%0 Journal Article
%T Detection of Cyanotoxins, ¦Â-N-methylamino-L-alanine and Microcystins, from a Lake Surrounded by Cases of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
%A Sandra Anne Banack
%A Tracie Caller
%A Patricia Henegan
%A James Haney
%A Amanda Murby
%A James S. Metcalf
%A James Powell
%A Paul Alan Cox
%A Elijah Stommel
%J Toxins
%P 322-336
%D 2015
%I MDPI AG
%R 10.3390/toxins7020322
%X 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 ¦Â- 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 ¦Ìg/g ¡À 0.02 SD and 0.01 ¦Ìg/g ¡À 0.002 SD respectively. In carp liver and muscle, the BMAA concentrations were 1.28 ¦Ìg/g and 1.27 ¦Ìg/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.
%K ¦Â-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA)
%K amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
%K cyanobacteria
%K aerosols
%U http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/7/2/322