1. Is Algae the link to ALS &
Other Neurodegenerative
Illnesses?
Venturi Aeration, Inc.
John M. Salonich

2. ALS Clusters Identified
• ALS Researchers investigate for common
links in known cases.
• Map plotting revealed clusters of ALS
cases in New England States.
• What was the common element?
• Many live near large bodies of water
• What substance in the water could be
cause?
• Blue-Green algal blooms - cyanobacteria

3. • ~5,600 new ALS cases diagnosed each
year
• Researchers “assume” ALS has some
unknown interaction between genes
and the environment that are
responsible for degeneration of cells.
• There are also clusters for other
neurodegenerative disorders, i.e.
Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s dementia

4. Elijah Stommel - Dartmouth
• Identified ALS patients in a cluster from
same NH town – Enfield, NH
• All lived near Lake Mascoma
• Theorized based on other research* that
BMAA in cyanobacteria might be link
• Other ALS clusters identified in New
England all live near lakes with poor water
quality and algal blooms
• Is diet of seafood or other common link?

5. Sampling Technique
• Questionnaire sent to ALS patients
• Not all ate seafood from local lakes/ocean
• Common element was air quality
• Collection of Airborne Aerosol samples
• Toxins analyzed
• Predominate algal toxin ID’d is BMAA (β-
N-methylamino-L-alanine)

6. BMAA Being Aerolized
• The air at the air/water interface was
sampled
• BMAA aerolized by agitation and sun
• The body may mistake BMAA for the
amino acid L-serine
• When ingested the toxin enters proteins
which become “misfolded” and they no
longer function properly and damage cells

7. Actions
• Clinical approach is to determine if larges doses
of L-serine will “outcompete” BMAA inhibiting it
from being incorporated into proteins in the body
• Improve water quality, reduce N-P levels in
runoff that contibute to blue-green algae blooms
• Inhibit formation of cyanobacteria blooms that
generate BMAA
• Other treatment technologies exist for enhancing
water quality inhibiting algal blooms, they are
aeration and sonication.