# VA Biorepository: Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses Biorepository

> **NIH VA I01** · VA BOSTON HEALTH CARE SYSTEM · 2020 · —

## Abstract

Twenty-seven years have passed since the end of the 1990-1991 Gulf War (GW). The youngest of the
approximately 700,000 Gulf War Veterans (GWV) who served in that war are now 45 years old and about half
are age 55 and older. In addition to the usual age-related comorbidities, as many as one third of the men and
women who served in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm during the GW have experienced chronic,
multisystem illnesses collectively known as Gulf War Illness (GWI). Prevalent complaints are central nervous
system (CNS) dysfunction, musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, respiratory symptoms, gastrointestinal issues,
immunological dysfunction, and skin problems. Furthermore, GWVs have been shown to have elevated rates
of brain cancer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), stroke, migraine headaches, neuralgia and neuritis.
Additionally, recent anecdotal evidence from our group and other Boston colleagues suggests that mild
traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) may be more prevalent in GWVs than previously appreciated, which may
increase risk for long term sequelae such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and dementia.
Neurobehavioral findings include memory problems, executive system deficits, slowed motor and processing
speeds, sustained attention deficits, reduced visuospatial skills and psychomotor dysfunction. Given the
spectrum of deficits noted above, combined with evidence of structural and functional abnormalities on
neuroimaging, it is likely that neuropathological changes also occur in GWI. Several environmental exposures
have been implicated as potential contributors to GWI including exposure to acetylcholinesterase (AChE)
inhibitors such as pyridostigmine bromide (PB; anti-nerve gas pills) and organophosphate (OP)
pesticides/nerve agents (e.g., sarin/cyclosarin). Given the issues raised above, there is a critical need for a
GWI CNS postmortem tissue biorepository that will conduct extensive ante mortem longitudinal assessments
on GWVs enrolled prior to their passing. Our first specific aim is to continue and enhance the Gulf War
Veterans’ Illnesses Biorepository (GWVIB) as a national resource to support research on the etiology
and pathogenesis of GWI and associated neurological disorders, and our second aim is to leverage the
GWVIB as a value-added resource for all GWI research studies by co-enrolling GWVS from these
cohorts and providing long term follow up and brain banking. Well-characterized postmortem CNS tissue
when combined with antemortem health data and biological assessments (such as ApoE genotype and serum
PON1 activity) will be invaluable to advance research on GWI. The GWVIB is a multi-site collaboration among
VA Boston Healthcare System (VABHS) and the Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System (SAVAHCS). The
GWVIB will utilize strengths across the Boston and Tucson sites in enrollment, tissue collection, processing,
storage, neuropathological diagnosis, medical informatics and data management. VABHS will serve as the
opera...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9890042
- **Project number:** 2I01BX003063-05A1
- **Recipient organization:** VA BOSTON HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
- **Principal Investigator:** Christopher B Brady
- **Activity code:** I01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2014-10-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9890042

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9890042, VA Biorepository: Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses Biorepository (2I01BX003063-05A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9890042. Licensed CC0.

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