Veterans of Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield - the 1991 Gulf War (GW) - are a unique population who returned from theater with multiple health complaints and disorders. Studies in the U.S. and elsewhere have consistently concluded that approximately 25-32% of this population suffers from a disorder characterized by symptoms that vary somewhat among individuals and include fatigue, headaches, cognitive dysfunction, musculoskeletal pain, and respiratory, gastrointestinal and dermatologic complaints. Gulf War illness (GWI) is the term used to describe this disorder. In addition, brain cancer occurs at increased rates in subgroups of GW veterans, as do neuropsychological and brain imaging abnormalities. Chemical exposures have become the focus of etiologic GWI research because nervous system symptoms are prominent and many neurotoxicants were present in theater, including organophosphates (OPs), carbamates, and other pesticides; sarin/cyclosarin nerve agents, and pyridostigmine bromide (PB) medications used as prophylaxis against chemical warfare attacks. Psychiatric etiologies have been ruled out. This paper reviews the recent literature on the health of 1991 GW veterans, focusing particularly on the central nervous system and on effects of toxicant exposures. In addition, it emphasizes research published since 2008, following on an exhaustive review that was published in that year that summarizes the prior literature (RACGWI, 2008). We conclude that exposure to pesticides and/or to PB are causally associated with GWI and the neurological dysfunction in GW veterans. Exposure to sarin and cyclosarin and to oil well fire emissions are also associated with neurologically based health effects, though their contribution to development of the disorder known as GWI is less clear. Gene-environment interactions are likely to have contributed to development of GWI in deployed veterans. The health consequences of chemical exposures in the GW and other conflicts have been called "toxic wounds" by veterans. This type of injury requires further study and concentrated treatment research efforts that may also benefit other occupational groups with similar exposure-related illnesses.

Neurons in the central and peripheral nervous system, including the peripheral autonomic neurons, and neurons of the diffuse gastroenteric nervous system communicate chemically at specialized junctions called synapses. The agents released by the presynaptic neurons to communicate activity to the postsynaptic neuron are called neurotransmitters.

This chapter overviews the field of neuroscience, the structure of the scientific disciplines that constitute the field, the organization of the brain, and the major areas of current research in the neurosciences at the molecular, cellular, systems, and behavioral levels of resolution. The chapter concludes with an overview of pathophysiology of brain disease and bio-medical ethical considerations pertinent to those who investigate the brain.

Previous articleNext article No AccessNew Biological BooksExperimental Models in Serotonin Transporter Research. Edited by Allan V. Kalueff and Justin L. LaPorte. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. $110.00. xii + 367 p. + 8 pl.; ill.; index. ISBN: 978-0-521-51487-3. 2010.Floyd E. BloomFloyd E. BloomMolecular & Integrative Neuroscience, Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California Search for more articles by this author Molecular & Integrative Neuroscience, Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CaliforniaPDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The Quarterly Review of Biology Volume 86, Number 1March 2011 Published in association with Stony Brook University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/658437 Views: 11Total views on this site Copyright © 2011 by The University of Chicago Press. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Throughout his long productive scientific career, Erminio Costa demonstrated several scholarly traits that illustrate a pattern for paths of successful achievement that should guide young scientists. Not only did he seek excellent training, he got and gave good mentoring. That guidance allowed him to ask important questions and to develop the methods necessary to obtain definitive answers by pursuing those questions in depth. Without question, he blazed trails in neuropharmacology that have been an inspiration to many others and me.This article is part of a Special Issue entitled 'Trends in Neuropharmacology: In Memory of Erminio Costa'.