Low-level exposure to sarin gas during the Persian Gulf war in 1991 may have caused lasting brain problems in the more than 100,000 American troops exposed to the gas, says a study by scientists working with the U.S. Defense Department.
The preliminary findings, to be published in the June issue of the journal NeuroToxicology, found that troops exposed to the sarin gas showed changes in the brain's connective tissue, or white matter, The New York Times reported.
These brain changes -- less white matter and slightly larger brain cavities -- were more pronounced in troops who had greater exposure to the gas.
The gas was released when U.S. soldiers exploded two large Iraqi army stockpiles of ammunition and missiles, some of which contained the nerve gases sarin and cyclosarin. Based on the size of the plume and wind patterns, U.S. officials estimated that more than 100,000 American troops may have been exposed to at least small amounts of the gases.
The new study may renew debate about why so many American troops who served in the Persian Gulf war have suffered unexplained health problems, the Times reported. Several U.S. lawmakers who've been briefed on the study say the findings mean the Department of Veterans Affairs is now obligated to provide increased neurological care to veterans who may have been exposed to sarin.
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