NIH Study on Gulf War Illness and Health in Veterans Deployed 1990-1991 Comparing Veterans with GWI to Healthy Gulf War Veterans

What this Trial Is About

Gulf War Illness GWI affects many U.S. veterans who served in the Middle East during the 1990-1991 Gulf War, causing symptoms like fatigue, muscle and joint pain, memory problems, headaches, rashes, and sleep issues. Researchers are studying differences between veterans with GWI and those without to better understand this condition. This observational study is conducted at the NIH Clinical Center and is part of a collaboration with the Veterans Administration to explore clinical and biological features of GWI and healthy controls. Participants will stay as inpatients at the NIH Clinical Center for about 14 days to undergo extensive testing and evaluations. These include multiple blood draws, urine, saliva, and stool samples, brain, muscle, bone density, and body mass scans, exercise stress tests, muscle strength assessments, sleep studies in specialized rooms, and spinal fluid collection. Optional tests may involve additional imaging and autonomic nervous system assessments, with skin and muscle samples potentially taken. After discharge, participants will wear activity monitors for 14 days and keep a symptom diary covering fatigue, pain, and sleep. Throughout the study, researchers will use questionnaires to assess activity, emotional and mental health, memory, and behavior. The main goal is to explore and compare clinical and biological traits of veterans with GWI and healthy controls to generate new hypotheses about the illness.

NIH Investigative Deep Phenotyping Study of Gulf War Veteran Health (Project NIH IN-DEPTH)