Toxic Algal Blooms May Cause Seizures in California Sea Lions

Posted on: Friday, 15 August 2008, 03:00 CDT By Anonymous Scientists recently reported that an increase of epileptic seizures and behavioral abnormalities in California sea lions could be the result of low-dose exposure to the algal toxin domoic acid as a fetus. The findings, by Frances Gulland of the California Marine Mammal Center, showed this brain disturbance to be a newly recognized chronic disease. John Ramsdell of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Center for Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research conducted the first-of-its-kind analysis of poisoning by domoic acid during fetal brain development. The results, analyzed across multiple animal species, point to the toxin as a cause for behavioral changes and epilepsy that does not become evident until later in life. Domoic acid is produced by... [read full story]