Trial reportPloS one2023
Gulf war illness inflammation reduction trial: A phase 2 randomized controlled trial of low-dose prednisone chronotherapy, effects on health-related quality of life.
Trial report in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It has been retracted, and should not be counted. It is linked to trial NCT02506192 (Gulf War Illness Inflammation Reduction Trial), which is not on this map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Gulf War Illness Inflammation Reduction Trial
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 5 citations in OpenAlex.
- Bridging epigenetics and pharmacology through systematic reviews tailored to WBS methodology: the triangle decision-making model as a pioneering translational biological drug delivery system.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Article
- Article
- Anthrax Vaccines in the 21st Century.Vaccines · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
- Retraction · 2025-04-15Concerns/Issues about Data · Concerns/Issues about Results and/or Conclusions · Error in Analyses · Investigation by Company/Institution · Investigation by Journal/Publisher · Investigation by Third Party · Misconduct - Official Investigation(s) and/or Finding(s) · Misconduct by Author · Objections by Author(s) · Unreliable Results and/or Conclusions ·
- Retracted
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundGulf War illness (GWI) is a deployment-related chronic multisymptom illness impacting the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of many U.S. Military Veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf War. A proinflammatory blood biomarker fingerprint was discovered in our initial study of GWI. This led to the hypothesis that chronic inflammation is a component of GWI pathophysiology.
objectivesThe GWI inflammation hypothesis was tested in this Phase 2 randomized controlled trial (RCT) by measuring the effects of an anti-inflammatory drug and placebo on the HRQOL of Veterans with GWI. The trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, Identifier: NCT02506192. RCT DESIGN AND
methodsGulf War Veterans meeting the Kansas case definition for GWI were randomized to receive either 10 mg modified-release prednisone or matching placebo. The Veterans RAND 36-Item Health Survey was used to assess HRQOL. The primary outcome was a change from baseline in the physical component summary (PCS) score, a measure of physical functioning and symptoms. A PCS increase indicates improved physical HRQOL.
resultsFor subjects with a baseline PCS <40, there was a 15.2% increase in the mean PCS score from 32.9±6.0 at baseline to 37.9±9.0 after 8 weeks on modified-release prednisone. Paired t-test analysis determined the change was statistically significant (p = 0.004). Eight weeks after cessation of the treatment, the mean PCS score declined to 32.7±5.8.
conclusionsThe prednisone-associated improvement in physical HRQOL supports the GWI inflammation hypothesis. Determining the efficacy of prednisone as a treatment for GWI will require a Phase 3 RCT.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.