civilians) from similar problems in the future, said principal investigator Beatrice A. Golomb MD, PhD, professor of medicine.

Golomb, with associate Hayley Koslik and Gavin Hamilton, PhD, a research scientist and magnetic resonance physicist, used the imaging technology to compare Gulf War veterans with diagnosed Gulf War illness to healthy controls. Cases were matched by age, sex and ethnicity.

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