IOM and RAC Quotes: 

• "In the Veterans Benefits Act of 2010, Congress directed VA to enter into an agreement with the Institute of Medicine “to carry out a comprehensive review of the best treatments for chronic multisymptom illness in Persian Gulf War veterans.”
-“[U]nder [this] agreement, the Institute of Medicine shall convene a group of medical professionals who are experienced in treating individuals who served as members of the Armed Forces in the Southwest Asia Theater of Operations of the Persian Gulf War during 1990 or 1991 and who have been diagnosed with chronic multisymptom illness or another health condition related to chemical and environmental exposure that may have occurred during such service.” (Public Law 111-275)"

• VA’s Gulf War research program is characterized in the VA annual research report (“State of VA Research 2012: Improving Veterans’ Lives”) as “investigating whether service in the Gulf War is linked to illnesses Gulf War veterans have experienced.” The scientific literature, this Committee, and the IOM have long ago concluded that it is. Other VA research programs are characterized in the annual report in terms of solving veterans’ health problems, not investigating whether service-related problems exist. This same language is used to characterize the Gulf War research program on the VA Office of Public Health website. These are no mere words of an aberrant copywriter. They are an articulation of the philosophy that is exhibited throughout these examples. [Appendix G]"[1]

• "These actions repeat the pattern of the last twenty-one years, as has been documented in Congressional reports over this period. (See, for example, “Gulf War Veterans Illnesses: VA, DOD Continue To Resist Strong Evidence Linking Toxic Causes To Chronic Health Effects,” Nov.1997) [Appendix H]."[1]

• "Given the current state of scientific knowledge, they are particularly stark today: the refusal to implement the recommendation of the Institute of Medicine, the policy of the Secretary, and the law; the misrepresentation of scientific knowledge regarding Gulf War veterans’ health and of the effort being made to address it; the failure to acknowledge that the central health problem of this war even exists."[1]

• "The Research Advisory Committee has no confidence in the ability or demonstrated intention of VA staff to formulate and execute an effective VA Gulf War illness research program. Staff includes the Office of Research and Development, the Office of Public Health, and personnel from the DoD Office of Force Health Protection and Readiness who interface with them on this subject. The Committee recognizes the credible work conducted by many individual VA researchers, and the positive intentions of some staff members, but they are not the ones calling the shots."[1]

• "The VA Gulf War research budget has been cut by two-thirds for FY2013, from $15.0 to $4.86 million. Of the $15.0 million budgeted and approved by the Secretary and Congress for FY2012, only $4.98 million was spent. The two thirds cut was never discussed with the Research Advisory Committee, established by Congress to provide independent advice to the Secretary on proposed Gulf War health research plans [Appendix A]."[1]

• "VA research officials continue to misrepresent to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and to Congress, in the Annual Report(s) To Congress, the level of research dollars spent addressing the health of Gulf War veterans. The true figures are vastly overstated by the inclusion of funds spent on studies that have little or nothing to do with Gulf War veterans. [Appendix C]."[1]

• "The Committee recommends that the failures and obstructive actions outlined above be thoroughly investigated to identify the individuals responsible and that appropriate actions be taken to remove them from positions of authority and influence over Gulf War illness research. Until this occurs, we see no prospects for meaningful progress in VA Gulf War illness research."[1]

• "After the war, there was the potential for other exposures, including US demolition of a munitions storage complex at Khamisiyah, Iraq, which—unbeknownst to demolition troops at the time—contained stores of sarin and cyclosarin."[Institute Of Medicine, 3]
-US Government. Gulflink. Section 3: Narrative. Khamisiyah History and Operation Bragg. gulflink.osd.mil[online]. 2012. Available from: http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/khamisiyah_iii/khamisiyah_iii_s03.htm

• "Evidence strongly and consistently indicates that two Gulf War neurotoxic exposures are causally associated with Gulf War illness: 1) use of pyridostigmine bromide (PB) pills, given to protect troops from effects of nerve agents, and 2) pesticide use during deployment. Evidence includes the consistent association of Gulf War illness with PB and pesticides across studies of Gulf War veterans, identified dose-response effects, and research findings in other populations and in animal models."[RAC, 4]

• "Gulf War illness is associated with diverse biological alterations that most prominently affect the brain and nervous system. Research findings in veterans with Gulf War illness include significant differences in brain structure and function, autonomic nervous system function, neuroendocrine and immune measures, and measures associated with vulnerability to neurotoxic chemicals. There is little evidence of peripheral neuropathies in Gulf War veterans."[RAC, 4]

