β-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) is not found in the brains of patients with confirmed Alzheimer's disease.
Controversy surrounds the proposed hypothesis that exposure to β-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) could play a role in various neurodegenerative conditions including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here we present the results of the most comprehensive scientific study on BMAA detection ever undertaken on brain samples from patients pathologically confirmed to have suffered from AD, and those from healthy volunteers. Following the full validation of a highly accurate and sensitive mass spectrometric method, no trace of BMAA was detected in the diseased brain or in the control specimens. This contradicts the findings of other reports and calls into question the significance of this compound in neurodegenerative disease. We have attempted to explain the potential causes of misidentification of BMAA in these studies.
Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queens University Belfast, BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland.
Julie P
JP
Meneely
Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queens University Belfast, BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland.
Olivier P
OP
Chevallier
Beaumont Research Institute, 3811 W. 13 Mile Road, Royal Oak, Michigan 48073, USA.
Stewart
S
Graham
Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queens University Belfast, BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland.
Brett
B
Greer
Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queens University Belfast, BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland.
Brian D
BD
Green
Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queens University Belfast, BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland.
Christopher T
CT
Elliott
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000378:metabolism*; D000599:Amino Acids, Diamino / Q000378:metabolism*; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D000087522:Cyanobacteria Toxins; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013058:Mass Spectrometry
D000599:Amino Acids, Diamino; D000087522:Cyanobacteria Toxins; C001824:beta-N-methylamino-L-alanine