Sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis as an infectious disease: A possible role of cyanobacteria?

Medical Hypotheses

Volumn 67, Issue 6, 2006, Pages 1363-1371

  Stipa, Giuseppe ^a   Taiuti, Rosanna ^a   de Scisciolo, Giuseppe ^a,b   Arnetoli, Graziano ^a   Tredici, Mario R ^a   Biondi, Natascia ^a   Barsanti, Laura ^c   Lolli, Francesco ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF FLORENCE   (Italy)

^b CAREGGI UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL   (Italy)

^c CNR Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche   (Italy)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

2 AMINO 3 METHYLAMINOPROPIONIC ACID;

ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME; AGRICULTURAL WORKER; AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS; ARTICLE; ATHLETE; BACTERIAL COLONIZATION; BACTERIAL INFECTION; CYANOBACTERIUM; EPIDEMIOLOGICAL DATA; GUAM; HUMAN; MOTOR NEURON DISEASE; POLLUTION; PREGNANCY; PRIORITY JOURNAL; RURAL AREA;

BACTERIA (MICROORGANISMS); CYANOBACTERIA;

EID: 33748954767     PISSN: 03069877     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2006.04.070     Document Type: Article

References (100)

1. Shaw P.J., and Strong M.J. Motor neuron disorders Vol. xvi (2003), Butterworth-Heinemann, Philadelphia (PA, USA) [569 p. [10] p. of plates]
2. Festoff B.W., Suo Z., and Citron B.A. Prospects for the pharmacotherapy of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: old strategies and new paradigms for the third millennium. CNS Drugs 17 (2003) 699-717
3. Mandrioli J., Faglioni P., Merelli E., and Sola P. The epidemiology of ALS in Modena, Italy. Neurology 60 (2003) 683-689
4. Govoni V., Granieri E., Fallica E., and Casetta I. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, rural environment and agricultural work in the Local Health District of Ferrara, Italy, in the years 1964-1998. J Neurol 252 (2005) 1322-1327
5. Armon C. An evidence-based medicine approach to the evaluation of the role of exogenous risk factors in sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Neuroepidemiology 22 (2003) 217-228
6. Cruz D.C., Nelson L.M., McGuire V., and Longstreth Jr. W.T. Physical trauma and family history of neurodegenerative diseases in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a population-based case-control study. Neuroepidemiology 18 (1999) 101-110
7. Riggs J.E., and Hobbs G.R. Motor axonal injury and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: risk assessment using a reverse probability analysis technique. Mil Med 168 (2003) 143-145
8. MacGowan D.J., Scelsa S.N., and Waldron M. An ALS-like syndrome with new HIV infection and complete response to antiretroviral therapy. Neurology 57 (2001) 1094-1097
9. Moulignier A., Moulonguet A., Pialoux G., and Rozenbaum W. Reversible ALS-like disorder in HIV infection. Neurology 57 (2001) 995-1001
10. Sinha S., Mathews T., Arunodaya G.R., Siddappa N.B., Ranga U., Desai A., et al. HIV-1 clade-C-associated "ALS"-like disorder: first report from India. J Neurol Sci 224 (2004) 97-100
11. Verma R.K., Ziegler D.K., and Kepes J.J. HIV-related neuromuscular syndrome simulating motor neuron disease. Neurology 40 (1990) 544-546
12. von Giesen H.J., Kaiser R., Koller H., Wetzel K., and Arendt G. Reversible ALS-like disorder in HIV infection. An ALS-like syndrome with new HIV infection and complete response to antiretroviral therapy. Neurology 59 (2002) 474 [author reply 474-5]
13. Belli S., and Vanacore N. Proportionate mortality of Italian soccer players: is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis an occupational disease?. Eur J Epidemiol 20 (2005) 237-242
14. Beretta S., Carri M.T., Beghi E., Chiò A., and Ferrarese C. The sinister side of Italian soccer. Lancet Neurol 2 (2003) 656-657
15. Chiò A., Benzi G., Dossena M., Mutani R., and Mora G. Severely increased risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis among Italian professional football players. Brain 128 (2005) 472-476
