A research carried out by a scientific panel mandated by the Congress has reached the conclusion that the highly-debated Gulf War syndrome is not fiction and it still affects about 25% of the 700,000 U.S. troops who were deployed in 1991 in the Persian Gulf to drive the Iraqi army out of Kuwait.
 
The report that was released Monday reached the conclusion that two chemical exposures were the main causes of the disorder. The troops were exposed to pyridostigmine bromide to protect them from nerve gas and pesticides against sand flies and other pests of the desert area.

The main conclusion of the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses was that the Gulf War illness is real and it is a physical condition separate from the mental affection suffered by the all the was veterans.

"The extensive body of scientific research now available consistently indicates that Gulf War illness is real, that it is a result of neurotoxic exposures during Gulf War deployment, and that few veterans have recovered or substantially improved with time," the scientific panel wrote in the 450-page report.

The report will serve as a very important tool for thousands of Gulf War veterans who had been struggling to have their afflictions such as memory loss, concentration problems, rashes and widespread pain, recognized by the U.S. government.

Several previous studies on the matter had concluded that the Gulf War syndrome was not distinct from the mental "shell shock" which affected troops in other wars.

The scientific committee which carried out the study said that Congress should increase the funding of research on Gulf War veterans' health, which they labeled as a “national obligation,” to at least $60 million per year.

Of the 700,000 U.S. troops who served in the Gulf War, about 175,000 to 210,000 veterans suffered or still suffer from the Gulf War syndrome, the study found.