. . . for my writing time on Thursday. Those few hours were going to be dedicated to editing my latest book, but then a news item about this latest medical discovery popped up in my mailbox. The journalist in me was intrigued, and now that it’s so incredibly easy to do research thanks to the internet, I went down a long rabbit hole.
Photo credit Pixabay
Having information literally at your fingertips can be a boon or a curse, depending on how many hours you can just, well, search. And often one site will lead to another and to another and… And who wouldn’t follow that cute little bunny?
Anyway. That’s what happened on Thursday, and I spent a good chunk of the day reading articles related to the discovery that first piqued my interest, which was this recent report from Griffith University that solves the baffling mystery around Gulf War Syndrome – most notably what may have been a major cause.
The research was conducted on the Gold Coast by Griffith University’s National Centre for Neuroimmunology and Emerging Diseases (NCNED). The results of the studies revealed the cell structures integral for transporting calcium had been altered by exposure to harmful gasses and other chemical agents during the war from 1990 to 1991. Military men and women from many countries were exposed to prophylactic anti-nerve agent drugs and various other hazardous agents, including insecticide, nerve agents, and depleted uranium.
NCNED Director and author Professor Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik said the role of calcium within cells as a signaling molecule is pivotal in regulating muscle contraction, nerve function and hormone secretion in the body.
She is quoted in the article, “The findings from our research provides clear scientific evidence that the health problems experienced by Gulf War veterans can be directly linked to their exposure to specific hazardous agents during their service.
“Our study reveals a crucial dysfunction in cell ion channels, specifically the transient receptor potential ion channels, in veterans with GWI.
“This discovery is a significant step forward in understanding this baffling and complex illness.”
PhD candidate Etianne Sasso worked with Ms. Marshall-Gradisnik on the research that led to this discovery and also contributed to the report.
Veterans of the Gulf War have suffered from symptoms such as chronic fatigue, pain, inflammation, sleep disturbances, neurological and cognitive impairment, gastrointestinal and respiratory disorders, and post-exertional malaise.
After spending a hour or more reading related articles, it became clear that many of those same symptoms are part of an array of “mysterious” conditions suffered by people who have never served in the military and seen combat, and they all have one possible cause in common -toxins.
One such condition is Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). A quick online search brought up this list of symptoms, thanks to an assist by AI:
- Fatigue: Prolonged and severe fatigue that may worsen with activity but doesn’t improve with rest
- Post-exertional malaise (PEM): Discomfort or malaise triggered by too much exercise
- Sleep disturbances: Disrupted sleep
- Neurological and cognitive impairment: Brain fog, dizziness, memory loss, problems with thinking and concentrating, and clumsiness
- Gastrointestinal and respiratory disorders: Nausea, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and allergies or sensitivities to light, smells, touch, sound, foods, chemicals, and medications
- Pain: Muscle weakness and pain, or pain or aches in the muscles, joints, or head
Fibromyalgia is another health problem that shares many of the same symptoms and can be found in people who have ME/CFS, but also in people who don’t. In addition to being manifested by an array of the same symptoms, the two conditions also share an uncertainty as to what the root cause is.
Currently, experts list the following as possible causes of ME/CFS, and that list of causes is almost the same for Fibromyalgia:
- Genetics
- Infections, such as the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), the human herpesvirus (HHV)-6, and the human parvovirus B19
- Immune system problems
- Physical or emotional trauma
- Problems with energy usage
In looking for an answer to this question: What causes immune disorders? this is what AI showed me:
- Some medications.
- Having relatives with autoimmune diseases.
- Smoking.
- Already having one autoimmune disease.
- Exposure to toxins.
- Being female — 78% of people who have an autoimmune disease are women.
- Obesity.
- Infections.
Again, there’s a real similarity between that list and what one would find when asking what causes any number of illnesses. One that is significant, in light of this new report on GWS, is the fifth one on the list and I mentioned earlier: exposure to toxins.
It’s widely known that toxins of all kinds can cause cancer. Just consider all the class-action suits against Roundup, which has been suspected of causing cancer for many years.
As of July 2024, over 80% of Roundup lawsuits have been settled, but there are still 4,285 lawsuits in multidistrict litigation that have not been settled. Some of the settlements in that first 80% to be settled by Bayer, the parent company of Roundup, include:
- 2020: Bayer offered $10.9 billion to settle 100,000 lawsuits
- 2023: Bayer paid $6.9 million to New York to settle claims that the company misled consumers about Roundup’s safety
- January 2024: A Philadelphia jury awarded $2.25 billion to a Pennsylvania man who claimed Roundup caused his non-Hodgkin lymphoma
A 2023 study by The University of California, Berkeley, found that glyphosate – a main ingredient of the weed-killer – is a probable human carcinogen. Exposure to Roundup has been linked to lymphatic cancer, otherwise known as lymphoma.
Other studies have shown that farmers have a higher rate of some cancers including leukemia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, skin cancers, and prostate cancer. Farmers that I know in South Dakota have a high rate of cancer deaths in their families & the widow of one man said she thinks the chemicals had a lot to do with her husband contracting cancer.
Despite the growing evidence that there is a problem with the chemicals used in agriculture, the military, and all kinds of manufacturing, the debate keeps rolling along. Are these toxins, especially glyphosate, safe to use? In not, is the risk of causing sickness worth the benefit of producing larger crops and more “things”? In checking articles and websites related to the debate, it’s interesting to see that sites for companies that sell pest-control products have information contrary to what comes from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is where I found the article giving the stats about farmers and cancer.
Obviously, the debate will not be settled in one little blog post. And I did wonder as I spent so much time putting this together whether I should just scrap it and post an excerpt from one of my books for a Friday Read. But then, the journalist in me said, “Just hit the publish tab already, Maryann.”
So here you have it. Information and food for thought. As always, comments are welcome. Whatever you have planned for the weekend, I hope you have a fun and restful few hours, or more, as part of it. I’ll probably be editing, as I did none yesterday. Zero. Nada. And I do want to have this new manuscript off to my publisher by the end of this month.
Be safe. Be happy.