16. Piazza O., Siren A.L., and Ehrenreich H. Soccer, neurotrauma and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: is there a connection?. Curr Med Res Opin 20 (2004) 505-508
17. Creagh T.M., Rubin A., and Evans D.J. Hepatic tumours induced by anabolic steroids in an athlete. J Clin Pathol 41 (1988) 441-443
18. Kurland L.T., Radhakrishnan K., Smith G.E., Armon C., and Nemetz P.N. Mechanical trauma as a risk factor in classic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: lack of epidemiologic evidence. J Neurol Sci 113 (1992) 133-143
19. Valenti M., Pontieri F.E., Conti F., Altobelli E., Manzoni T., and Frati L. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and sports: a case-control study. Eur J Neurol 12 (2005) 223-225
20. Guo Z., Cupples L.A., Kurz A., Auerbach S.H., Volicer L., Chui H., et al. Head injury and the risk of AD in the MIRAGE study. Neurology 54 (2000) 1316-1323
21. Veldink J.H., Kalmijn S., Groeneveld G.J., Titulaer M.J., Wokke J.H., and van den Berg L.H. Physical activity and the association with sporadic ALS. Neurology 64 (2005) 241-245
22. Liebetanz D., Hagemann K., von Lewinski F., Kahler E., and Paulus W. Extensive exercise is not harmful in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Eur J Neurosci 20 (2004) 3115-3120
23. Mahoney D.J., Rodriguez C., Devries M., Yasuda N., and Tarnopolsky M.A. Effects of high-intensity endurance exercise training in the G93A mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Muscle Nerve 29 (2004) 656-662
24. Veldink J.H., Bar P.R., Joosten E.A., Otten M., Wokke J.H., and van den Berg L.H. Sexual differences in onset of disease and response to exercise in a transgenic model of ALS. Neuromuscul Disord 13 (2003) 737-743
25. Scarmeas N., Shih T., Stern Y., Ottman R., and Rowland L.P. Premorbid weight, body mass, and varsity athletics in ALS. Neurology 59 (2002) 773-775
26. Verma A., and Berger J.R. ALS syndrome in patients with HIV-1 infection. J Neurol Sci 240 (2006) 59-64
27. Zimmerman HM. Monthly report to the medical officer in command. United States Navy Medical Research Unit No. 2, June 1945.
28. Morris H.R., Steele J.C., Crook R., Wavrant-De Vrieze F., Onstead-Cardinale L., Gwinn-Hardy K., et al. Genome-wide analysis of the parkinsonism-dementia complex of Guam. Arch Neurol 61 (2004) 1889-1897
29. Rowland L.P. Ten central themes in a decade of ALS research. Adv Neurol 56 (1991) 3-23
30. Sacks O.W. Guam ALS-PDC: possible causes. Science 262 (1993) 826
31. Spencer P.S., Kisby G.E., and Ludolph A.C. Slow toxins, biologic markers, and long-latency neurodegenerative disease in the western Pacific region. Neurology 41 (1991) 62-66 [discussion 66-8]
32. Spencer P.S., Nunn P.B., Hugon J., Ludolph A., and Roy D.N. Motorneurone disease on Guam: possible role of a food neurotoxin. Lancet 1 (1986) 965
33. Spencer P.S., Nunn P.B., Hugon J., Ludolph A.C., Ross S.M., Roy D.N., et al. Guam amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-parkinsonism-dementia linked to a plant excitant neurotoxin. Science 237 (1987) 517-522
34. Spencer P.S., Ohta M., and Palmer V.S. Cycad use and motor neurone disease in Kii peninsula of Japan. Lancet 2 (1987) 1462-1463
35. Kurland L.T. An appraisal of the neurotoxicity of cycad and the etiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis on Guam. Fed Proc 31 (1972) 1540-1542
36. Esclaire F., Kisby G., Spencer P., Milne J., Lesort M., and Hugon J. The Guam cycad toxin methylazoxymethanol damages neuronal DNA and modulates tau mRNA expression and excitotoxicity. Exp Neurol 155 (1999) 11-21
37. Kisby G.E., Ellison M., and Spencer P.S. Content of the neurotoxins cycasin (methylazoxymethanol beta-d-glucoside) and BMAA (beta-N-methylamino-l-alanine) in cycad flour prepared by Guam Chamorros. Neurology 42 (1992) 1336-1340
