5
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
1 collections
    0
    shares

      Call for Papers: Sex and Gender in Neurodegenerative Diseases

      Submit here before September 30, 2024

      About Neurodegenerative Diseases: 3.0 Impact Factor I 4.3 CiteScore I 0.695 Scimago Journal & Country Rank (SJR)

      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found

      Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis among 1991 Gulf War Veterans: Evidence for a Time-Limited Outbreak

      research-article

      Read this article at

      ScienceOpenPublisherPubMed
      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Background: In follow-up to recent reports of an elevated risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) among 1991 Gulf War veterans, we analyzed the distribution of disease onset times to determine whether the excess risk was time limited. Methods: This secondary analysis used data from a population-based series of ALS cases identified between 1991 and 2001 among the 2.5 million military personnel who were on active duty during the 1991 Gulf War. Annual standardized incidence ratios (SIR) were calculated for all cases and for those with disease onset before age 45 years. Results: Forty-eight of 124 cases occurred among those deployed to the Persian Gulf region during the war. The annual SIR for deployed military personnel did not demonstrate a monotonically increasing trend for either all cases (χ<sup>2</sup> = 0.11, d.f. = 1, p = 0.74) or for cases under 45 years of age at onset (χ<sup>2</sup> = 2.41, d.f. = 1, p = 0.12). The highest risk was observed in 1996, declining thereafter. Among military personnel who were not deployed to the Gulf region, the level of risk remained fairly constant during the 11-year period. Conclusions: The excess risk of ALS among 1991 Gulf War veterans was limited to the decade following the war.

          Related collections

          Most cited references7

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: found
          • Article: not found

          Mortality among US veterans of the Persian Gulf War: 7-year follow-up.

          To assess the long-term health consequences of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, the authors compared cause-specific mortality rates of 621,902 Gulf War veterans with those of 746,248 non-Gulf veterans, by gender, with adjustment for age, race, marital status, branch of service, and type of unit. Vital status follow-up began with the date of exit from the Persian Gulf theater (Gulf veterans) or May 1, 1991 (control veterans). Follow-up for both groups ended on the date of death or December 31, 1997, whichever came first. Cox proportional hazards models were used for the multivariate analysis. For Gulf veterans, mortality risk was also assessed relative to the likelihood of exposure to nerve gas at Khamisiyah, Iraq. Among Gulf veterans, the significant excess of deaths due to motor vehicle accidents that was observed during the earlier postwar years had decreased steadily to levels found in non-Gulf veterans. The risk of death from natural causes remained lower among Gulf veterans compared with non-Gulf veterans. This was mainly accounted for by the relatively higher number of deaths related to human immunodeficiency virus infection among non-Gulf veterans. There was no statistically significant difference in cause-specific mortality among Gulf veterans relative to potential nerve gas exposure. The risk of death for both Gulf veterans and non-Gulf veterans stayed less than half of that expected in their civilian counterparts. The authors conclude that the excess risk of mortality from motor vehicle accidents that was associated with Gulf War service has dissipated after 7 years of follow-up.
            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: found
            • Article: found

            Estimating the Occurrence of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis among Gulf War (1990–1991) Veterans Using Capture-Recapture Methods

            Objective: Using data from a recent report that indicated a 2-fold higher risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) among veterans of the 1991 Gulf War, we applied capture-recapture methodology to estimate possible under-ascertainment of ALS cases among deployed and non-deployed military personnel who were on active duty during that war. Study Design and Setting: One of the most serious concerns facing field epidemiological investigations is that of case ascertainment bias, particularly when it is differential among the study groups. Capture-recapture methods, however, have promise as an approach to assessing the impact of case ascertainment bias in such studies. To overcome potential limitations of any one approach, three different estimation methods were used: log-linear models, sample coverage, and ecological models, to obtain a comprehensive view of under-ascertainment bias in these populations. Results: All three approaches indicated differential undercount of ALS cases with modest under-ascertainment likely to have occurred among non-deployed military personnel, but little under-ascertainment among the deployed. After correcting the rates for under-ascertainment, the age-adjusted risk of ALS remained elevated among military personnel who had been deployed to S.W. Asia during the 1991 Gulf War, confirming the earlier report. Conclusions: Capture-recapture methods are a useful approach to assessing the magnitude of case ascertainment bias in epidemiological studies from which ascertainment-adjusted estimates of rates and relative risks can be calculated.
              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: found
              • Article: found

