Gulf War Syndrome Cause Mystery

About one-third of the nearly 700,000 U.S. troops who served in the 1990 to 1991 Gulf War have reported a chronic multisymptom illness now called Gulf War illness or Gulf War syndrome. Veterans have described problems such as fatigue, muscle and joint pain, memory trouble, and cognitive symptoms, and those patterns have shown up consistently in major research reviews. Scientists no longer doubt that the illness is real, but they still argue over its exact cause, with current research focusing on toxic exposures and biological susceptibility rather than a single settled explanation.

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