• "Unfortunately, symptoms that cannot be easily quantified are sometimes incorrectly dismissed as insignificant and receive inadequate attention and funding by the medical and scientific establishment. Veterans who continue to suffer from these symptoms deserve the very best that modern science and medicine can offer to speed the development of effective treatments, cures, and --we hope--prevention. Our report suggests a path forward to accomplish this goal, and we believe that through a concerted national effort and rigorous scientific input, answers can be found."[IOM, 2]

• "These alterations are the latest example of the “don’t look, don’t find” approach that has driven so much Gulf War research for two decades, focusing research on the wrong subjects, and producing limited or misleading findings."[RAC, 1]

References: 

[1] Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses. Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses Findings and Recommendation, June 2012. va.gov[online]. 2012. Available from: http://www.va.gov/RAC-GWVI/docs/Committee_Documents/CommitteeDocJune2012.pdf

[2] National Academies.News.Gulf War Service Linked to Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Multisymptom Illness, Health Problems, But Causes Unclear. nationalacademies.org[online].April 2010. Available from: http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=12835

[3] National Academies Press. Institute of Medicine. Committee on Gulf War and Health: Health Effects of Serving in the Gulf War, Update 2009. Board on Health of Select Populations. Gulf War and Health, Volume 8. nap.edu[online]. 2010. pp. 320. Available from: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12835 ISBN-10: 0-309-14921-5; ISBN-13: 978-0-309-14921-1

[4] Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses. Gulf War Illness and Health of Gulf War Veterans. Scientific Findings and Recommendations, 2008. va.gov[online]. 2012. Available from: http://www.va.gov/RAC-GWVI/docs/Committee_Documents/GWIandHealthofGWVeterans_RAC-GWVIReport_2008.pdf

[5] U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. U.S. Chemical and Biological Warfare-Related Dual-Use Exports to Iraq and Their Possible Impact on the Health Consequences of the Persian Gulf War. gulflink.osd.mil[online]. 2012. Available from: http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/medsearch/FocusAreas/riegle_report/report/report_toc.htm

[6] Golumb, Beatrice Alexandra. A Review of the Scientific Literature As It Pertains to Gulf War Illness. Volume 2: Pyridostigmine Bromide. gulflink.osd.mil[online]. 2012. Available from: http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/library/randrep/pb_paper/index.html

[7] Levin, Max. Transitory Schizophrenias Produced by Bromide Intoxication. Am J Psychiatry[online]. 1946. vol. 103(2). pp. 229-237. Available from: http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?Volume=103&page=229&journalID=13

[8] News Medical. Schizophrenia may be linked to immune function. news-medical.net[online]. August 2012. Available from: http://www.news-medical.net/news/20120807/Schizophrenia-may-be-linked-to-immune-function.aspx

[9] Keshavan, Matcheri S. MD; Nasrallah, Henry A. MD; Tandon, Rajiv MD. Moving Ahead with the Schizophrenia Concept: From the Elephant to the Mouse. Schizophr Res.[online]. 2011. vol. 127(1-3). pp. 3-13. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3391657/?tool=pmcentrez PMCID: PMC3391657 NIHMSID: NIHMS267405 doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2011.01.011

[10] Meggs, William J MD, PhD. Gulf War Study. facebook.com[online]. 2012. Available from: http://www.facebook.com/gulfwar.study

[11] Laurance, Jeremy. Scientist shocked to find antibiotics alleviate symptoms of schizophrenia. independent.co.uk[online]. March 2012. Available from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/scientists-shocked-to-find-antibiotics-alleviate-symptoms-of-schizophrenia-7469121.html

[12] GulfLink. Case Narrative. US Demolition Operations at Khamisiyah. Final Report, April 2002. gulflink.osd.mil[online]. 2012. Available from: http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/khamisiyah_iii/index.htm

[13] Jennings, Lydia. Dying Moody Veteran asks for help. Video: http://www.walb.com/story/19307548/dieing-moody-veteran?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=7625806&fb_source=message

[14] US Department of Veterans Affairs. War Related Illness and Injury Study Center (WRIISC). warrelatedillness.va.gov[online]. 2012. Available from: http://www.warrelatedillness.va.gov/

[15] United States Code. 38 USC Chapter 11- Compensation For Service-Connected Disability or Death. uscode.house.gov[online].2012. Available from: http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/38C11.txt

[16] Fulco, Carolyn E; Liverman, Catharyn T.; Sox, Harold C. National Academy Press. Committee on Health Effects Associated with Exposures During the Gulf War. Gulf War and Health: Volume 1. Depleted Uranium, Sarin, Pysidostigmine Bromide, Vaccines, 2000. nap.edu[online]. 2012. Available from: http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=9953&page=R1