Biologists and neuroscientists have published an update on the reputed environmental toxins that have been suspected of being involved in mammal neurodegeneration.

A decades-long search for a dementia-causing toxin

Interest in the correlations between environmental toxins and neurodegeneration focused the world’s magnifying glass on the island of Guam in the 1950s due to an unexpected increase in cases of neurodegenerative cases among the indigenous CHamoru population. The specific condition that temporarily affected Guam is known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-parkinsonism dementia (ALS-PDC) and known locally by the CHamoru term lytico-bodig.

A focus on this isolated cluster of cases led to decades of pursuit of causal toxins found in seeds of Guam’s native cycad tree. These seeds were components of the local cuisine at the time, and increased reliance on this form of food starch during World War II was a plausible hypothesis to explain the increase in neurodegeneration cases shortly after the war.

Several factors likely coalesce

An ebb and flow of sequential disappointments has evolved since the 1950s because the identification of a single causal cycad toxin remains elusive.

Story Source:
Materials provided by University of Guam. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.