Banack Sandra Anne, Caller Tracie, Henegan Patricia, Haney James, Murby Amanda, Metcalf James S, Powell James, Cox Paul Alan, Stommel Elijah
Institute for Ethnomedicine, PO Box 3464, Jackson, WY 83001, USA.
Cheyenne Regional Medical Group, Cheyenne, WY 82001, USA.
Toxins (Basel). 2015 Jan 29;7(2):322-36. doi: 10.3390/toxins7020322.
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 β-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 μg/g ± 0.02 SD and 0.01 μg/g ± 0.002 SD respectively. In carp liver and muscle, the BMAA concentrations were 1.28 μg/g and 1.27 μg/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.
此前曾有报道称，在新罕布什尔州恩菲尔德的马斯科马湖周边出现了肌萎缩侧索硬化症（ALS）聚集现象，其发病率约为预期发病率的25倍。我们推测这可能与蓝藻水华有关，蓝藻水华可产生β-N-甲基氨基-L-丙氨酸（BMAA），这是一种神经毒性氨基酸，被认为可能是关岛肌萎缩侧索硬化症/帕金森痴呆综合征（ALS/PDC）的病因。对一条马斯科马湖鲤鱼的肌肉、肝脏和脑组织样本，以及过滤后的气溶胶样本进行了微囊藻毒素（MC）、游离和与蛋白质结合的BMAA，以及BMAA异构体2,4-二氨基丁酸（DAB）和N-（2-氨基乙基）甘氨酸（AEG）的分析。在鲤鱼脑中，BMAA和DAB的浓度分别为0.043μg/g±0.02标准差和0.01μg/g±0.002标准差。在鲤鱼肝脏和肌肉中，BMAA的浓度分别为1.28μg/g和1.27μg/g，未检测到DAB。在空气过滤器中检测到了BMAA，以及异构体DAB和AEG。这些结果表明，在一个有记录的ALS聚集环境中存在一种假定的ALS病因——BMAA。虽然因果关系尚未得到证实，但我们的观察和测量结果加强了这种关联。
