Fwd: Another toxin

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Subject: Potent toxin found in brains of dead alzheimer's victims

Potent Toxin Found in Brains of Dead Alzheimer's Victims

Substance Made By Algae Common In Lakes, Oceans

A potent toxin produced by common algae has been found in the brains

of nine Canadians who died of Alzheimer's disease.

The same neurotoxin has turned up in brain tissues taken from people

in Guam who died of dementia, say researchers, who warn that chronic

exposure to the algal toxins may pose a public health threat.

It " may now be prudent " to monitor drinking water and food for the

toxin known as BMAA, short for beta-n-methylamino-L-alanine, an

international team reports in the Proceedings of the National Academic

of Sciences this month.

BMAA is produced by cyanobacteria, ubiquitous algae common to lakes,

oceans and the soil, and can build up in the food chain.

A Canadian dementia specialist stresses the evidence linking the toxin

to Alzheimer's disease is circumstantial. But he says it is " intriguing "

and warrants followup.

" It's a red flag, an alert, that we've got to look into, " says Dr. Jack

Diamond, scientific director of the Alzheimer Society of Canada.

He stresses that many risk factors are linked to the mind-destroying

disease, and more study is needed to prove BMAA is one of them.

The international team, headed by of the Institute for

Ethnomedicine in Hawaii, reports " BMAA was recently discovered in

the brain tissues of nine Canadian Alzheimer's patients. " The toxin

was not detected in 14 other Canadians who died of causes unrelated

to neurodegeneration.

Dr. McGeer at the University of B.C. is reported to have

supplied the Canadian brain samples. McGeer is travelling and could

not be reach for comment.

" Cyanobacteria might be the ultimate source of the BMAA in the

Canadian Alzheimer's patients, " and his colleagues suggest in

their paper. The team has shown that BMAA is produced by many species

of cyanobacteria around the world.

It has long been known cyanobacteria pose health hazards. Drinking water

heavily contaminated with the organisms has led to hospitalizations and

in some cases death.

and his colleagues believe the BMAA produced by the algae may also

act as a " slow toxin. " They chemical can be bound by proteins, and

gradually released over many years.

They have shown BMAA, from soil-dwelling cyanobacteria, concentrate in

plants and flying bats in Guam. The bats are a traditional delicacy of the

indigenous Chamorro people, who suffer a high rate of a dementia-related

disorders. BMAA has been found in the brains of affected individuals,

leading to suggest " Chamorros may unwittingly ingest high levels of

BMAA in their traditional diet. "

BMAA's chemical signature in the brains of Canadian Alzheimer's patients

indicates the problem may not be unique to Guam.

Diamond says the sample size of nine Alzheimer's patients is far too

small and a well-controlled study looking at elderly people with and

without Alzheimer's is needed to establish a link. " It's an epidemiology

study that's needed at this stage, " he says. " A big one. "

Health Canada scientists are aware of the report and are tracking the

scientific literature, says , one of the department's

media relations officers. He says there no plan at this stage to launch a

followup study.

's team argues the possible health consequences of chronic exposure to

low levels of BMAA deserve more attention.

" It may now be prudent to monitor BMAA concentrations in drinking waters

contaminated by cyanobacterial blooms, " they say. They also advise checking

for BMAA in fish and animals that may be ingesting the microbes.

http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=d906e2a5-752