ArticlePloS one2019
Metabolic features of Gulf War illness.
Article in PloS one, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers.
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Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 45 citations in OpenAlex.
- Reframing ME/CFS: toward a unified mechanistic model of chronic post-infectious diseases.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Review
- Spermidine Attenuates Neuroimmune Dysfunction in Gulf War Illness via Modulation of the Gut- Brain Axis.Molecular neurobiology · 2026Article
- Genomic interplay between deployment exposures and Gulf War illness in Million Veteran Program participants.Human genomics · 2026Article
- Investigating the Eye as a Biomarker of Gulf War Illness: Sphingolipid and Eicosanoid Composition in Tears and Plasma.Biomolecules · 2025Article
- Age- and sex-associated effects of C18 ceramide sphingolipids on osteoclastogenesis in experimental models of Gulf War Illness.Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie · 2025Article
- Evaluation of the Therapeutic Potential of Synthetic Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone Antagonist MIA-690 as a Cognitive Modulator in a Mouse Model of Gulf War Illness.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in Gulf War Veterans in Relation to Deployment Exposures.Cardiovascular toxicology · 2025Article
- Exertional Exhaustion (Post-Exertional Malaise, PEM) Evaluated by the Effects of Exercise on Cerebrospinal Fluid Metabolomics-Lipidomics and Serine Pathway in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Dysregulation of lipid metabolism, energy production, and oxidative stress in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, Gulf War Syndrome and fibromyalgia.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Review
- Article
- Metabolomic profiling of cancer-related fatigue involved in cachexia and chemotherapy.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Susceptibility to radiation adverse effects in veterans with Gulf War illness and healthy civilians.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Metabolic features of treatment-refractory major depressive disorder with suicidal ideation.Translational psychiatry · 2023Article
- Adverse effect propensity: A new feature of Gulf War illness predicted by environmental exposures.iScience · 2023Article
- Mitochondrial impairment but not peripheral inflammation predicts greater Gulf War illness severity.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Seasonal Changes in Serum Metabolites in Multiple Sclerosis Relapse.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Bioenergetic function is decreased in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of veterans with Gulf War Illness.PloS one · 2023Observational
- A pilot reverse virtual screening study suggests toxic exposures caused long-term epigenetic changes in Gulf War Illness.Computational and structural biotechnology journal · 2022Article
- Brain-Specific Increase in Leukotriene Signaling Accompanies Chronic Neuroinflammation and Cognitive Impairment in a Model of Gulf War Illness.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Article
- Pyridostigmine bromide, chlorpyrifos, and DEET combined Gulf War exposure insult depresses mitochondrial function in neuroblastoma cells.Journal of biochemical and molecular toxicology · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMore than 230,000 veterans-about 1/3 of US personnel deployed in the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War-developed chronic, multi-symptom health problems now called "Gulf War illness" (GWI), for which mechanisms and objective diagnostic signatures continue to be sought.
methodsTargeted, broad-spectrum serum metabolomics was used to gain insights into the biology of GWI. 40 male participants, included 20 veterans who met both Kansas and CDC diagnostic criteria for GWI and 20 nonveteran controls without similar symptoms that were 1:1 matched to GWI cases by age, sex, and ethnicity. Serum samples were collected and archived at -80° C prior to testing. 358 metabolites from 46 biochemical pathways were measured by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry.
resultsVeterans with GWI, compared to healthy controls, had abnormalities in 8 of 46 biochemical pathways interrogated. Lipid abnormalities accounted for 78% of the metabolic impact. Fifteen ceramides and sphingomyelins, and four phosphatidylcholine lipids were increased. Five of the 8 pathways were shared with the previously reported metabolic phenotype of males with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). However, 4 of the 5 shared pathways were regulated in opposite directions; key pathways that were up-regulated in GWI were down-regulated in ME/CFS. The single pathway regulated in the same direction was purines, which were decreased.
conclusionsOur data show that despite heterogeneous exposure histories, a metabolic phenotype of GWI was clearly distinguished from controls. Metabolomic differences between GWI and ME/CFS show that common clinical symptoms like fatigue can have different chemical mechanisms and different diagnostic implications. Larger studies will be needed to validate these findings.
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