Carnosine treatment for gulf war illness: a randomized controlled trial

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of Carnosine, published as a randomized controlled trial.

A leading theory proposes that wartime exposures initiated prolonged production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and central nervous system injury.

The endogenous antioxidant L-carnosine (B-alanyl-L-histidine) is a potential treatment since it is a free radical scavenger in nervous tissue.

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 25 subjects were involved.

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were middle-aged adults, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and pilot study.

Because people in this Carnosine study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

Neither the subjects nor the staff measuring them knew who was on Carnosine, so expectations could not easily colour the readings.

A placebo (an inactive look-alike) gave the Carnosine group a baseline to be compared against.

It is described as a pilot, a small early test of whether a larger Carnosine study would be practical.

What Was Measured

Outcomes included subjective fatigue, pain and psychosocial questionnaires, and instantaneous fatigue and activity levels recorded by ActiWatch Score devices.

PubMed files the paper under topics including Antioxidants, Carnosine, Chronic Disease, Cognition Disorders, Dietary Supplements, Fatigue and Gulf War.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Carnosine in 25 subjects.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The publication is from 2013 (Global journal of health science), a journal based in Canada.

More context: the Carnosine compound page.