The Cut in the Funding of Gulf War Research at UTSWMed

Why can’t there be a Third Way?

Personal Editorial on Gulf War Illness VA Collaborative Center UTSWMED Dallas

Here is a brief Editorial just posted from a Dallas Source.UT Southwestern’s Gulf War setback 

Just a few weeks ago, congressional influence and common sense seemed to have combined to save UT Southwestern’s research efforts to determine why so many vets of the First Gulf War returned home with unexplained illnesses. But now the optimism we expressed when we wrote this editorial circulated by several Veterans groups has been dashed as this DMN story details.

There’s a big picture being missed, namely that Gulf War vets are ill and have no idea why. It seems to be me that there must be a simple way for UT Southwestern and the VA to reach a compromise. If this is mostly about VA access to the names of patients, then wise heads ought to be able to find a compromise that serves the VA and allows UTSW to protect the rights of veterans. University researchers deal with privacy issues all the time and do it quite well, with UTSW reconsenting most vets to find a way to give the VA most of what it needs.