Brain strain and the Gulf war.(research in Israel indicates that Gulf-war veterans are more likely to experience weaker brain barrier defenses)(Science and Technology)(Brief Article)

Economist (US), The, January, 1997

THOUSANDS of British and American veterans are busy lobbying their reluctant governments to keep an open mind about "Gulf-war syndrome", a controversial collection of symptoms including respiratory disease, skin disorders and fatigue. It seems, however, that war may open some soldiers' minds, too-in many cases a little too literally. Research in Israel by Alon Friedman at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, in Beersheva, and Hermona Soreq at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem suggests that stress may cause soldiers' blood-brain barriers to leak.

In a recent paper in Nature Medicine, Dr Friedman and Dr Soreq follow up an earlier observation that Israeli soldiers from the Gulf-war period are three times more likely than peacetime volunteers to experience...

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