741
Views
138
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Cyanobacteria and BMAA exposure from desert dust: A possible link to sporadic ALS among Gulf War veterans

, , , , &
Pages 109-117 | Received 22 Jul 2009, Accepted 26 Aug 2009, Published online: 25 Nov 2009

References

  • Horner RD, Kamins KG, Feussner JR, Grambow SC, Hoff-Lindquist J, Harati Y, . Occurrence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis among Gulf War veterans. Neuro. 2003; 61:742–9.
  • Haley RW. Excess incidence of ALS in young Gulf War veterans. Neurology. 2003; 61:750–6.
  • Smith TC, Gray GC, Knoke JD. Is systemic lupus erythematosus, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or fibromyalgia associated with Persian Gulf War service? An examination of Department of Defense hospitalization data. Am J Epidemiol. 2000; 151:1053–9.
  • Hyams KC, Brown M, White DS. Resolving disputes about toxicological risks during military conflict: the US Gulf War experience. Toxicol Rev. 2005; 24:167–80.
  • Hotopf M, Wessely S. Can epidemiology clear the fog of war? Lessons from the 1990–1991 Gulf War. Int J Epidemiol. 2005; 34:791–800.
  • Kang HK, Bullman TA, Macfarlane GJ, Gray GC. Mortality among US and UK veterans of the Persian Gulf War: a review. Occup Environ Med. 2002; 59:794–9.
  • Rose MR, Brix KA. Neurological disorders in Gulf War veterans. Phil Trans R Soc B. 2006; 361:605–18.
  • Armon C. VA Study of Gulf War deserves further scrutiny. Neuro Today. 2003; 3:6–7.
  • Samson K. Hard evidence of Gulf War Syndrome lacking, Institute of Medicine panel concludes. Neuro Today. 2006; 6:4–5.
  • Armon C, Horner RD, Feussner JR, Kasarskis EJ, Grambow SC. Occurrence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis among Gulf War veterans. Neurology. 2007; 68:1083.
  • Coffman CJ, Horner RD, Grambow SC, Lindquist J. Estimating the occurrence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis among Gulf War (1990–1991) veterans using capture-recapture methods. Neuroepidemiology. 2005; 24:141–50.
  • Johnson RT, Bradley WG, Ritz BR, Rocca WA, Shefner JM, Wolfson C. Committee on the review of the scientific literature on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in veterans. Institute of Medicine. National Academies of Science Press, Washington, DC 2006.
  • Horner RD, Grambow SC, Coffman CJ, Lindquist JH, Oddone EZ, Allen KD, . Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis among 1991 Gulf War veterans: evidence for a time-limited outbreak. Neuroepidemiology. 2008; 31:28–32.
  • Golomb BA. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and Gulf War illnesses. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2008; 105:4295–300.
  • Blazer D, Gray GC, Hotopf M, Macfarlane G, Smi M, Smith TC, . Acetycholinesterase inhibition and Gulf War illnesses: conclusions are not supported by independent reviews of the same evidence. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2008; 105:20.
  • Golomb BA, Reply to Blazer, . Flawed challenges to ‘Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and Gulf War illnesses’. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2008; 33:online only.
  • Schopf JW. The fossil record: tracing the roots of the cyanobacterial lineage. In: Whitton BA, Potts M. The Ecology of Cyanobacteria. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers; 2000. 13–35.
  • Codd GA, Bell SG, Kaya K, Ward CJ, Beattie KA, Metcalf JS. Cyanobacterial toxins, exposure routes and human health. Eur J Phycol. 1999; 34:405–15.
  • Wynn-Williams DD. Cyanobacteria in deserts – life at the limit? In: Whitton BA, Potts M. The Ecology of Cyanobacteria. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers; 2000. 341–66.
  • Garcia-Pichel F, Castenholz RW. Occurrence of UV-absorbing, mycosporine-like compounds among cyanobacterial isolates and an estimate of their screening capacity. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1993; 59:163–9.
  • Potts M, Friedmann E. Effects of water stress on cryptoendolithic cyanobacteria from hot desert rocks. Arch Microbiol. 1981; 130:267–71.
  • Belnap J, Lange OL. Biological soil crusts: structure, function and management. Springer-Verlag. Berlin and Heidelberg. 2001.
  • Chorus I. Cyanotoxins: occurrence, causes, consequences. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. 2001.
