Problems with one of the body’s nervous systems may account for many of the symptoms seen with Gulf War syndrome, new research suggests.

Known as the autonomic nervous system, this collection of nerves regulates body functions that a person doesn’t have direct control over, such as how the stomach moves or how fast and strong the heart beats.

The current findings suggest that this system doesn’t function properly in veterans with Gulf War syndrome (GWS), which could account for some of the symptoms commonly seen, such as chronic diarrhea, sexual dysfunction, and fatigue.

As reported in the American Journal of Medicine, Dr. Robert W. Haley, from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, and colleagues used a measure called heart rate variability to assess autonomic nervous system function in 22 veterans with GWS and 19 similar veterans without GWS.

The authors found that heart rate variability was abnormally low in subjects with GWS compared with those without GWS. This suggests that the autonomic nervous system was not functioning as it should.

Impairments in the autonomic nervous system could explain why veterans with GWS often complain of fatigue and describe sleep as “unrefreshing”, the investigators point out.

Although the findings do not “attribute specific symptoms of Gulf War veterans directly to…autonomic dysfunction,” they suggest avenues for future research, the authors conclude.

SOURCE: American Journal of Medicine, October 1, 2004.