Identifying Objective Diagnostic Markers of Gulf War Illness: Salivary and Plasma Autoantibodies Against Neural Proteins Validated with Brain Imaging
Abstract
Description of the scientific objective and rationale for proposed project: During the Persian Gulf War (GW), thousands of military personnel may have been exposed to the nerve agent, sarin. Twenty years after the war, GW Illness (GWI)-associated symptoms remain a substantial source of pain and discomfort for thousands of Service personnel. There are, however, no proven diagnostic techniques to identify this illness. We plan to use our recently developed serum biomarkers to diagnose individuals with nervous system injury, a characteristic of GWI using saliva and investigate the pathophysiological characteristics of the GWI. We propose to identify and quantify the presence of circulating IgG-class autoantibodies against nervous system-specific proteins in sera from our rat-model for GWI following treatment with sarin. One of the most troubling aspects of the “signature injury” of the Gulf War is the anecdotal clinical time course of the illnesses. While many people exposed to sarin show short-term improvement in symptoms, there may be unexplained long-term decline largely associated with brain injury. Description of the ultimate applicability of the research: Type of Patients: According to an analysis carried out by the Department of Defense, approximately one-third of the U.S. Service members that participated in the GW were exposed to sarin when a weapons dump was destroyed after the GW. Furthermore, other studies suggested that such exposure might cause long-term brain injury. Although more than 20 years have passed since their exposure, thousands of these Veterans still have the same complaints. However, there is no current diagnostic technique that is useful to differentiate between acute/chronic neurological deficits. This high prevalence of neurological deficits among GW Veterans and the potential for similar effects among terrorism victims underscores the need for accurate assessments of the course and progression of sarin-exposed victims. Potential clinical applications, benefits, and risks: Although tens of thousands of U.S. military personnel had similar complaints of many symptoms, many of which are consistent of nervous system injury that has always been difficult to diagnose. We propose to use autoantibody serum biomarkers against nervous system-specific proteins in plasma and saliva to diagnose the time course of acute and chronic sarin-induced nervous system injury. This is non-invasive test that would be available, easy to apply to masses of patients, and would be very cost-effective. It is a sensitive test that, to some extent allows the identification of the site of injury in the nervous system. It does not require costly instruments or specialized technician. The test can be run in any laboratory in many hospitals. The projected time it may take to achieve a patient-related outcome: We believe that once the objectives in the current proposal are completed and met, we can transition this work to clinical practice in order to test sera from GW Veterans with GWI. We expect that Veterans with GWI to begin tested immediately to confirm brain injury. Because the test does not require expensive and specialized equipment, it can be administered as soon as we obtain our results. The likely contributions of this study in advancing the field of GWI: This study intends to develop a noninvasive, low-cost, reliable, and accurate blood/saliva test for GWI. The test would use autoantibody serum biomarkers against nervous system-specific proteins to diagnose the time course of brain injury. The test would not require costly instruments or specialized technicians allowing it to be incorporated into Gulf War Veterans’ routine health care. Follow-up studies might lead to the development of drugs to treat neuronal injury as well as provide clinical tools for monitoring the therapeutic efficacy of treatments. The development of a diagnostic technique that could establish chronic ne
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jul 16, 2019
- Source ID
- W81XWH1910465
Entities
People
- Mohamed B. Abou Donia
Organizations
- Duke University
- United States Army