Journal
TOXINS
Volume 7, Issue 2, Pages 322-336Publisher
MDPI AG
DOI: 10.3390/toxins7020322
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- SYNERGY grant support
- ALSA grant support
- Deerbrook Charitable Trust
Ask authors/readers for more resources
A cluster of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has been previously described to border Lake Mascoma in Enfield, NH, with an incidence of ALS approximating 25 times expected. We hypothesize a possible association with cyanobacterial blooms that can produce beta-N-methylamino-l-alanine (BMAA), a neurotoxic amino acid implicated as a possible cause of ALS/PDC in Guam. Muscle, liver, and brain tissue samples from a Lake Mascoma carp, as well as filtered aerosol samples, were analyzed for microcystins (MC), free and protein-bound BMAA, and the BMAA isomers 2,4-diaminobutyric acid (DAB) and N-(2-aminoethyl)glycine (AEG). In carp brain, BMAA and DAB concentrations were 0.043 mu g/g +/- 0.02 SD and 0.01 mu g/g +/- 0.002 SD respectively. In carp liver and muscle, the BMAA concentrations were 1.28 mu g/g and 1.27 mu g/g respectively, and DAB was not detected. BMAA was detected in the air filters, as were the isomers DAB and AEG. These results demonstrate that a putative cause for ALS, BMAA, exists in an environment that has a documented cluster of ALS. Although cause and effect have not been demonstrated, our observations and measurements strengthen the association.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available