Assessment of MRI-Based Marker of Dopaminergic Integrity as a Biological Indicator of Gulf War Illness

Abstract

At least one in four military veterans who served in the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War continue to suffer from Gulf War illness (GWI), a complex of chronic symptoms that includes persistent headaches, memory and cognitive difficulties, widespread pain, unexplained fatigue, gastrointestinal problems, and other difficulties. Multiple findings of significant central nervous system (CNS) involvement have been reported in veterans with GWI. But despite preliminary indicators of neuronal dysfunction in the corticostriatal circuit in veterans with GWI, these pathways have not been well studied. The current study leverages existing brain imaging data from well-characterized samples of 1991 Gulf War veterans to provide in-depth assessment of the substantia nigra, basal ganglia, and cortex as markers of integrity of the nigro-striatal dopaminergic pathway using high resolution diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Due to project delays, institutional changes, and extended administrative procedures, several project changes were approved during the reporting period to support study progress and increase sample size, including addition of two study sites. The additional period needed to finalize agreements and regulatory approvals in connection with these changes necessitated a requested timeline extension to complete analyses for the study. In anticipation of approval, research staff training was underway in key procedures for MRI data processing and consolidation in order to accelerate analytic progress. Primary analyses will systematically evaluate GWI-related alterations in brainstem and basal ganglia integrity. Additional analyses will characterize etiologic and clinical correlates of dopaminergic pathway alterations, including associations with GWI symptom presentation and deployment exposures.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 2020
Accession Number
AD1113610

Entities

People

  • Lea Steele

Organizations

  • Baylor College of Medicine

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Biomedical Research
  • Brain
  • Central Nervous System
  • Data Acquisition
  • Data Analysis
  • Data Processing
  • Data Transmission
  • Department Of Defense
  • Diffusion
  • Gulfs
  • Health
  • High Resolution
  • Indicators
  • Magnetic Resonance
  • Medical Personnel
  • Nervous System
  • Neuroimaging
  • Pain
  • Persian Gulf
  • Persian Gulf Syndrome
  • Persian Gulf War
  • Sars
  • Training
  • War

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