§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research he has commissioned on the prevalence of motor neurone disease among Gulf War veterans. [101915]
§ Dr. MoonieMotor neurone disease (MND) is a rare disease and the Ministry of Defence has not specifically commissioned scientific research into the prevalence of it among United Kingdom veterans of the 1990–91 Gulf Conflict. However, through the independent Medical Research Council (MRC), the Ministry of Defence has funded a controlled study of neuromuscular symptoms experienced by United Kingdom Servicemen. Some findings were published by the researchers in a paper entitled: "Neurophysiologic analysis of neuromuscular symptoms in UK Gulf war veterans" in the journalNeurology on 26 November 2002. The researchers reported that they had found no neurophysiologic evidence for a specific neuromuscular disorder that could be linked to previous deployment to the Gulf. At the Ministry of Defence's request, the MRC will shortly 274W provide advice on appropriate areas for future research in the field of Gulf veterans illnesses. The MRC's advice will be published. The MRC is aware of the suggestion that United States Gulf veterans are at greater risk of developing MND than those who did not deploy but the underlying research has not yet been published in the scientific literature. The Ministry of Defence's future Gulf veterans' illnesses research programme will be firmly based on the MRC's recommendations.