Gulf War syndrome research boosted.

In late September, President Clinton signed legislation providing a substantial increase in funding for research on the possible causes of and cures for Gulf War syndrome, the mysterious illness afflicting military personnel who served in the 1991 Gulf War and some of their family members.

Legislators are also debating how to provide compensation to the ill veterans.

The Department of Defense's fiscal year 1995 appropriation includes $8.4 million for Gulf War syndrome research. Last year, lawmakers appropriated $1.9 million for this work.

Most of the fiscal 1994 and over a third of the fiscal 1995 monies are earmarked for one Louisiana-based treatment study that DOD reviewers have yet to approve for funding.

So far, the odd array of symptoms associated with the syndrome, including debilitating fatigue, diarrhea, and sensitivity to chemicals, has defied diagnosis (SN: 6/18/94, p.94). Yet without a diagnosis for their illness, veterans do not qualify for medical compensation from the government.

The DOD bill allocates $5 million for peer-reviewed research by nongovernment scientists, including epidemiological surveys of Gulf War military personnel and their families.

Legislators direct that the remaining $3.4 million support ongoing research on an "antibacterial treatment method," which they describe in detail without naming the researcher doing the work. That researcher is physician Edward S. Hyman at the Touro Infirmary in New Orleans, congressional and DOD staff say.

Hyman testified last summer at a congressional hearing about his treatment for Gulf War syndrome. A panel of scientists is now reviewing a research proposal he submitted to DOD, says Chuck Dasey, an agency spokesman. If the panel approves the proposal, Hyman would receive almost $5 million, which includes funds held over from 1994.

Many sick veterans suffer from either superinfection with streptococci or infection with an unusual strain of these bacteria, Hyman told SCIENCE NEWS. Standard laboratory tests don't detect the bacteria's presence, but he uses a unique microscopic technique that reveals the organisms, he says.

He prescribes large doses of antibiotics to his patients and recommends that they take the drugs for at least a year after they feel better, he says.

Hyman has treated eight Gulf War veterans and six family members of ill veterans. "All have had beautiful responses," he says. Four patients relapsed, but two of those have since recovered. The other two are no longer under his care.

While the House, Senate, and clinton administration support the need to compensate ailing Gulf War military personnel, as of last week they had yet to agree on how to provide such funds.

A Senate bill calls on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to change its rules so that veterans with Gulf War syndrome would be eligible for compensation, a move the VA opposes. A bill in the House, supported by the administration, would authorize payments to ill veterans without the VA rule change.

The Senate legislation would also require the VA to analyze the health of children and spouses of ill Gulf War personnel. Normally, the VA neither monitors nor treats family members.

In July, the VA provided more than $1.5 million to three of its research centers to study the possible health effects of environmental contaminants present during the Gulf War.