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Similar symptoms found in the veterans were the same symptoms reported for individuals in occupational settings who were acutely poisoned by organophosphates, such as chlorpyrifos. Studies found veterans experienced deficits in intellectual and academic abilities, simple motor skills, memory impairment, and impaired emotional function.
According to an April 2010 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) sponsored study conducted by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), part of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, 250,000 [8] of the 696,842 U.S. servicemen and women in the 1991 Gulf War continue to be affected by chronic multi-symptom illness, which the IOM now refers to as Gulf War illness.
Organophosphate-induced delayed neuropathy (OPIDN), also called organophosphate-induced delayed polyneuropathy (OPIDP), is a neuropathy caused by killing of neurons in the central nervous system, especially in the spinal cord, as a result of acute or chronic organophosphate poisoning.
The Department of Veterans Affairs provides support to Gulf War vets without the need for direct link between their illnesses and their service time
VX is an extremely toxic synthetic chemical compound in the organophosphorus class, specifically, a thiophosphonate.In the class of nerve agents, it was developed for military use in chemical warfare after translation of earlier discoveries of organophosphate toxicity in pesticide research.
As a result of cholinergic crisis, the muscles stop responding to the high synaptic levels of ACh, leading to flaccid paralysis, respiratory failure, and other signs and symptoms reminiscent of organophosphate poisoning. Other symptoms include increased sweating, salivation, bronchial secretions along with miosis (constricted pupils).
Some troops leave the battlefield injured. Others return from war with mental wounds. Yet many of the 2 million Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suffer from a condition the Defense Department refuses to acknowledge: Moral injury.
It is not fear but exposure that causes moral injury – an experience or set of experiences that can provoke mild or intense grief, shame and guilt. The symptoms are similar to PTSD: depression and anxiety, difficulty paying attention, an unwillingness to trust anyone except fellow combat veterans.