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Various causes that have been suggested, some more likely than others:

• Depleted uranium poisoning
• the side-effects of drugs given for protection against nerve agents
• Autoimmune diseases induced by squalene, an adjuvant used in anthrax vaccines to speed up the development of anthrax immunity.
• parasites
• biological or chemical weapons whose use has not been disclosed or discovered
• fumes from oil well fires
• aspartame poisoning. Large quantities of aspartame sweetened diet soft drinks were provided to Gulf War troops, often times sitting in high temperature conditions. This artificial sweetener breaks down at roughly 85 °F (29 °C) into, among other things, methanol, formaldehydeProperties General Name Formaldehyde The center of this image represents a carbon atom. Chemical formula H C O Formula weight 30. 03 amu Synonyms methanal methyl aldehyde, methylene oxide CAS number 50-00-0 Phase behavior Melting point 156. 9 °C) Boiling, diketopiperazineDiketopirerazine (DKP) is a by-product of aspartame metabolism. DKP is formed in liquid aspartame-containing products during prolonged storage. It has been implicated in the occurrence of brain tumors and has also been implicated as a cause of uterine pol and formic acidProperties General Name Formic acid Chemical formula C H O Formula weight 46. 03 amu Synonyms methanoic acid aminic acid, hydrogencarboxylic acid CAS number 64-18-6 Phase behavior Melting point 281. 4 °C) Boiling point 373. 8°C) Triple point 281. 3°C) 0..

In November, 2004, an independent British study concluded, for the first time, that thousands of UK and US Gulf War veterans were made ill by their service. The report concluded Gulf veterans were twice as likely to suffer from ill health than if they had been deployed elsewhere. It concluded the illnesses suffered were the result of a combination of of causes. These included multiple injections of vaccines, the use of organophosphate pesticides to spray tents, low level exposure to nerve gas, and the inhalation of depleted uranium dust. [1][2]

The study is the first to suggest a direct link between military service in the Gulf and illnesses suffered by veterans of that war and directly contradicts previous theories which had suggested GWS was not a physical illness, but a response to the stresses of war. Similar syndromes have been seen as an after effect of many conflicts - for example, 'shell shock' after World War IWorld War I (also known as the First World War , the Great War the War of the Nations and the "War to End All Wars") was a world conflict occurring from 1914 to 1918. No previous conflict had mobilized so many soldiers, or involved so many in the field of, and post-traumatic stress disorder after the Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a war fought between 1957 and 1975 on the ground in South Vietnam and bordering areas of Cambodia and Laos See Secret War) and in bombing runs ( Rolling Thunder) over North Vietnam. See also the timeline of the Vietnam War. Fighting on. If this were true, the unfortunate effect is that the psychologically based therapy that might help support those affected in their very real distress, is neglected in favour of a futile search for a non-existent physical cause: and repeated studies where a particular cause is found to be unconnected become regarded as further evidence for a cover-up by the authorities.

Another possibility is that some or all of the symptoms experienced are unrelated to service in the Gulf. A study for the United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a state in Western Europe, usually known simply as the United Kingdom the UK Britain or less accurately as Great Britain . The UK was formed by a series of Acts of Union which united the formerly

Gulf and death from illness.

Although not identifying Gulf War syndrome by name, in June of 2003 the High Court of England and Wales upheld a claim by Shaun Rusling that the depression, eczema, fatigue, nausea and breathing problems that he experienced after returning from the Gulf War were attributed to his military service.

A new British study comparing 24,000 Gulf War veterans to a control group of 18,000 men found that those who had taken part in the Gulf war have lower fertility and are 40 to 50% more likely to be unable to start a pregnancy. Among Gulf war soldiers, failure to conceive was 2.5% vs. 1.7% in the control group, and the rate of miscarriage was 3.4% vs. 2.3%. These differences are small but statistically significant. [3]