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A scientist whose findings have been supported by the American Joint Chiefs of Staff yesterday detailed how some Gulf War veterans complaining of post-conflict illnesses had been found to have brain damage.

Robert Haley, from the University of Texas, told the independent Gulf War Illnesses inquiry in London that his findings were the first sign of physical injury associated with the syndrome.


Robert Haley
His conclusions - which he suggests are due to low-level exposure to nerve agents - paves the way for a medical test which would determine if servicemen are suffering from an illness unique to the conflict. The US Department of Defense recently authorized a further $5 million to explore his findings, which earlier this year were also presented to Congress.

However, Dr Haley warned that further research had to be done before a definitive diagnosis could be made.

He told the inquiry, headed by Lord Lloyd of Berwick, how he examined a colonel in the US Army rangers, Bill Davis, who had developed neurological illnesses soon after returning from the 1991 conflict.

He found that Col Davis had lost nerve cells in the basal ganglia structures, two small areas in the brain which determine cognitive thinking and balance. Subsequent research on 43 servicemen (23 of whom were ill) found similar damage. "It is statistically significant," he said.

                  

Dr Haley said those veterans who showed the most damage to the basal ganglia had been in north-east Saudi Arabia on the fourth day of the air war. Bombing of Iraqi military sites in that period is believed to have destroyed chemical weapons stockpiles, blowing small doses towards coalition troops.

The inquiry continues.