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Chernoff N, Hill DJ, Diggs DL, Faison BD, Francis BM, Lang JR, Larue MM, Le TT, Loftin KA, Lugo JN, Schmid JE, Winnik WM. A critical review of the postulated role of the non-essential amino acid, β-N-methylamino-L-alanine, in neurodegenerative disease in humans. JOURNAL OF TOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH. PART B, CRITICAL REVIEWS 2017; 20:1-47. [PMID: 28598725 PMCID: PMC6503681 DOI: 10.1080/10937404.2017.1297592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
The compound BMAA (β-N-methylamino-L-alanine) has been postulated to play a significant role in four serious neurological human diseases: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/Parkinsonism Dementia Complex (ALS/PDC) found on Guam, and ALS, Parkinsonism, and dementia that occur globally. ALS/PDC with symptoms of all three diseases first came to the attention of the scientific community during and after World War II. It was initially associated with cycad flour used for food because BMAA is a product of symbiotic cycad root-dwelling cyanobacteria. Human consumption of flying foxes that fed on cycad seeds was later suggested as a source of BMAA on Guam and a cause of ALS/PDC. Subsequently, the hypothesis was expanded to include a causative role for BMAA in other neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD) through exposures attributed to proximity to freshwaters and/or consumption of seafood due to its purported production by most species of cyanobacteria. The hypothesis that BMAA is the critical factor in the genesis of these neurodegenerative diseases received considerable attention in the medical, scientific, and public arenas. This review examines the history of ALS/PDC and the BMAA-human disease hypotheses; similarities and differences between ALS/PDC and the other diseases with similar symptomologies; the relationship of ALS/PDC to other similar diseases, studies of BMAA-mediated effects in lab animals, inconsistencies and data gaps in the hypothesis; and other compounds and agents that were suggested as the cause of ALS/PDC on Guam. The review concludes that the hypothesis of a causal BMAA neurodegenerative disease relationship is not supported by existing data.
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Affiliation(s)
- N. Chernoff
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | - D. J. Hill
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | - D. L. Diggs
- Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Internship/Research Participation Program at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, NHEERL, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | - B. D. Faison
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, Office of Science and Technology, Washington, DC, USA
| | - B. M. Francis
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, IL, USA
| | - J. R Lang
- Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Internship/Research Participation Program at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, NHEERL, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | - M. M. Larue
- Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Internship/Research Participation Program at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, NHEERL, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | - T.-T. Le
- Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Internship/Research Participation Program at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, NHEERL, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | | | - J. N. Lugo
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA
| | - J. E. Schmid
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | - W. M. Winnik
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
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Sieh W, Choi Y, Chapman NH, Craig UK, Steinbart EJ, Rothstein JH, Oyanagi K, Garruto RM, Bird TD, Galasko DR, Schellenberg GD, Wijsman EM. Identification of novel susceptibility loci for Guam neurodegenerative disease: challenges of genome scans in genetic isolates. Hum Mol Genet 2009; 18:3725-38. [PMID: 19567404 PMCID: PMC2742398 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddp300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2009] [Revised: 06/17/2009] [Accepted: 06/25/2009] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/parkinsonism-dementia complex (ALS/PDC) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease found in the Chamorro people of Guam and other Pacific Island populations. The etiology is unknown, although both genetic and environmental factors appear important. To identify loci for ALS/PDC, we conducted both genome-wide linkage and association analyses, using approximately 400 microsatellite markers, in the largest sample assembled to date, comprising a nearly complete sample of all living and previously sampled deceased cases. A single, large, complex pedigree was ascertained from a village on Guam, with smaller families and a case-control sample ascertained from the rest of Guam by population-based neurological screening and archival review. We found significant evidence for two regions with novel ALS/PDC loci on chromosome 12 and supportive evidence for the involvement of the MAPT region on chromosome 17. D12S1617 on 12p gave the strongest evidence of linkage (maximum LOD score, Z(max) = 4.03) in our initial scan, with additional support in the complete case-control sample in the form of evidence of allelic association at this marker and another nearby marker. D12S79 on 12q also provided significant evidence of linkage (Z(max) = 3.14) with support from flanking markers. Our results suggest that ALS/PDC may be influenced by as many as three loci, while illustrating challenges that are intrinsic in genetic analyses of isolated populations, as well as analytical strategies that are useful in this context. Elucidation of the genetic basis of ALS/PDC should improve our understanding of related neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, frontotemporal dementia and ALS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weiva Sieh
- Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Medicine
- Division of Epidemiology, Department of Health Research and Policy, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | | | | | - Ulla-Katrina Craig
- Micronesian Health and Aging Study, University of Guam, Mangilao, Guam 96923, USA
| | - Ellen J. Steinbart
- Department of Neurology
- Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA 98108, USA
| | | | - Kiyomitsu Oyanagi
- Department of Neuropathology, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Neuroscience, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Ralph M. Garruto
- Laboratory of Biomedical Anthropology and Neurosciences, Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY 13902, USA
| | - Thomas D. Bird
- Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Medicine
- Department of Neurology
- Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA 98108, USA
| | - Douglas R. Galasko
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA and
| | - Gerard D. Schellenberg
- Department of Neurology
- Division of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine
- Department of Pharmacology and
- Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA 98108, USA
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Ellen M. Wijsman
- Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Medicine
- Department of Biostatistics
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
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Hudson AJ, Vinters HV, Povey RC, Hatch LA, Percy DH, Noseworthy JH, Kaufmann JC. An unusual form of motor neuron disease following a cat bite. Neurol Sci 1986; 13:111-6. [PMID: 3719465 DOI: 10.1017/s0317167100036027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
A case of motor neuron disease with clinical and pathological resemblance to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in a woman who was severely bitten on the ankle by a cat is described. Weakness first appeared at the ankles and relentlessly advanced proximally, terminating in death from pulmonary failure in a year. A number of unusual features that are uncharacteristic of ALS were found that included a markedly elevated antinuclear antibody titre in the serum and the presence of prominent oligoclonal bands in the cerebrospinal fluid. The spinal cord showed loss of anterior horn cells and pyramidal degeneration that are characteristic of ALS, but an extraordinary finding was the presence of transmural granulomatous inflammation of numerous small and medium sized vessels, especially veins, in the subarachnoid space around the cord. There were also inflammatory changes in the brainstem and spinal cord consisting of microglial and astrocytic nodules and perivenous cuffing by mononuclear cells. Ill-defined hyaline eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions were seen in some remaining anterior horn cells. No viral particles were found by electron microscopy despite an extensive search. Virological studies were inconclusive but there is reason to believe that this patient's illness was caused by an as yet unidentified virus.
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Abstract
Conjugal tumors are rarely reported; but nevertheless, raise important questions of possible etiologic factors. In this report, the presentation of grade 2 gemistocytic astrocytomas in an unrelated married couple in their early thirties within 18 months of each other is described. In both cases the left frontal region of the brain was involved and histologically the tumors were very similar. Although there are no accurate figures on the true incidence of gliomas, an estimate can be derived from reliable epidemiologic studies of primary brain tumors as a whole. Using such data, it is calculated that the risk of two designated persons developing a grade 1 to 2 astrocytoma while in the fourth decade within the same year is approximately 1 in 30 billion (10(9)) and, for this couple, over a period of 15 years, at least 1 in 185 million. No specific causative environmental factors were identified in the patients, and results of conventional tests for viral and other infections were negative. It is postulated that apart from remote chance, such conjugal lesions implicate the action of an environmental agent. In the absence of other factors, involvement of a slow, unconventional virus is a possibility that must be strongly considered.
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Abstract
A 63 year old female with the ataxic form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is presented. In addition to amyloid plaques which were not associated with Alzheimer's neurofibrillary tangles, rare profiles similar to those reported in Scrapie were also seen. To our knowledge, these profiles have never been observed in CJD and their presence in this condition adds a further morphologic similarity between the human and animal forms of subacute spongiform "viral" encephalopathies.
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