Want to send this story to another AOL member? Click on the heart at the top of this window.

By LARRY MARGASAK
.c The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal study begun Tuesday aims to determine whether a link exists between military duty during the Persian Gulf War and Lou Gehrig's disease. If one were proved, some veterans might find it easier to obtain benefits.

The one-year study involving several agencies will determine whether amyotrophic lateral sclerosis occurs at a higher-than-expected rate among Gulf War veterans. Some veterans have suggested a connection between the disease and the 1990-91 conflict.

If a link were established, Gulf veterans showing symptoms of the disease could find it easier to qualify for benefits. The Department of Veterans Affairs currently provides compensation for 8,000 veterans with about a dozen diseases believed associated with the herbicide Agent Orange, which contains dioxin and was used as a defoliant during the Vietnam War.

``If we do find an elevated risk for development of ALS, the finding will have broad implications for veterans'' and federal agencies that serve them, said Dr. John R. Feussner, chief research and development officer for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The departments of Defense and Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also are participating in the study. It is directed by the Epidemiologic Research and Information Center at the VA Medical Center in Durham, N.C.

The VA and the Pentagon have identified 28 patients with possible ALS among the 697,000 military personnel deployed to the Gulf during the year after the start of the Desert Shield military buildup in August 1990. The buildup led to the 1 1/2-month-long Desert Storm assault by a U.S.-led coalition that drove Iraqi troops from Kuwait at the end of February 1991.

A preliminary review of the 28 cases compared with a national mortality study indicated no substantial increase in the ALS rate among Gulf War veterans and no excess deaths from ALS.

Researchers want to hear from veterans diagnosed with ALS or other motor neuron diseases who were on active duty between Aug. 2, 1990, and July 31, 1991, regardless of location. Those who never went to the Gulf could be part of a control group for the study, the VA said.

ALSA, the ALS Association, estimates the prevalence of Gehrig's disease in the United States at six to eight cases per 100,000 persons.

Feussner said the study could provide ``new knowledge about the epidemiology of this rare disease and shed light on possible causes of ALS.''

The study represents a turnaround for the government, said a researcher conducting a smaller but similar study at the University of Texas' Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

``They're taking notice of this, which has not been true up to now,'' said Dr. Robert Haley, whose study of about 60 veterans is almost complete.

Eligible veterans will be asked to take part in in-home interviews by research nurses and medical examinations by specialists.

ALS is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that destroys the brain and spinal cord nerve cells that control muscle movement. As the brain and spinal cord motor nerve cells die, muscles weaken and shrink. Rapid, severe paralysis occurs.

Eligible veterans can call 1-877-342-5257 to discuss participating in the study. ALSA's information line is 1-800-782-4747. Veterans who have not been diagnosed can learn more from their local VA centers.

On the Net: For information about the disease and the study from ALSA's Web site: http://www.alsa.org

AP-NY-03-28-00 1619EST

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.