Resolving whether inhalation of depleted uranium contributed to Gulf War Illness using high-sensitivity mass spectrometry

Abstract Of the hypothesized causes of Gulf War Illness (GWI), a chronic multi-symptom illness afflicting approximately 25% of military personnel deployed to the 1991 Gulf War, exposure to depleted uranium (DU) munitions has attracted international concern. Past research has not tested the potential...

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Autores principales:	Randall R. Parrish, Robert W. Haley
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/50db202b34454e32a6847d1ac6266916
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:50db202b34454e32a6847d1ac62669162021-12-02T12:11:52ZResolving whether inhalation of depleted uranium contributed to Gulf War Illness using high-sensitivity mass spectrometry10.1038/s41598-021-82535-32045-2322https://doaj.org/article/50db202b34454e32a6847d1ac62669162021-02-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82535-3https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Of the hypothesized causes of Gulf War Illness (GWI), a chronic multi-symptom illness afflicting approximately 25% of military personnel deployed to the 1991 Gulf War, exposure to depleted uranium (DU) munitions has attracted international concern. Past research has not tested the potential association of GWI with inhaled DU nor used isotope mass spectrometry of sufficient sensitivity to rigorously assess prior DU exposure. We applied a standard biokinetic model to predict the urinary concentration and uranium isotopic ratios for a range of inhalation exposures. We then applied sensitive mass spectrometry capable of detecting the predicted urinary DU to 154 individuals of a population-representative sample of U.S. veterans in whom GWI had been determined by standard case definitions and DU inhalation exposures obtained by medical history. We found no difference in the 238U/235U ratio in veterans meeting the standard case definitions of GWI versus control veterans, no differences by levels of DU inhalation exposure, and no 236U associated with DU was detected. These findings show that even the highest likely levels of DU inhalation played no role in the development of GWI, leaving exposure to aerosolized organophosphate compounds (pesticides and sarin nerve agent) as the most likely cause(s) of GWI.Randall R. ParrishRobert W. HaleyNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Randall R. Parrish Robert W. Haley Resolving whether inhalation of depleted uranium contributed to Gulf War Illness using high-sensitivity mass spectrometry
description	Abstract Of the hypothesized causes of Gulf War Illness (GWI), a chronic multi-symptom illness afflicting approximately 25% of military personnel deployed to the 1991 Gulf War, exposure to depleted uranium (DU) munitions has attracted international concern. Past research has not tested the potential association of GWI with inhaled DU nor used isotope mass spectrometry of sufficient sensitivity to rigorously assess prior DU exposure. We applied a standard biokinetic model to predict the urinary concentration and uranium isotopic ratios for a range of inhalation exposures. We then applied sensitive mass spectrometry capable of detecting the predicted urinary DU to 154 individuals of a population-representative sample of U.S. veterans in whom GWI had been determined by standard case definitions and DU inhalation exposures obtained by medical history. We found no difference in the 238U/235U ratio in veterans meeting the standard case definitions of GWI versus control veterans, no differences by levels of DU inhalation exposure, and no 236U associated with DU was detected. These findings show that even the highest likely levels of DU inhalation played no role in the development of GWI, leaving exposure to aerosolized organophosphate compounds (pesticides and sarin nerve agent) as the most likely cause(s) of GWI.
format	article
author	Randall R. Parrish Robert W. Haley
author_facet	Randall R. Parrish Robert W. Haley
author_sort	Randall R. Parrish
title	Resolving whether inhalation of depleted uranium contributed to Gulf War Illness using high-sensitivity mass spectrometry
title_short	Resolving whether inhalation of depleted uranium contributed to Gulf War Illness using high-sensitivity mass spectrometry
title_full	Resolving whether inhalation of depleted uranium contributed to Gulf War Illness using high-sensitivity mass spectrometry
title_fullStr	Resolving whether inhalation of depleted uranium contributed to Gulf War Illness using high-sensitivity mass spectrometry
title_full_unstemmed	Resolving whether inhalation of depleted uranium contributed to Gulf War Illness using high-sensitivity mass spectrometry
title_sort	resolving whether inhalation of depleted uranium contributed to gulf war illness using high-sensitivity mass spectrometry
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/50db202b34454e32a6847d1ac6266916
work_keys_str_mv	AT randallrparrish resolvingwhetherinhalationofdepleteduraniumcontributedtogulfwarillnessusinghighsensitivitymassspectrometry AT robertwhaley resolvingwhetherinhalationofdepleteduraniumcontributedtogulfwarillnessusinghighsensitivitymassspectrometry
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Resolving whether inhalation of depleted uranium contributed to Gulf War Illness using high-sensitivity mass spectrometry

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