A destroyed Iraqi tank sits near oil well fires in northern
Kuwait during the Gulf War in 1991. Gulf War illness has
affected more than 250,000 veterans of the 1991 war against
Iraq. / AP file photo by David Longstreath WASHINGTON -
Researchers say they have found physical proof that Gulf War
illness is caused by damage to the brain - and that proof may
ultimately help civilians who suffer from chronic fatigue
syndrome and fibromyalgia. Using fMRI machines, the Georgetown
University researchers were able to see anomalies in the bundle
of nerve fibers that interpret pain signals in the brain in 31
Gulf War veterans. The research will be published Wednesday in
PLOS ONE journal. The findings are "huge," because an fMRI
allows doctors to diagnose a person with Gulf War illness
quickly, said James Baraniuk, senior author and professor of
medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center. The research,
he said, also shows that Gulf War illness is not psychological.
An fMRI, or "functional" MRI, is a scan that measur