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USC University of Southern California

The Effectiveness of Acupuncture in the Treatment of Gulf War Illness

Research Design and Preliminary Data

Sponsor:
USC School of Social Work, USC Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans and Military Families
 Contact:
Shawna Campbell
 Cost:
Free
 Tickets:
Details:

Dr. Lisa Conboy of Harvard Medical School presents preliminary findings from her work measuring acupuncture’s efficacy as a treatment for Gulf War Illness.

Gulf War Illness (GWI) is a complex, poorly understood illness characterized by many symptoms, including fatigue, sleep and mood problems, difficulty concentrating, difficulty thinking and finding words, and musculoskeletal pain. More than 100,000 of the 700,000 veterans deployed to the Persian Gulf in the first Gulf War have returned with medical complaints.
 
Affected veterans have received treatment directed at their symptoms, but at five- and 10-year follow-ups, many report that symptoms remain, some of which are severe and disabling. The cause of GWI is unknown, and the symptoms cannot be explained by physical or laboratory examinations.

In 2009, Conboy won a $1.2 million grant to study acupuncture’s effects on service members from the first Gulf War. She will discuss her findings, as well as her experience in convincing the Department of Defense and members of the military that an alternative treatment could be effective in pain management.