38. Duncan M.W., Kopin I.J., Garruto R.M., Lavine L., and Markey S.P. 2-Amino-3 (methylamino)-propionic acid in cycad-derived foods is an unlikely cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/parkinsonism. Lancet 2 (1988) 631-632
39. Duncan M.W., Steele J.C., Kopin I.J., and Markey S.P. 2-Amino-3-(methylamino)-propanoic acid (BMAA) in cycad flour: an unlikely cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and parkinsonism-dementia of Guam. Neurology 40 (1990) 767-772
40. Cox P.A., Banack S.A., and Murch S.J. Biomagnification of cyano bacterial neurotoxins and neurodegenerative disease among the Chamorro people of Guam. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 100 (2003) 13380-13383
41. Banack S.A., and Cox P.A. Biomagnification of cycad neurotoxins in flying foxes: implications for ALS-PDC in Guam. Neurology 61 (2003) 387-389
42. Cox P.A., and Sacks O.W. Cycad neurotoxins, consumption of flying foxes, and ALS-PDC disease in Guam. Neurology 58 (2002) 956-959
43. Murch S.J., Cox P.A., Banack S.A., Steele J.C., and Sacks O.W. Occurrence of beta-methylamino-l-alanine (BMAA) in ALS/PDC patients from Guam. Acta Neurol Scand 110 (2004) 267-269
44. Hursthouse M.B., Motevalli M., Obrien P., and Nunn P.B. X-ray crystal-structure of a copper(II) complex of the neurotoxic amino-acid, dl-alpha-amino-beta-methylaminopropionic acid. J Chem Soc Dalton Trans (1990) 1985-1987
45. Nunn P.B., and O'Brien P. The interaction of beta-N-methylamino-l-alanine with bicarbonate: an 1H-NMR study. FEBS Lett 251 (1989) 31-35
46. Weiss J.H., and Sensi S.L. Ca2+-Zn2+ permeable AMPA or kainate receptors: possible key factors in selective neurodegeneration. Trends Neurosci 23 (2000) 365-371
47. Carriedo S.G., Yin H.Z., and Weiss J.H. Motor neurons are selectively vulnerable to AMPA/kainate receptor-mediated injury in vitro. J Neurosci 16 (1996) 4069-4079
48. Brownson D.M., Mabry T.J., and Leslie S.W. The cycad neurotoxic amino acid, beta-N-methylamino-l-alanine (BMAA), elevates intracellular calcium levels in dissociated rat brain cells. J Ethnopharmacol 82 (2002) 159-167
49. Seawright A.A., Brown A.W., Nolan C.C., and Cavanagh J.B. Selective degeneration of cerebellar cortical neurons caused by cycad neurotoxin, l-beta-methylaminoalanine (l-BMAA), in rats. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 16 (1990) 153-169
50. Ross S.M., and Spencer P.S. Specific antagonism of behavioral action of "uncommon" amino acids linked to motor-system diseases. Synapse 1 (1987) 248-253
51. Nunn P.B., Seelig M., Zagoren J.C., and Spencer P.S. Stereospecific acute neuronotoxicity of 'uncommon' plant amino acids linked to human motor-system diseases. Brain Res 410 (1987) 375-379
52. Weiss J.H., Koh J.Y., and Choi D.W. Neurotoxicity of beta-N-methylamino-l-alanine (BMAA) and beta-N-oxalylamino-l-alanine (BOAA) on cultured cortical neurons. Brain Res 497 (1989) 64-71
53. Zeevalk G.D., and Nicklas W.J. Acute excitotoxicity in chick retina caused by the unusual amino acids BOAA and BMAA: effects of MK-801 and kynurenate. Neurosci Lett 102 (1989) 284-290
54. Dawson Jr. R., Marschall E.G., Chan K.C., Millard W.J., Eppler B., and Patterson T.A. Neurochemical and neurobehavioral effects of neonatal administration of beta-N-methylamino-l-alanine and 3,3'-iminodipropionitrile. Neurotoxicol Teratol 20 (1998) 181-192
55. Stewart G.R., Olney J.W., Pathikonda M., and Snider W.D. Excitotoxicity in the embryonic chick spinal cord. Ann Neurol 30 (1991) 758-766
56. Copani A., Canonico P.L., Catania M.V., Aronica E., Bruno V., Ratti E., et al. Interaction between beta-N-methylamino-l-alanine and excitatory amino acid receptors in brain slices and neuronal cultures. Brain Res 558 (1991) 79-86
57. Myers T.G., and Nelson S.D. Neuroactive carbamate adducts of beta-N-methylamino-l-alanine and ethylenediamine. Detection and quantitation under physiological conditions by 13C NMR. J Biol Chem 265 (1990) 10193-10195
