MIAMI (WSVN) - Dolphins have shown signs of cognitive decline, which scientists believe may be caused by toxic algae.
Their research has raised concern not just for marine life, but for humans as well.
“When dolphins strand, they have unusual behavior; some may be disoriented,” said Dr. David Davis, Research Associate Professor of Neurology.
The Tampa Bay area saw a lot of between the summer of 2018 and 2019, where 183 dolphins were overtaken by toxic algae blooms.
New research from the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine showed that some of those dolphins may have shown early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Davis said it all began in 2019, when he was given a deck of brain tissue slides to examine.
“I thought they were actually Alzheimer’s disease slides, but they told me, no, these were animals that had been treated with algal toxins,” said Dr. Davis. “It got me starting to think, what is that doing to animals in the environment?”
Dr. Davis partnered with the Hubs SeaWorld Research Institute in a first-of-its-kind study that looked at 20 common Bottlenose Dolphins from the years 2010 to 2019.
“These are dolphins that are commonly found in the Indian River Lagoon,” said Dr. Davis.
He said it’s hard to compare outward Alzheimer’s symptoms in humans to those of dolphins, but a look at the brain exhibited many similarities.
“And we were able to find that, yeah, the dolphins did develop Alzheimer’s disease changes, but they also had these particular types of algal toxins in their brain,” said Dr. Davis.
The toxin in question is known as 24DAB.
“In dolphins, they had a dysregulation of their inhibitory synapse, which also can be seen in Alzheimer’s disease as well,” said Dr. Davis.
Comparable changes to their blood-brain barriers were noticed as well.
Co-author on the paper, Paul Allen Cox, found a different study claiming that exposure to toxic algae could also impact human brains.
“Particularly, a toxin called BMAA developed neurodegenerative-like symptoms in their brain,” said Dr. Davis.
As scientists continue to learn how toxic algae affects the brain, Dr. Davis warns to stay away from it as much as you can.
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