Toxic Algal Blooms May Cause Seizures In California Sea Lions
Scientists, reporting in the current issue of the online journal Marine Drugs, state that an increase of epileptic seizures and behavioral abnormalities in California sea lions can result from low-dose exposure to domoic acid as a fetus. The findings follow an analysis earlier this year led by Frances Gulland of the California Marine Mammal Center that showed this brain disturbance to be a newly recognized chronic disease. John Ramsdell of NOAA's Center for Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research in Charleston, SC, in partnership with Tanja Zabka, a veterinary pathologist at the Marine Mammal Center, conducted the first-of-its kind analysis of poisoning by the algal toxin, domoic acid, during fetal brain development. The results, analyzed across multiple animal species, point to the toxin as a cause for behavioral changes and epilepsy that does not become evident until later in life. read more
Read the whole article on Scientific Blogging
More from Scientific Blogging
Related
- International experts weigh-in on harmful algal bloomsTue, 6 Jan 2009, 16:56:31 EST
- A thirst for blood sparks toxic algal bloomsTue, 30 Jun 2009, 9:14:32 EDT
- New target discovered to treat epileptic seizures following brain trauma or strokeFri, 5 Dec 2008, 11:41:46 EST
- Notorious 'man-eating' lions of Tsavo likely ate about 35 people -- not 135, scientists sayMon, 2 Nov 2009, 15:36:49 EST
- Unravelling the mystery of the kitty litter parasite in marine mammalsMon, 2 Jun 2008, 11:15:48 EDT