Abstract
The Chamorro people of Guam have been afflicted with a complex of neurodegenerative diseases (now known as ALS-PDC) with similarities to ALS, AD, and PD at a far higher rate than other populations throughout the world. Chamorro consumption of flying foxes may have generated sufficiently high cumulative doses of plant neurotoxins to result in ALS-PDC neuropathologies, since the flying foxes forage on neurotoxic cycad seeds.
MeSH terms
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Alzheimer Disease / chemically induced
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Alzheimer Disease / epidemiology
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Amino Acids, Diamino / adverse effects
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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / chemically induced*
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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / epidemiology
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Animals
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Chiroptera*
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Cyanobacteria Toxins
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Cycas / adverse effects*
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Cycasin / adverse effects
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Diet / adverse effects*
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Female
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Guam / epidemiology
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Humans
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Incidence
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Male
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Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
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Parkinson Disease / epidemiology
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Parkinson Disease, Secondary / chemically induced
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Plants, Toxic / adverse effects
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Seeds / adverse effects
Substances
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Amino Acids, Diamino
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Cyanobacteria Toxins
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beta-N-methylamino-L-alanine
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Cycasin