58. Choi D.W. Glutamate neurotoxicity and diseases of the nervous system. Neuron 1 (1988) 623-634
59. Frandsen A., and Schousboe A. Excitatory amino acid-mediated cytotoxicity and calcium homeostasis in cultured neurons. J Neurochem 60 (1993) 1202-1211
60. Rothman S.M., and Olney J.W. Excitotoxicity and the NMDA receptor - still lethal after eight years. Trends Neurosci 18 (1995) 57-58
61. Murch S.J., Cox P.A., and Banack S.A. A mechanism for slow release of biomagnified cyanobacterial neurotoxins and neurodegenerative disease in Guam. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 101 (2004) 12228-12231
62. Stone R. Toxicology. Fruit bats linked to mystery disease. Science 296 (2002) 241
63. Spencer P.S., Palmer V.S., Herman A., and Asmedi A. Cycad use and motor neurone disease in Irian Jaya. Lancet 2 (1987) 1273-1274
64. Montine T.J., Li K., Perl D.P., and Galasko D. Lack of beta-methylamino-l-alanine in brain from controls, AD, or Chamorros with PDC. Neurology 65 (2005) 768-769
65. Kurland L.T., and Mulder D.W. Epidemiologic investigations of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. I. Preliminary report on geographic distribution, with special reference to the Mariana Islands, including clinical and pathologic observations. Neurology 4 (1954) 355-378
66. Lavine L., Steele J.C., Wolfe N., Calne D.B., O'Brien P.C., Williams D.B., et al. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/parkinsonism-dementia complex in southern Guam: is it disappearing?. Adv Neurol 56 (1991) 271-285
67. Steele J.C., and Guzman T. Observations about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and the parkinsonism-dementia complex of Guam with regard to epidemiology and etiology. Can J Neurol Sci 14 (1987) 358-362
68. Zhang Z.X., Anderson D.W., Mantel N., and Roman G.C. Motor neuron disease on Guam: geographic and familial occurrence, 1956-85. Acta Neurol Scand 94 (1996) 51-59
69. Castenholz R.W., and Waterbury J.B. Group I Cyanobacteria. In: Staley J.T., Bryant M.P., Pfennig N., and Holt J.G. (Eds). Bergey's manual of systematic bacteriology vol. 3 (1989), William & Wilkins, Baltimore
70. Fay P. The blue-greens (Cyanophyta-Cyanobacteria) (1983), Edward Arnold, Baltimore
71. Rai AN, Soderback E, Bergman B. Cyanobacterium-plant symbioses. Tansley Review No. 116, New Phytol 2000;147:449-81.
72. Tredici M.R., Margheri M.C., Giovanetti L., De Philippis R., and Vicenzini M. Heterotrophic metabolism and diazotrophic growth of Nostoc sp. from Cycas circinalis. Plant and Soil 110 (1988) 199-206
73. Codd G.A., Morrison L.F., and Metcalf J.S. Cyanobacterial toxins: risk management for health protection. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 203 (2005) 264-272
74. Cox P.A., Banack S.A., Murch S.J., Rasmussen U., Tien G., Bidigare R.R., et al. Diverse taxa of cyanobacteria produce beta-N-methylamino-l-alanine, a neurotoxic amino acid. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 102 (2005) 5074-5078
75. Haider S., Naithani V., Viswanathan P.N., and Kakkar P. Cyanobacterial toxins: a growing environmental concern. Chemosphere 52 (2003) 1-21
76. Long E.G., Ebrahimzadeh A., White E.H., Swisher B., and Callaway C.S. Alga associated with diarrhea in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and in travelers. J Clin Microbiol 28 (1990) 1101-1104
77. Pouria S., de Andrade A., Barbosa J., Cavalcanti R.L., Barreto V.T., Ward C.J., et al. Fatal microcystin intoxication in haemodialysis unit in Caruaru, Brazil. Lancet 352 (1998) 21-26
78. Marshall K.L., and Vogt R.L. Illness associated with eating seaweed, Hawaii, 1994. West J Med 169 (1998) 293-295
79. Carod Artal F.J., Perez Lopez-Fraile I., Gracia Naya M., and Giron Mombiela J.A. Failure of empirical treatment with ceftriaxone in motor neuron disease. Neurologia 9 (1994) 29-31
