Oral glutamine for stomach and bowel symptoms in Gulf War Illness
Tests oral glutamine for chronic gut symptoms in veterans with Gulf War Illness.
Key facts
- Who runs it
- VA Office of Research and Development
- Where
- Memphis, United StatesSee the site
- Trial code
- Registry title
- Mechanisms of Gulf War Illness
- Status
- Recruiting
- People taking part
- 80 people, planned
- Started
- 16 Oct 2023
- Expected to end
- 30 Sept 2027
- Type of study
- Interventional, 2 groupsOne group gets a placebo (a dummy treatment), for comparison.
- Treatments tested
- Oral Glutamine
- Control Arm
- Record updated
- 19 August 2026
Who can take part
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.
The trial is looking for veterans with Gulf War Illness who have long-lasting gut symptoms such as belly pain, diarrhea or bloating.
- Age
- 18 to 65 years
- Sex
- All sexes can join.
- Disease stage
- Gulf War Illness with chronic gut symptoms (abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloating). In one group, symptoms started during deployment in the Persian Gulf.
- Earlier treatment
- People who used NSAIDs in the 2 weeks before the study cannot join. People currently taking anti-seizure medications cannot join.
- Biomarker or test result
- A leaky gut on the lactulose/mannitol permeability test (ratio >0.07). Mannitol recovery must be in the normal range of 5-25 U/g.
Main reasons for not taking part
- Pregnancy (positive urine pregnancy test) or breastfeeding
- History of inflammatory bowel disease, lactose intolerance or celiac sprue
- Positive hydrogen breath test for bacterial overgrowth or positive anti-endomysial antibody test
- Kidney disease, or abnormal blood BUN or creatinine
- Allergy to glutamine, whey protein or monosodium glutamate; belly surgery other than gallbladder, uterus or appendix removal >6 months before entry
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 17 criteriaShow less
Who can take part
- Veterans 18-65 years old with GWI and chronic GI symptoms (abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloating) that started during their deployment in the Persian Gulf
- Veterans 18-65 years old with GWI and chronic GI symptoms (abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloating)
- increased intestinal permeability on the lactulose/mannitol permeability test (ratio >0.07)
- able and willing to cooperate with the study
Who cannot take part
- + anti-endomysial antibody titer
- use of NSAIDs 2 weeks before or during the study
- abdominal surgery except for removal of gallbladder, uterus, or appendix >6 months prior to entry into the study
- history of inflammatory bowel disease, lactose intolerance and/or celiac sprue
- known allergy to glutamine or whey protein
- history of kidney disease
- allergies to monosodium glutamate
- current use of anti-seizure medications
- Abnormal serum BUN and/or creatinine
- current participation in another research protocol or unable to give informed consent
- women with a positive urine pregnancy test or breastfeeding
- + hydrogen breath test for bacterial overgrowth
- Mannitol recovery out of the normal range of 5-25 U/g
Check if you might fit
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 18 and 65 years old?
Where in United States
- Memphis VA Medical Center, Memphis, TNMemphis, United StatesContact: George N VerneTaking people
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
Many veterans with Gulf War Illness developed chronic gastrointestinal symptoms during their deployment to the Persian Gulf. The pathophysiologic mechanisms of these chronic gastrointestinal symptoms are not well understood but cause significant morbidity in veterans. Our proposed studies will provide an innovative and novel treatment trial for chronic gastrointestinal symptoms in veterans with Gulf War Illness that were deployed into war zones. Given that there are currently no specific treatments for these disorders, and that current symptomatic approaches are far from ideal, proof of principle of our trial would be an extremely important advance as it would not only have a beneficial impact on the health of many thousands of our veterans, but also it would substantially reduce the many negative economic effects of this ailment on the VA Health Care System.
The 2 groups in the trial
- Oral GlutamineTreatment being tested
You will be asked to consume 5 grams of glutamine three times a day for 12 weeks. At week four, you will be asked to return to the CRC to be assessed, and then to return every four weeks until week 12, which will be the conclusion of the study.
- Whey Protein PowderPlacebo, for comparison
You will be asked to consume 5 grams of whey protein powder three times a day for 12 weeks. At week four, you will be asked to return to the CRC to be assessed, and then to return every four weeks until week 12, which will be the conclusion of the study.
Treatment: Control Arm
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorData and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Official title
- Mechanisms of Gulf War Illness
- Plain-language title
- Oral glutamine for stomach and bowel symptoms in Gulf War IllnessGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
- AI summary
- From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 14 November 2026.
- Fit questions
- Built from NCT05972291, who can take part
- Record updated
- 19 August 2026