              Use of Stable Isotopes to Assess Protein and Amino Acid Metabolism in Children and Adolescents: A Brief Review

              As protein accretion is a prerequisite for growth, studying the mechanisms by which nutrients and hormones promote protein gain is of the utmost relevance to paediatric endocrinology. Tracers are ideally suited for the assessment of protein and amino acid kinetics in vivo, as they provide an estimate of synthesis and turnover. Current tracer approaches in children and adolescents utilize stable isotopes, ‘heavier’ forms of elements that have one or several extra neutrons in the nucleus. Such isotopes are already present at low, but significant, levels in all tissues and foodstuffs, are not radioactive and are devoid of any known side-effects when present in small amounts. L-[1- 13 C] labelled leucine, given as a 4- to 6-h intravenous infusion, has become the method of choice to assess whole-body protein kinetics. After infusion, any 13 C-leucinethat is oxidized appears in the breath as 13 CO 2 , whereas the remainder is incorporated into body proteins through protein synthesis. The isotope enrichments are determined by isotope ratio mass spectrometry and gas chromatography mass spectrometry, and absolute rates of whole-body protein synthesis, oxidation, and breakdown can be extrapolated. This approach has been used extensively to investigate the regulation of protein kinetics by nutrients and by hormones. Attempts have also been made to measure amino acid/protein metabolism in selected body compartments, and to measure the kinetics of specific tissue proteins, for example, muscle, gut, or plasma proteins.
                Bookmark

                Author and article information

                Journal
                NED
                Neuroepidemiology
                10.1159/issn.0251-5350
                Neuroepidemiology
                S. Karger AG
                0251-5350
                1423-0208
                2008
                July 2008
                06 June 2008
                : 31
                : 1
                : 28-32
                Affiliations
                aDepartment of Public Health Sciences and Institute for the Study of Health and Department of Neurology, University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Cincinnati,Ohio, bCenter for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, cDepartment of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, dDepartment of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C., and eDepartment of Neurology, Lexington Veterans Affairs Medical Center and University of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky., USA
                Article
                136648 Neuroepidemiology 2008;31:28–32
                10.1159/000136648
                18535397
                72770101-f8b4-4974-a832-d13eb984f3f2
                © 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel

                Copyright: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be translated into other languages, reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, microcopying, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Drug Dosage: The authors and the publisher have exerted every effort to ensure that drug selection and dosage set forth in this text are in accord with current recommendations and practice at the time of publication. However, in view of ongoing research, changes in government regulations, and the constant flow of information relating to drug therapy and drug reactions, the reader is urged to check the package insert for each drug for any changes in indications and dosage and for added warnings and precautions. This is particularly important when the recommended agent is a new and/or infrequently employed drug. Disclaimer: The statements, opinions and data contained in this publication are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publishers and the editor(s). The appearance of advertisements or/and product references in the publication is not a warranty, endorsement, or approval of the products or services advertised or of their effectiveness, quality or safety. The publisher and the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content or advertisements.

                History
                : 03 December 2007
                : 18 March 2008
                Page count
                Figures: 2, References: 19, Pages: 5
                Categories
                Original Paper

                Geriatric medicine,Neurology,Cardiovascular Medicine,Neurosciences,Clinical Psychology & Psychiatry,Public health
                Gulf War,Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,Motor neuron disease,Veterans

                Comments

                Comment on this article