originally isolated from sharks could
explain Gulf War syndrome. Blood tests
on sick veterans in the US show that
nearly all produce antibodies to
squalene, a component of some
experimental vaccines.
Congress's General Accounting Office
(GAO), which was asked to investigate,
can't say for sure whether squalene was
used on Gulf War troops. But it is now
demanding further tests for squalene
antibodies in military personnel. The
Department of Defense is opposed to
this.
Around 100 000 troops who served in
the 1991 Gulf conflict with Iraq
developed a mysterious illness involving
memory loss, thyroid disorders,
allergies, fatigue, rashes and persistent
pain. Military authorities and sufferers
have long argued over the cause of the
symptoms and whether a distinct
syndrome even exists.
Bob Garry, a virologist at Tulane
University in New Orleans, has now
tested 400 Gulf War veterans for
antibodies to squalene, a polymer of
fatty acids found in small quantities in
human cell membranes. Ninety-five per
cent of the veterans suffering from Gulf
War syndrome (GWS) had high levels
of squalene antibodies. People don't
usually have enough squalene in their
blood to prompt the production of
detectable levels of antibodies, and none
of the veterans without symptoms had
antibodies. Garry's results have been
peer reviewed, he says, and await
publication.
Squalene can be released into the blood
by physical injuries, where it boosts the
immune system's response to foreign
antigens. This "adjuvant" effect means it
is widely used in animal vaccines.
Squalene is not licensed for use as an
adjuvant in people, although it has been
used experimentally on about 12 000
people.
Garry also tested two volunteers who
had received experimental herpes
vaccines containing squalene in trials
run by the US National Institutes of
Health. Both have high levels of
squalene antibodies and symptoms
similar to GWS. This suggests that GWS
could be caused by the body turning
against its own, natural squalene.
Jim Turner, a spokesman for the
Department of Defense, says: "During
the Gulf War, we never used squalene
in vaccines." But many soldiers'
vaccination records have been lost,
which makes this difficult to verify. Jack
Metcalf, a Republican member of
Congress from Washington state, who
asked the GAO to investigate, says: "In
light of the number of misstatements
DoD made to the GAO during this
investigation, we cannot be expected to
simply accept their denial of squalene
use."
Vaccines have often come under
suspicion as a cause of GWS. Gulf War
soldiers were the first to be
systematically vaccinated against
anthrax and plague because Iraq was
thought to have biological weapons.
France was the only country not to
vaccinate its troops, and only French
veterans are free of GWS. In January,
researchers at King's College Hospital in
London reported that exposure to
plague and anthrax vaccines was the
factor that correlated most strongly with
GWS in British veterans. GWS activists
claim that some British soldiers received
American vaccines.
GWS has also been blamed on exposure
to chemicals in Iraq. But Garry found
squalene antibodies in six soldiers who
were vaccinated but never went to the
Gulf.
The Gulf War Veterans Association,
based in Versailles, Missouri, suspects
that most cases of GWS were caused by
experimental vaccines. If so, says the
association's Dave vonKleist, this would
violate the Nuremberg Convention.
"Military personnel are not subjects for
experimentation", he says.
