Gulf Courses, Bats, Guam, Parkinson’s, Cyanobacteria, BMAA, Alzheimer’s, ALS, and L-Serine…..What is Going On?
*This article is not medical advice. Before starting on any health related regimen, seek the advice of your Primary Care Physician or an M.D.
Neurological Disorders
Much research has been done on various neurological disorders like Parkinson, Alzheimers, ALCS, etc. What is involved in each is elevations in oxidative stress, in particular, related to various ion channels, like voltage gated calcium channels, sodium, potassium, ion channels, and receptors like TRPM, TRPV, NMDA, and glutamate excitotoxicity that creates significant oxidative stress on neurons.
“The closer you live to golf courses, the more likely you will get Parkinsons. Guam is home to massive algae blooms, bats who eat that algae, and humans that eat bats as a delicacy. BMAA toxicity mimics glutamate excitotoxicity. The amount of algae blooms in the Missouri, Mississippi rivers from Iowa to New Orleans is intense. The excessive use of nitrogen based fertilizers in thousands of tons is ……crazy….”
Recent Article Linking Proximity To Golf Courses To Parkinsons[9]
We know lots of herbicides, and pesticides are used on golf courses
We know there are lots of blooming ponds near golf courses filled with algae
Cyanobacteria from certain algae can cause BMAA toxicity, which leads to several problems metabolically - glutamate excitotoxicity.
Guam and Alzheimer’s / ALCS [2-5]
In Guam, a specific type of neurodegenerative disease, ALS-PDC (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-parkinsonism-dementia complex), has been linked to the consumption of flying fox bats, which feed on cycad seeds. The cycad seeds contain cyanobacteria in their roots, which produce the neurotoxin BMAA (b-methylamino-L-alanine). BMAA biomagnifies in the food chain, concentrating in the bats and eventually in humans who consume them, potentially causing ALS-PDC.
Here's a more detailed explanation:
ALS-PDC in Guam:
This disease, also known as Lytico-Bodig disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor neuron degeneration, parkinsonian features, and dementia. It has a high prevalence among the Chamorro people of Guam.
Cycads and Cyanobacteria:
Cycads are ancient, palm-like plants that have a symbiotic relationship with cyanobacteria in their roots. These cyanobacteria produce BMAA.
BMAA Biomagnification:
BMAA is a neurotoxin that accumulates in the food chain. Cycad seeds contain BMAA, and bats, particularly flying foxes, consume these seeds in large quantities. When Chamorro people eat the bats, they consume the accumulated BMAA.
The Hypothesis:
The theory is that the high levels of BMAA in the brain tissue of ALS-PDC patients are linked to the consumption of cycad-eating bats. BMAA is an excitotoxin, meaning it can over-stimulate neurons, potentially leading to neuronal damage.
Other Neurodegenerative Diseases:
Some researchers have also explored the possibility of BMAA being involved in other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, but this is not a widely accepted conclusion. according to a critical review by the National Institutes of Health
Chamorro Diet:
The traditional diet of the Chamorro people included cycads and flying foxes, making them particularly vulnerable to BMAA exposure.
Fewer Cases Today:
The prevalence of ALS-PDC has declined in recent years, likely due to changes in dietary habits and the rarity of flying foxes.
The Mechanics of What Happens
Excess BMAA leads to the insertion of BMAA in the place of L-Serine which shuts down a number of pathways
Not the least of which is the ability to create l-cysteine, fundamental for sulfur processing, anti oxidant production
Also shuts down the production of iron-sulfur clusters, perhaps one of the most important cofactors in the body.
