Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-like syndrome

Certain individuals on Guam and other South Sea Islands exhibit an increased incidence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), parkinsonism and dementia. The absence of inheritable or transmissible factors in this syndrome led to a search for environmental causes and the identification of the false sago palm Cycas circinalis) as a likely source of the causative agent. This plant contains a number of potential neurotoxins including -N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA), an agent with weak excitotoxic properties (Spencer et al., 1990). 

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