And questions that could not be answered, are answered. It explains why veterans remain sick almost a decade after the War, long after their initiating exposures. It explains why symptoms wax and wane unpredictably as daily exposures wax and wane. During the next two weeks, each patient is exposed to potential triggers such as caffeine, gasoline, perfume, various foods, medications, and tobacco smoke one at a time, to determine what is setting them off. Epidemiological data and literature reviews can only go so far in determining the nature of a new disease process.
New paradigms require new approaches, and new tools.
EMU studies will enable doctors to witness this disease mechanism firsthand and understand Gulf War illness for what it is, while providing a built-in treatment component one that enables veterans to understand their disease and emerge less confused, less hopeless, and more in control of their lives. References Ashford NA, Miller CS, 1998. John Wiley and Sons, New York. Golomb, BA. 1999. A review of the scientific literature as it pertains to Gulf War illnesses.