Amnesic shellfish poisoning

Todd, E., Amnesic shellfish poisoning - a new seafood toxin syndrome, in Graneli, E., ed.. Toxic Marine Phytoplankton, Elsevier Science Publishing, 1990b. 

A team of more than 40 scientists assembled at the National Research Council of Canada to solve what came to be called the amnesic shellfish poisoning mystery. Scientists had already tested for bacteria, heavy metals, and pesticides that they knew could cause sickness, but none of these were the cause.The mussel samples were a mixture of thousands of different chemical compounds, and scientists didn t even know what many of them were. How can you separate out an unknown when you don t know what you re looking for or what its properties are ... 

Domoic acid (Fig. 28,80) (263) is a neuro-phycotoxin responsible for the mortality of wildlife and for amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) of humans during algal bloom. Domoic acid was first isolated from the red alga Chondria armata ( domoi in Japanese), and it is produced also by diatoms, such as Pseudo-nitzschia spp. For the latter, evidence has been presented that it is involved in iron acquisition (307). 

Amnesic shellfish poisoning Domoic acid Confusion, memory loss, seizure, coma Affects elderly... 

Amnesic shellfish poison (domoic acid)/shellfish... 

Amnesic shellfish poisoning resulted in four deaths in northeastern Canada in the early 1990s. and domoic acid, the causative agent, was first documented on the Washington and Oregon coasts in 1991. The toxin... 

E.C.D. Todd, Domoic acid and amnesic shellfish poisoning—a review,... 

Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP) was first identified in 1987 from Prince Edward Island, Canada after four people died from eating contaminated mussels. It is caused by domoic acid produced by several species of Pseudonitzschia diatoms. The main contamination problems include mussels, clams, and crabs of the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Canada. 

The red alga Digenea simplex has been used for the treatment of roundworm disease for centuries. Its active principle is kainic acid. The related domoic acid is a constituent of another red alga, Chondria armata, used for the same purpose. These compounds, known as kainoids, are potent neurotoxins and excitatory amino acids. Kainoids are important tools in neurophysiological research. Domoic acids are also produced by diatoms and were responsible for the shellfish poisonings known as amnesic shellfish poisonings that occurred in Canada in 1987. 

The term amnesic shellfish poison (ASP) has been coined for this new shellfish toxin. The causative organism of ASP was then identified to be the pennate diatom Nitzschia pungens Grunow f. multiseries Hasle, a bloom of which contaminated the cultured mussels in eastern Prince Edward Island in 1987. 

The most severe cases of human amnesic shellfish poisoning occurred in males of advanced age, which originally suggested that age and sex are predisposing factors (Perl et al. 1990). However, the age-related predisposition is, at least in part, the result of renal impairment (Teitelbaum et al. 1990) and is supported by several experimental studies (Suzuki and Hierlihy 1993 Truelove and Iverson 1994 Xi et al. 1997). Nonetheless, advanced age may enhance snsceptibihty in other ways to domoic acid. Electric field potential analysis of hippocampal slices determined that aged rats differed from younger rats in that they did not exhibit preconditioned tolerance to domoic acid (Kerr et al. 2002). This was interpreted that the older rats may be deficient in neuroprotective mechanisms. 

Holland, P.T., Selwood, A T, Mountfort, D.O., Wilkins, A.L., McNabb, E, Rhodes, L.L., Doucette, G.J., Mikulski, C.M., and King, K.L. 2005. Isodomoic acid C, an unusual amnesic shellfish poisoning toxin from Pseudo-nitzschia australis. Chem Res Toxicol 18, 814-816. 

Novelli, A, Femandez-Sanchez, M.T., Kispert, J., Torreblanca, A, Gascon, S., and Zitko, V 1992a. The amnesic shellfish poison domoic acid enhances neurotoxicity hy excitatory amino acids in cultured neurons. Amino Acids 2,233-244. 

Peng, Y.G., Taylor, T.B., Finch, R.E., Switzer, R.C., and Ramsdell, J.S. 1994. Neuroexcitatory and neurotoxic actions of the amnesic shellfish poison, domoic acid. NeuroReport 5, 981-985. 

Marine biotoxins are prodnced by marine organisms. They have led to numerous cases of seafood poisoning, resulting in various syndromes, such as diarrhetic (DSP), paralytic (PSP), and amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP). 

Domoic acid, causing amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) Dinoflagellate toxins... 

Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number CAS 14277-97-5. Domoic acid, a glutamic acid analog that is resistant to temperature extremes, is an excitatory neurotoxin produced by a diatom and concentrated in shellfish. Ingestion leads to amnesic shellfish poisoning, which can also include seizures. Its relevance to use in warfare and terrorism, apart from its being unfamiliar to most disaster-response personnel, is that it is also easily absorbed by inhalation and across mucous membranes. No specific antitoxin is available, and treatment is supportive. 

Glutamate ionotropic receptors - agonists Important agents include the plant agents ibotenic acid, acromelic acid and BMAA (P-W-oxalylamino-L-alanine), and also domoicacid (amnesic shellfish poison). See GLUTAMATE RECEPTOR AGONISTS. 

Jeffrey B, Barlow T, Moizer K, Paul S and Boyle C (2004). Amnesic shellfish poison. Food and Chemical Toxicology. 42(4), 545-557. 

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