Western Pacific ALS-PDC: Evidence implicating cycad genotoxins
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Parkinsonism-Dementia Complex is a disappearing neurodegenerative disorder of apparent environmental origin formerly hyperendemic among Chamorros of Guam-USA, Japanese residents of the Kii Peninsula, Honshu Island, Japan and Auyu-Jakai linguistic groups of Papua-Indonesia. The most plausible etiology is exposure to genotoxins in seed of neurotoxic cycad plants formerly used for food and/or medicine. Primary suspicion falls on methylazoxymethanol (MAM), the aglycone of cycasin and on the non-protein amino acid β-N-methylamino-L-alanine, both of which are metabolized to formaldehyde.
Source: Journal of the Neurological Sciences - Category: Neurology Authors: Peter S. Spencer, Valerie S. Palmer, Glen E. Kisby Tags: Review Article Source Type: research
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