Meeting Banner
Abstract #1978

Hippocampus Perfusion Studies of Gulf War Veterans Using OPTIMAL FAIR

Xiufeng Li1, Subhendra N. Sarkar2, David E. Purdy3, Qihua Lin4,5, David M. Buhner5, Robert W. Haley5, Richard W. Briggs1,5

1Radiology, UT Southwestern, Dallas, TX, United States; 2Radiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, United States; 3Siemens Healthcare, Malvern, PA, United States; 4Clinical Sciences, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States; 5Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States


To verify the previous findings and facilitate futher investigation of the pathological characteristics of Gulf War Illness, a semi-blind hippocampus perfusion study with physostigmine challenge was performed for veterans with Gulf War Syndromes 1, 2 and 3 and healthy veterans in two sessions two days apart: the first session with saline infusion and the second session with physostigmine infusion. New study results are similar to those found in the SPECT studies performed in 1997-1998, indicating that the physiological effects upon hippocampal blood flow still persist a decade later.