Terrifying warning for Humans asโ Dolphins โฃWashโค Up on โBeaches with Brainsโฃ Showing signs of Alzheimer’s
new research is raising alarming concerns about the potential link between cyanobacterial toxins and neurodegenerativeโค diseases, with dolphins exhibiting brain abnormalities mirroring those seen in Alzheimer’s disease. The findings serve asโข a potentialโฃ warning for human health, particularly for populations โฃconsuming foods containing these toxins.
Studies involving residents ofโฃ Guam โขhave โpreviously indicated a correlation between โregular consumption of cyanobacterial toxins and theโฃ development of brain abnormalities characteristic ofโ Alzheimer’s. Now, investigations intoโ dolphin deaths are โฃstrengthening this connection.
Researchers at the โขHubbs-SeaWorld Researchโข Institute in Melbourne Beach, Florida, โคcollaborating with theโ University โฃof Miami and the Blue Worldโ Researchโค Institute, analyzed the brains of โข 20 bottlenose dolphins that stranded on the shores of Florida’s Indian River โคLagoon โbetween โค 2010 and 2019. The analysisโค revealed that all โthe dolphins showed signs of Alzheimer’sโ disease.
Specifically,โ dolphins โthat washed ashore โduring โคperiods of peak โฃalgae blooms hadโข up toโฃ 2,900 timesโฃ more of the toxin 2,4-DAB in their brains comparedโข to those stranded โat other times of the year. โขThe brains displayed hallmarkโ signs of Alzheimer’s,including sticky ฮฒ-amyloid plaques,hyperphosphorylated tau proteins,and TDP-43 proteinโ inclusions – aโฃ markerโฃ of more aggressive โฃneurodegenerative forms. โFurthermore, scientists identified โฃchangesโค in 536 genes โthat align with โคpatterns โฃassociated with Alzheimer’s in humans.
The research builds on previous laboratory experiments demonstrating that prolonged exposure to theโ neurotoxin BMAA can induce cognitive decline and โคbrain โฃlesions similar to those observed in Alzheimer’sโ disease.
The situation is particularly concerning for dolphins, as they areโ top predators prone to bioaccumulationโ -โค the process where toxinsโข concentrate as they moveโ up โคthe food chain. small fish and invertebrates ingest cyanobacterial toxins, and these โcompounds become increasingly concentrated in the bodies of animals higher up the food โคchain, โฃreaching extremely high levels โin dolphins.
The problem is beingโค exacerbated by climate change and increased nutrient runoff. Warmer water โฃtemperatures and โprolonged sunlightโข create โคideal conditions for cyanobacteriaโฃ to bloom more frequently and for longer durations. In Florida,water โฃreleased from Lake Okeechobee into the St.Lucie river and Indian River lagoon has repeatedly carried high concentrations โof cyanobacteria downstream, creating widespread โขtoxic water areas.โ This makes โคlong-term exposure to these toxins practically unavoidable for dolphins navigating โthese โwaters.
“Since dolphins are considered environmental sentinels for toxic exposures in marine โคenvironments, there are concerns about human health issues โassociated with cyanobacterial blooms,” โstated researcherโข Davis. This suggests a potential risk to human populations exposed to similar toxins through contaminated food or โwater โขsources.
The team shared their findings inโ a press release.
