For Immediate Release
Jackson, Wyoming – October 26, 2023
The Jackson Hole-based Brain Chemistry Labs team recently hosted a symposium for its global consortium of scientists.
The symposium served as an opportunity for researchers from around the world to unveil their latest, often not-yet-published findings and freely discuss them among their interdisciplinary colleagues.
Dr. Paul Alan Cox presents an achievement award to Ph.D. student Katie Low for her studies of BMAA in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem with the Ricketts Conservation Foundation.
“We convened our extended network of neurologists, neuropathologists, chemists, biochemists, physiologists, epidemiologists, biologists, and Ph.D. students pursuing related fields. This event was particularly significant because it was our first in-person meeting since 2019,” commented Dr. Paul Alan Cox, Executive Director of the Brain Chemistry Labs.
With a focus on BMAA, a neurotoxin produced by cyanobacteria found in polluted lakes and rivers, the symposium explored how BMAA is produced and how it can be detected. BMAA has been found to cause a puzzling neurodegenerative disease among the Chamorro people of Guam, and is now considered by epidemiologists to be a risk factor for ALS. Scientists currently are attempting to determine if it could be a risk factor for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
“Each person in our consortium holds an important piece of the puzzle. Bringing together these scientists from distant countries helps build a more complete picture,” Senior Scientist Dr. Sandra Banack said.
“Our common goal is to make a meaningful impact on the lives of patients suffering from these brutal diseases.”
Bo Landin, the director of a documentary on this effort called Toxic Puzzle, narrated by Harrison Ford, has recently made the film available for free public viewing at www.brainchemistrylabs.org.
The Brain Chemistry Labs team has been testing a naturally occurring treatment option through various clinical trials, yielding promising results in terms of safety and effectiveness.
The team has also been successful in developing a diagnostic biomarker for ALS, which would accelerate diagnosis—and ultimately treatment—for patients with this serious disease.
Contact: Marya King, marya@ethnomedicine.org, 224-358-6578