约有近10万参加过1991年海湾战争的美、英、加拿大等国的老兵都抱怨患有一种共同的病症:身体欠佳、睡眠紊乱、四肢乏力、肌肉和关节疼痛、心脏病以及胃肠不适、皮疹和溃疡等,严重者还出现脱发、呼吸困难和记忆力严重衰退等症状,统称为“海湾战争综合征”(GulfWarsyndrome,GWS), Nearly 100,000 veterans from the United States, Britain, Canada and other countries that participated in the 1991 Gulf War complained of a common condition: poor health, sleep disorders, weakness in the limbs, muscle and joint pain, heart disease and gastrointestinal Discomfort, skin rashes and ulcers, severe symptoms such as alopecia, dyspnoea and severe memory decline, collectively referred to as Gulf War Syndrome (GWS),