80. Halperin J.J., Kaplan G.P., Brazinsky S., Tsai T.F., Cheng T., Ironside A., et al. Immunologic reactivity against Borrelia burgdorferi in patients with motor neuron disease. Arch Neurol 47 (1990) 586-594
81. Nicolson G.L., Nasralla M.Y., Haier J., and Pomfret J. High frequency of systemic mycoplasmal infections in Gulf War veterans and civilians with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). J Clin Neurosci 9 (2002) 525-529
82. Nix W.A., Berger M.M., Oberste M.S., Brooks B.R., McKenna-Yasek D.M., Brown Jr. R.H., et al. Failure to detect enterovirus in the spinal cord of ALS patients using a sensitive RT-PCR method. Neurology 62 (2004) 1372-1377
83. Andrews W.D., Tuke P.W., Al-Chalabi A., Gaudin P., Ijaz S., Parton M.J., et al. Detection of reverse transcriptase activity in the serum of patients with motor neurone disease. J Med Virol 61 (2000) 527-532
84. Chiò A., Calvo A., Di Vito N., Vercellino M., Ghiglione P., Terreni A., et al. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis associated with pregnancy: report of four new cases and review of the literature. Amyotroph Lateral Scler Other Motor Neuron Disord 4 (2003) 45-48
85. Jacka M.J., and Sanderson F. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis presenting during pregnancy. Anesth Analg 86 (1998) 542-543
86. Levine M.C., and Michels R.M. Pregnancy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Ann Neurol 1 (1977) 408
87. Lupo V.R., Rusterholz J.H., Reichert J.A., and Hanson A.S. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol 82 (1993) 682-685
88. Moret J.E., Di Gioia M., and Montaruli V. Subarachnoid anesthesia in a case of cesarean section in a 27-year old patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, in the 39th week of pregnancy. Minerva Anestesiol 57 (1991) 747-748
89. Tyagi A., Sweeney B.J., and Connolly S. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis associated with pregnancy. Neurol India 49 (2001) 413-414
90. Vincent O., and Rodriguez-Ithurralde D. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and pregnancy. J Neurol Sci 129 Suppl. (1995) 42-43
91. Sacks G., Sargent I., and Redman C. An innate view of human pregnancy. Immunol Today 20 (1999) 114-118
92. McCracken S.A., Gallery E., and Morris J.M. Pregnancy-specific down-regulation of NF-kappa B expression in T cells in humans is essential for the maintenance of the cytokine profile required for pregnancy success. J Immunol 172 (2004) 4583-4591
93. Camu W., Cadilhac J., and Billiard M. Conjugal amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a report on two couples from southern France. Neurology 44 (1994) 547-548
94. Chiò A., Herrero Hernandez E., Discalzi G., Ghiglione P., Di Vito N., Calvo A., et al. Conjugal amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: suggestion for the implication of environmental factors. Amyotroph Lateral Scler Other Motor Neuron Disord 2 (2001) 165-166
95. Corcia P., Jafari-Schluep H.F., Lardillier D., Mazyad H., Giraud P., Clavelou P., et al. A clustering of conjugal amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in southeastern France. Arch Neurol 60 (2003) 553-557
96. Rachele M.G., Mascia V., Tacconi P., Dessi N., Marrosu F., and Giagheddu M. Conjugal amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a report on a couple from Sardinia, Italy. Ital J Neurol Sci 19 (1998) 97-100
97. Lewis M.D., McQueen I.N., and Scanlon M.F. Motor neurone disease serum and beta-N-methylamino-l-alanine stimulate thyrotrophin-releasing hormone production by cultured brain cells. Brain Res 537 (1990) 251-255
98. Malm C., Ekblom O., and Ekblom B. Immune system alteration in response to increased physical training during a five day soccer training cAMP. Int J Sports Med 25 (2004) 471-476
99. Pedersen B.K., and Toft A.D. Effects of exercise on lymphocytes and cytokines. Br J Sports Med 34 (2000) 246-251
100. Pfaller M.A., and Diekema D.J. Unusual fungal and pseudofungal infections of humans. J Clin Microbiol 43 (2005) 1495-1504