Abstract
BackgroundGulf War Illness (GWI) is a disease of unknown etiology with symptoms suggesting the involvement of an immune process. Here we tested the hypothesis that Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) composition might differ between veterans with and without GWI. MethodsWe identified 144 unique alleles of Class I and II HLA genes in 82 veterans (66 with and 16 without GWI). We tested the hypothesis that a subset of HLA alleles may classify veterans in their respective group using a stepwise linear discriminant analysis. In addition, each participant rated symptom severity in 6 domains according to established GWI criteria, and an overall symptom severity was calculated. FindingsWe found 6 Class II alleles that classified participants 84.1% correctly (13/16 control and 56/66 GWI). The number of copies of the 6 alleles was significantly higher in the control group, suggesting a protective role. This was supported by a significant negative dependence of overall symptom severity on the number of allele copies, such that symptom severity was lower in participants with larger numbers of allele copies. InterpretationThese results indicate a reduced HLA protection (i.e. genetic susceptibility) in veterans with GWI. FundingUniversity of Minnesota and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Highlights
After the Gulf War (1990–91), veterans started to report a variety of health problems that began during, or soon after returning from, deployment, prompting investigation into the epidemiology and etiology of the complaints
We found a highly significant effect of the number of copies of individual alleles on symptom severity of Pain (P = 0.01, R2 = 0.199), Fatigue (P = 0.006, R2 = 0.210), and Neurological-Cognitive-Mood (P = 0.004, R2 = 0.225) symptoms; remarkably, all slopes of individual allele copies vs. symptom severity were negative in each regression model, indicating a consistent and robust effect
It can be seen that no identified haplotype contains more than one of the 6 discriminating alleles, indicating their unique contribution. These results document for the first time significant differences in the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) makeup between veterans with Gulf War Illness (GWI) and Gulf War era veterans without it
Summary
After the Gulf War (1990–91), veterans started to report a variety of health problems that began during, or soon after returning from, deployment, prompting investigation into the epidemiology and etiology of the complaints Those investigations revealed that diffuse symptoms such as fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, mood and neurocognitive complaints, gastrointestinal problems, and rashes were most commonly reported. The number of copies of the 6 alleles was significantly higher in the control group, suggesting a protective role. This was supported by a significant negative dependence of overall symptom severity on the number of allele copies, such that symptom severity was lower in participants with larger numbers of allele copies.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
