Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Electronic address:
Published: October 2021
AI Article Synopsis
Article Abstract
Aims: Respiratory disorders are a prominent component of Gulf War Illness. Although much of the underlying mechanisms of Gulf War Illness remain undefined, chronic immune dysfunction is a consistent feature of this multi-symptomatic, multi-organ disorder. Alveolar macrophages represent the predominant mononuclear phagocytes of the pulmonary mucosa, orchestrating the host response to pathogens and environmental stimuli. Herein, we sought to characterize the innate immune response of the pulmonary mucosa, with a focus on macrophages, to experimental respiratory exposure to two putative Gulf War Toxins (GWTs).
Materials And Methods: Utilizing commercially available instrumentation, we evaluated the effect of aerosolized exposure to the pesticide malathion and diesel exhaust particulate (DEP) on the immune composition and inflammatory response of the lung in FVB/N mice using multiparametric spectral cytometry, cytokine analysis, and histology.
Key Findings: Aerosolized GWTs induced gross pulmonary pathology with transient recruitment of neutrophils and sustained accumulation of alveolar macrophages to the lung for up to two weeks after exposure cessation. High-dimensional cytometry and unbiased computational analysis identified novel myeloid subsets recruited to the lung post-exposure driven by an influx of peripheral monocyte-derived progenitors. DEP and malathion, either alone or in combination, induced soluble mediators in bronchoalveolar lavage indicative of oxidative stress (PGFα), inflammation (LTB, TNFα, IL-12), and immunosuppression (IL-10), that were sustained or increased two weeks after exposures concluded.
Significance: These findings indicate that macrophage accumulation and pulmonary inflammation induced by GWTs continue in the absence of toxin exposure and may contribute to the immunopathology of respiratory Gulf War Illness.
Background: Gulf War Illness (GWI) is a chronic multi-symptom illness that affects up to one-third of the 700,000 American military personnel deployed to the Persian Gulf region in 1990 and 1991. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to examine feasibility and the relative efficacy of two 12-week in-person group treatments (Tai Chi and Wellness) to address GWI symptoms of chronic pain, fatigue, and changes in mood and cognitive functioning.
Method: Male and female veterans were randomly assigned to Tai Chi (n = 27) or Wellness (n = 26) group interventions and assessed at four time points: baseline, post-treatment, 3-, and 9-month follow-up.
Gulf war illness is a chronic multisymptom disorder that affects as many as many as 25-35% of the military personnel who were sent to the Persian Gulf war in 1991. The illness has many debilitating symptoms, including cognitive problems, gastrointestinal symptoms, and musculoskeletal pain. Those so afflicted have been sick for more than 30 years and, therefore, it has become imperative to understand the etiology and then produce treatments to ease the symptoms.
The current state-of-the-art climate models when combined together suggest that the anthropogenic weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) has already begun since the mid-1980s. However, continuous direct observational records during the past two decades have shown remarkable resilience of the AMOC. To shed light on this apparent contradiction, here we attempt to attribute the interdecadal variation of the historical AMOC to the anthropogenic and natural signals, by analyzing multiple climate and surface-forced ocean model simulations together with direct observational data.
Post-COVID condition (also known as long COVID) is a syndrome characterized by persistent symptoms following a suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, lasting for at least two months and are not attributable to other conditions. The most common symptoms include fatigue, diffuse pain, post-exertional malaise and “brain fog” (impairment of memory and concentration). The pathomechanism of long COVID is the subject of ongoing, intensive research.
Although 1990-1991 Gulf War deployment has been linked to worse health outcomes such as chronic multisymptom illness (CMI), often referred to as Gulf War Illness, among deployed Gulf War Veterans, less is known regarding Gulf War service and mortality. Using 20 years of longitudinal data from Gulf War Veteran and Era personnel from the Millennium Cohort Study (2001-2021; n=45381), Cox proportional hazard models estimated the relative effects of Gulf War service status, CMI, and their corresponding interaction on all-cause mortality. Although age- and sex-adjusted mortality ratios suggested that Gulf War Veterans had higher mortality rates than Era personnel, no association was observed between Gulf War service status and mortality risk.