This will all lead to a collapse in the protection of enzymes that require cysteine residues in some of the most important pathways in the body
Dopamine, serotonin production
NAD production, high quinolinic acid
Iron sulfur cluster formation
The production of heme, an important cofactor in hundreds of genes in the body
Synthesis of collage
Krebs cycle and the production of ATP
you get it….its kinda important
There is Controversy - But - Are These Studies Free Of Conflicts Of Interest !?[6-8]
Human consumption of flying foxes that fed on cycad seeds was later suggested as a source of BMAA on Guam and a cause of ALS/PDC. Subsequently, the hypothesis was expanded to include a causative role for BMAA in other neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease (AD) through exposures attributed to proximity to freshwaters and/or consumption of seafood due to its purported production by most species of cyanobacteria. The hypothesis that BMAA is the critical factor in the genesis of these neurodegenerative diseases received considerable attention in the medical, scientific, and public arenas. This review examines the history of ALS/PDC and the BMAA-human disease hypotheses; similarities and differences between ALS/PDC and the other diseases with similar symptomologies; the relationship of ALS/PDC to other similar diseases, studies of BMAA-mediated effects in lab animals, inconsistencies and data gaps in the hypothesis; and other compounds and agents that were suggested as the cause of ALS/PDC on Guam. The review concludes that the hypothesis of a causal BMAA neurodegenerative disease relationship is not supported by existing data.[8]
Mike’s Take
Pesticides and herbicides have been to cause a variety of illnesses and diseases when exposure is high combined with compromised genetic detoxification pathways in humans.
BMAA can insert itself in place of L-Serine, a critical amino acid, causing a number of deleterious effects and cascades of dysfunction leading to metabolic, neurologic collapse, and intense oxidative stress on various parts of the body including the brain and neuronal tissues.
BMAA can induce glutamate like excitotoxicity in neurons, creating massive disturbances in the ion channels in the brain, NMDA receptors, and a significant amount of oxidative stress in these tissues as a result.
This oxidative stress will disable genes that use iron-sulfur clusters or L-Cysteine residues as their cofactors (NAD production, ATP Production, neurotransmitter production, etc, etc).
High does L-Serine supplementation has been shown to improve, protect and prevent the advancement of alzheimer’s in some cases, it slows down the PGDH gene, see my other article on alzheimer’s
Diets like in Okinawa Japan, have a higher % of L-Serine in their diet as a % of protein intake compared to other populations. Neurodegenerative disease is very low in this population
The extensive use of nitrogen based fertilizers in the mid-west is almost too much in tonnage to fathom
The mechanics i laid out above speak for themselves - its a disaster.
References:
A Batty Hypothesis on the Origins of Neurodegenerative Disease Resurfaces, By Katie Moisse, Scientific American. May 28, 2010New Research Points to Brain Toxin as Cause of ALS-like disease in GuamFebruary 3, 2004. ALC AssociationBug makes bats bad for brains. John Whitfield . Nature (2003). Published: 11 November 2003The Emerging Science of BMAA: Do Cyanobacteria Contribute to Neurodegenerative Disease?. Wendee Holtcamp, Environ Health Perspect. 2012 Mar 1;120(3):a110–a116. doi: 10.1289/ehp.120-a110 PMCID: PMC3295368 PMID: 22382274Return of the cycad hypothesis - does the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/parkinsonism dementia complex (ALS/PDC) of Guam have new implications for global health?. P G Ince 1, G A CoddNeuropathol Appl Neurobiol2005 Aug;31(4):345-53. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2990.2005.00686.x. PMID: 16008818. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2990.2005.00686.xDietary Toxins and Neurodegenerative Diseases—Guam Revisited. ALZForum. 10 Nov 2003.Tenuous Links Between Blue-green algae and Neurological Diseases. November 2013A critical review of the postulated role of the non-essential amino acid, β-N-methylamino-L-alanine, in neurodegenerative disease in humans. N Chernoff . J Toxicol Environ Health B Crit Rev. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2019 May 7. J Toxicol Environ Health B Crit Rev. 2017 Jun 9;20(4):1–47. doi: 10.1080/10937404.2017.1297592.PMCID: PMC6503681 NIHMSID: NIHMS1025543 PMID: 28598725Proximity to Golf Courses and Risk of Parkinson Disease. Brittany Krzyzanowski, May 8, 2025. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8(5):e259198. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.9198