Department of Neurology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
Epidemiology Program, University of Hawaii Cancer Center, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA.
Toxins (Basel). 2018 Feb 28;10(3):103. doi: 10.3390/toxins10030103.
Domoic Acid (DA) is a marine-based neurotoxin. Dietary exposure to high levels of DA via shellfish consumption has been associated with Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning, with milder memory decrements found in Native Americans (NAs) with repetitive, lower level exposures. Despite its importance for protective action, the clinical relevance of these milder memory problems remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine whether repeated, lower-level exposures to DA impact everyday memory (EM), i.e., the frequency of memory failures in everyday life. A cross-sectional sample of 60 NA men and women from the Pacific NW was studied with measures of dietary exposure to DA via razor clam (RC) consumption and EM. Findings indicated an association between problems with EM and elevated consumption of RCs with low levels of DA throughout the previous week and past year after controlling for age, sex, and education. NAs who eat a lot of RCs with presumably safe levels of DA are at risk for clinically significant memory problems. Public health outreach to minimize repetitive exposures are now in place and were facilitated by the use of community-based participatory research methods, with active involvement of state regulatory agencies, tribe leaders, and local physicians.
软骨藻酸（DA）是一种海洋来源的神经毒素。通过食用贝类，饮食中接触高水平的软骨藻酸与记忆障碍性贝类中毒有关，而在反复、低水平暴露的美洲原住民（NAs）中发现了更轻微的记忆减退。尽管它对保护作用很重要，但这些更轻微的记忆问题的临床相关性仍不清楚。本研究的目的是确定重复、低水平的软骨藻酸暴露是否会影响日常记忆（EM），即日常生活中记忆失败的频率。对来自太平洋西北地区的 60 名 NA 男性和女性进行了横断面研究，通过食用贻贝（RC）的量来衡量软骨藻酸的饮食暴露程度，以及 EM。研究结果表明，在控制年龄、性别和教育程度后，过去一周和过去一年中，RC 中软骨藻酸水平较低且食用量较高与 EM 问题之间存在关联。食用大量 RC 且软骨藻酸含量可能安全的 NAs 存在发生临床显著记忆问题的风险。目前已经开展了减少重复暴露的公共卫生宣传活动，并通过使用社区参与式研究方法来促进这些活动，州监管机构、部落领导人和当地医生都积极参与其中。
