Cognitive Rehabilitation for Gulf War Illness

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Gulf War Illness

In brief

There are almost 700,000 Gulf War Veterans (GWV) with 25-30% suffering from a devastating multi-symptom illness coined Gulf War Illness (GWI). GWV with GWI report significant activity limitations and chronic cognitive problems consistent with problem-solving deficits. Problem-solving is considered the most complex of cognitive abilities and is what enables us to conduct complicated behaviors such as setting goals, sequencing and multi-tasking. As a result studies have found that problem-solving deficits are prospectively related to a greater risk of disability. Despite published reports documenting these problems there are no treatments that target the problem-solving deficits of GWI. This proposal seeks to determine whether Problem-Solving Therapy, a patient centered cognitive rehabilitation therapy, can reduce disability by compensating for problem-solving deficits.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT02161133

Run by

VA Office of Research and Development

People needed

268

Starts

2015-01-01

Expected to finish

2019-09-01

Last updated by the study team

2020-08-26

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 80. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Inclusion:
• deployed to first Gulf War and meets Kansas definition for GWI (see definition in measures section);
• scores at least a half a standard deviation worse than the mean on the World Health Organization Disability Schedule (WHO-DAS II).

You may not qualify if…

• Exclusion:
• current suicidal/homicide intent or plan assessed by The Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale, schizophrenia or current psychotic symptoms
• self-reported diagnosis of a degenerative brain disorder or serious psychiatric or medical illness which may limit generalizability of the findings, limit safety or account for the symptoms of GWI.
• Exclusionary medical illnesses include: Class 3 and 4 heart failure, cancer diagnosed within the past year and/or undergoing active treatment (chemotherapy or radiation therapy), chronic renal insufficiency, hospitalization due to myocardial infarct, stroke in the past year, a neurodegenerative disorder, or another medical or psychiatric disorder that may limit generalizability, limit participants safety or account for the symptoms of GWI at the discretion of the PI.
• a disability that would preclude telephone use.

Where it is running

• Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, Bedford, MA — Bedford, Massachusetts, United States
• East Orange Campus of the VA New Jersey Health Care System, East Orange, NJ — East Orange, New Jersey, United States
• Canandaigua VA Medical Center, Canandaigua, NY — Canandaigua, New York, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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