Biomagnification of cycad neurotoxins in flying foxes
Banack S, Cox P2003NeurologyJournal Article
Neurological
Other Biotoxins
Abstract
Beta-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) occurs in higher levels in museum specimens of the Guamanian flying fox than in the cycad seeds the flying foxes feed on, confirming the hypothesis that cycad neurotoxins are biomagnified within the Guam ecosystem. Consumption of a single flying fox may have resulted in an equivalent BMAA dose obtained from eating 174 to 1,014 kg of processed cycad flour. Traditional feasting on flying foxes may be related to the prevalence of neuropathologic disease in Guam.
Key Biomarkers
Beta-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA)
Symptom Clusters
ALS-PDC (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis-Parkinsonism-Dementia Complex)
Cited By (8)
- Biomagnification of cyanobacterial neurotoxins and neurodegenerative disease among the Chamorro people of GuamProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2003
- Marine Neurotoxins’ Effects on Environmental and Human Health: An OMICS OverviewMarine Drugs · 2021
- A mechanism for slow release of biomagnified cyanobacterial neurotoxins and neurodegenerative disease in GuamProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2004
- Neonatal exposure to the cyanobacterial toxin BMAA induces changes in protein expression and neurodegeneration in adult hippocampusToxicological Sciences · 2012
- Are multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis autoimmune disorders of endogenous vasoactive neuropeptides?Medical Hypotheses · 2008
- Commentary on: Return of the cycad hypothesis – does the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/parkinsonism dementia complex (ALS/PDC) of Guam have new implications for global health?Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology · 2005
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