Vagus Nerve Stimulation: A Non Invasive Treatment To Improve The Health Of Gulf Veterans With Gulf War Illness

Abstract

Gulf War Illness [GWI] is a condition occurring in some veterans who served in the 1990-1991 Gulf War. To date there is no specific treatment for it. A major complaint of veteran subjects with GWI is widespread pain and achiness. Currently some drugs are available to treat these symptoms, but these treatments have three major drawbacks they dont work on all patients; their effect often does not last more than a few months; and the side effects they produce are often so bad that patients stop taking them. The purpose of this study is to test a new method of test a new method of treating the widespread pain complaint of Gulf Veterans with GWI using a hand-held neuro-stimulator device that activates a nerve in the neck called the vagus. The goal of this study is to determine whether the active device (which does stimulate the vagus nerve) reduces widespread pain in veterans with GWI in comparison to using an inactive device(which does not stimulate the vagus nerve). We will also test to see if the active device improves migraine which commonly occurs with widespread pain in GWI.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 2020
Accession Number
AD1100547

Entities

People

  • Benjamin H. Natelson

Organizations

  • Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Databases
  • Department Of Defense
  • Digital Media
  • Diseases And Disorders
  • Electric Stimulation Therapy
  • Electronic Mail
  • Headache Disorders
  • Health Care
  • Health Services
  • Institutional Review Board
  • Medical Personnel
  • Patent Applications
  • Persian Gulf Syndrome
  • Professional Development
  • Side Effects
  • Vagus Nerve
  • Websites

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

Readers

  • Mental Health of Military Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Risk Factors, Prevalence, Symptoms, and Treatment.
  • Neurotrauma and Rehabilitation Medicine.