New US theory on Gulf war syndrome

Two American researchers have proposed a new hypothesis to explain the symptoms of the Gulf war syndrome. Dr Mohamed Abou-Donia of Duke University and Dr Robert Haley of the University of Texas suggest that many of the symptoms complained of by Gulf war veterans could be caused by small doses of cholinesterase inhibitors, including one of the drugs given to prevent death from nerve gas.

The researchers' report, funded by private sources including …