  • Ueno Y, Nagata S, Tsutsumi T, Hasegawa A, Watanabe MF, Park H-D, . Detection of microcystins, a blue-green algal hepatotoxin, in drinking water sampled in Haimen and Fusui, endemic areas of primary liver cancer in China, by highly sensitive immunoassay. Carcinogenesis. 1996; 17:1317–21.
  • Bailar JC, Green CC, Hornick RB, Kelsey KT, Lednar WM, Louis TA, . Health consequences of service during the Persian Gulf War: initial findings and recommendations for immediate action. Washington D.C.: National Academy Press; 1995.
  • Cox PA, Banack SA, Murch SJ, Rasmussen U, Tien G, Bidigare RR, . Diverse taxa of cyanobacteria produce β-N-methylamino-L-alanine, a neurotoxic amino acid. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2005; 102:5074–8.
  • Cox PA, Banack SA, Murch SJ. Biomagnification of cyanobacterial neurotoxins and neurodegenerative disease among the Chamorro people of Guam. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2003; 100:13380–3.
  • Murch SJ, Cox PA, Banack SA. A mechanism for slow release of biomagnified cyanobacterial neurotoxins and neurodegenerative disease in Guam. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2004; 101:12228–31.
  • Murch SJ, Cox PA, Banack SA, Steele JC, Sacks OW. Occurrence of β-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) in ALS/PDC patients from Guam. Acta Neurol Scand. 2004; 110:267–9.
  • Pablo J, Banack SA, Cox PA, Johnson TE, Papapetropoulos S, Bradley WG, . Cyanobacterial neurotoxin BMAA in ALS and Alzheimer's disease. Acta Neurol Scand. 2009; 120:216–225.
  • Griffin DW. Atmospheric movement of microorganisms in clouds of desert dust and implications for human health. Clinical Micro Rev. 2007; 20:459–77.
  • Chen Y-S, Sheen P-C, Chen E-R, Liu Y-K, Wu T-N, Yang C-Y. Effects of Asian dust storm events on daily mortality in Taipei, Taiwan. Envir Res. 2004; 95:151–5.
  • Bener A, Abdulrazzaq YM, Al-Mutawwa J, Debuse P. Genetic and environmental factors associated with asthma. Human Biol. 1996; 68:405–14.
  • Abdali F, Al-Yakoob S. Environmental dimensions of the Gulf War: potential health impacts. In: El-Baz F, Makharita RM. The Gulf War and the Environment. Newark, New Jersey: Gordon and Breach Science Publishers; 1994.
  • Miranda ML, Overstreet Galeanoa MA, Tassonea E, Allen KD, Horner RD. Spatial analysis of the etiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis among 1991 Gulf War veterans. Neuro Tox. 2008; 29:964–70.
  • Carpenter KE, Krupp F, Jones DA, Zajonz U. Living marine resources of Kuwait, eastern Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome, 1997.
  • Mahasneh IA, Al-Thani RF, Brown G. The microorganisms of Sabkhat in Qatar. In: Khan MA, Böer B, Kust GS, Barth H-J. Sabkha Ecosystems. Volume II: West and Central Asia. Berlin and Heidelberg: Springer; 2006.
  • Brook MC, Al Shoukri S, Amer KM, Boer B, Krupp F. Physical and environmental setting of the Arabian Peninsula and surrounding seas. In: Amer KM, Boer B, Brook MC, Adeel Z, Clusener-Godt M, Saleh W. Policy perspectives for ecosystem and water management in the Arabian Peninsula, 2006.
  • Abulfatih HA, Abdel Bari EM, Alsubaey A, Ibrahim YM. Vegetation of Qatar. Scientific and Applied Research Center. University of Qatar. 2001.
  • Whitton BA. Phylum Cyanophyta (cyanobacteria). In: John DM, Whitton BA, Brook AJ. The freshwater algal flora of the British Isles. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press; 2002. 25–122.
  • Metcalf JS, Banack SA, Lindsay J, Morrison LF, Cox PA, Codd GA. Co-occurrence of β-N-methylamino-L-alanine, a neurotoxic amino acid with other cyanobacterial toxins in British waterbodies, 1990–2004. Envir Micro. 2008; 10:702–8.
  • Lobner D, Piana PM, Salous AK, Peoples RW. β-N-methylamino-L-alanine enhances neurotoxicity through multiple mechanisms. Neurobiol Dis. 2007; 25:360–6.
  • Mahmood NA, Carmichael WW. Anatoxin-a(S), an anticholinesterase from the cyanobacterium Anabaena flos-aquae NRC-525-17. Toxicon. 1987; 25:1221–7.
  • Brown M. Toxicological assessments of Gulf War veterans. Phil Trans R Soc B. 2006; 361:649–79.
  • Fleming LE, Backer LC, Baden DG. Overview of aerosolized Florida red tide toxins: exposures and effects. Environ Health Perspect. 2005; 113:618–20.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.