Behavioral and neurological correlates of ALS-parkinsonism dementia complex in adult mice fed washed cycad flour.

Consumption of cycad seed products (Cycas circinalis) is one of the strongest epidemiological links to the Guamian neurological disorder amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-parkinsonism-dementia complex (ALS-PDC), however, the putative toxin which causes neurodegeneration has never been identified definitively. To reexamine this issue, 6-7-mo-old, male CD-1 mice were assessed for motor and cognitive behaviours during and following feeding with pellets made from washed cycad flour. Cycad-fed animals showed early evidence of progressive motor and cognitive dysfunctions.

Synergistic versus antagonistic actions of glutamate and glutathione: the role of excitotoxicity and oxidative stress in neuronal disease.

The etiology of various age-related neurological diseases remains unknown. Sporadic forms ofAlzheimer's, Parkinson's and Lou Gehrig's disease have been linked to environmental factors that cause neuronal cell death either by excitotoxicity or by inducing oxidative stress. Our recent studies have demonstrated that various compounds not previously associated with these diseases, i.