 |
 |
Toxin Linked To Degenerative Brain Disorder - BMAA Also Found in Canadian Patients November 13, 2003 Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist A toxin found in the cycad tree is linked to a neurodegenerative disease common among the population of Guam. It has long been a mystery as to why a form of neurodegenerative disease is nearly 100 times more common among the Chamorro people of Guam than anywhere else. The disease is called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-Parkinsonism dementia complex (ALS-PDC). As the name suggests, the condition has some of the features of ALS - also known as Lou Gehrig's disease - and Parkinson's disease. Now researchers at the National Tropical Botanical Garden's Institute for Ethnobotany in Hawaii can reveal a dietary link in ALS-PDC. They have found a neurotoxin called BMAA accumulates in the brain tissue of those affected with the disease. BMAA is manufactured by cyanobacteria in the root of the Guamanian cycad tree and levels are amplified through the food chain - in much the same way as mercury in polluted waters gets into food and has caused neurological disease. BMAA has also been found in Canadian patients with neurological disease. It's possible therefore that this toxin plays a wider role in brain disease - but further research is needed to clarify this. Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences online 10th November 2003 SOURCE: HealthandAge.com http://tinyurl.com/uu2m * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn