RETRACTED: Abou-Donia et al. Sex-Based Differences in Plasma Autoantibodies to Central Nervous System Proteins in Gulf War Veterans versus Healthy and Symptomatic Controls. 2021, , 148.

The Editorial Office retracts the article, "Sex-Based Differences in Plasma Autoantibodies to Central Nervous System Proteins in Gulf War Veterans versus Healthy and Symptomatic Controls" [...

Sex-Based Differences in Plasma Autoantibodies to Central Nervous System Proteins in Gulf War Veterans versus Healthy and Symptomatic Controls.

Veterans from the 1991 Gulf War (GW) have suffered from Gulf War illness (GWI) for nearly 30 years. This illness encompasses multiple body systems, including the central nervous system (CNS). Diagnosis and treatment of GWI is difficult because there has not been an objective diagnostic biomarker.

Using Plasma Autoantibodies of Central Nervous System Proteins to Distinguish Veterans with Gulf War Illness from Healthy and Symptomatic Controls.

For the past 30 years, there has been a lack of objective tools for diagnosing Gulf War Illness (GWI), which is largely characterized by central nervous system (CNS) symptoms emerging from 1991 Gulf War (GW) veterans. In a recent preliminary study, we reported the presence of autoantibodies against CNS proteins in the blood of veterans with GWI, suggesting a potential objective biomarker for the disorder. Now, we report the results of a larger, confirmatory study of these objective biomarkers in 171 veterans with GWI compared to 60 healthy GW veteran controls and 85 symptomatic civilian controls ( = 50 myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and = 35 irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)).