Alzheimer's Disease a degenerative disease that targets the brain and is most common in more elderly people. It is a form of Dementia and its most common and known side effect is severe memory lose. Alzheimer's can lead to much heartache in a family and in the caregivers. Eventually those suffering from Alzheimer's will need around the clock supervision. This disease is a terrible disease that can take many away from their families and their lives.
In a recent study, a link has been found between Alzheimer's and sharks. From the University of Miami, scientists have found a neurotoxin that is connected with degenerative diseases. BMAA is a toxin found in over ten species of sharks in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Along with BMAA, is high amounts of Mercury found in sharks. Together these two toxins pose as a health risk to humans. You would think that it would be easy to get the word out but, in many Asian cultures and countries sharks are eaten as a delicacy. This is a main cause in the near extinctions of many shark species, and breaking this culture is going to take time and more then just a couple people listening. Scientist recommend strongly that the practise of eating sharks can be a simple fix to part of the growing problem of Alzheimer's Disease.
In my family my Grandpa has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Although you never really know if this is a correct diagnoses until brain samples are taken, which can't happen until death, it hits home for me. This article gave a possible cause to Alzheimer's and many in this world could benefit down the line by staying away from eating shark. If they avoid shark they might be able to avoid having the heart breaking news that someone in their family has be diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. This is only a link and not a cure but hopefully someone can learn from this new data and save themselves and family members from the associated pain.
-K.M.
I am very sorry to hear about your Grandfather. I have worked as a CNA for 7 years and most of that time has been spent in memory care. I have a great deal of experience with people suffering from this horrible disease. Alzheimers Disease has become so prevalent over the years and it is said that the amount of people suffering from it may triple by the year 2050 (from alz.org). I find this article very interesting due to my experience in memory care.-D.B.
ReplyDeleteWhile this article is interesting, I am also slightly confused. Maybe its from the movies and what have you, but I always thought that there where research being done in the study of the chemical's in sharks brains or something about the neuropathic network in the sharks brain to help in Alzheimers disease. Like in the movie "Deep Blue Sea" they were conducting research in sharks to fight Alzheimer, But like I said its the movies and may not be real. Did the article make any mention as to whether there is any benefits to the use of sharks? Another question is if sharks are the only fish that has BMAA as a connection? -D.D.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI am interested to know if there is a higher prevalence of Alzheimers in areas/countries/cultures that have diets high in shark meat?
ReplyDeleteA. Wardell
rephrasing: Is there a high prevalence of Alzheimers in places where shark meat is eaten at a higher rate? That would help to solidify the claims of the article.
DeleteI did a little research, and it appears that Western Europe has the highest rate of Alzheimers, with North America close behind. So to answer your question, I don't really see too much of a correlation. I know that shark meat is considered a delicacy in Asia, but when was the last time you had shark meat here in the U.S.? The information just doesn't add up. Great question. Thank you for allowing me to ponder further upon the subject.
DeleteC.W.
I have seen shark on a menu in California. but its more a steak. I have actually caught and eaten a shark from the Gulf of Mexico. Of course I wasnt up to date on the research back then, wither ethically or phisologically.
DeleteMaybe there could be other things to consider, like the low number of reporting in Asia? or misdiagnosing?
A. Wardell
Is the article claiming that sharks are inadvertently causing Alzheimer's? Or that it's a possibility of sorts? I must admit I am a bit skeptical towards the accuracy of their claims. I'm sure older folk who have never eaten shark are being diagnosed with Alzheimer's. While interesting, it's hard to believe that the link between the two could in fact be what's causing the degenerative disease to take place. I am very interested to know of their different studies on the matter. While they might have the neurotoxins that, paired with the sharks mercury, can be harmful to humans, how could they connect those effects to that of Alzheimer's? Seems wild, but very interesting nonetheless.
ReplyDelete-H.B.
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ReplyDeleteWhy do sharks have high mercury levels?
ReplyDelete-C.T
Bioaccumulation and biomagnification- Little fish eat algae which absorbs mercury from the water, the mercury is very slow to secrete and builds up in the tissue of the fish. These little fish are eaten by bigger fish and on up the food chain, with each animal having a higher and higher mercury load. By the time it gets to the shark (who is eating several fish a day) they have ingested lots of fish with mercury! Many animals higher on the food chain like eagles, osprey and other predatory have high levels of mercury.
DeleteA. Wardell
My grandma (on my mother's side) also had Alzheimer's disease. When my family and I would visit her, she didn't know who we were and didn't recognize my mom. I hope that there will someday be a cure; I do not want to see my own mom like that or experience Alzheimers for myself.
ReplyDelete-Ashley B.
How do you connect the disease to those who don't eat shark? It may be a rare delicacy in Asia, but I sure as heck haven't eaten or even seen shark on any menu. Could there be something else in the shark, that humans could also produce?
ReplyDeleteC.W.
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DeleteTo answer your question, the article only mentions it as one of many possible causes of Alzheimer's. So for us in the United States that have never eaten shark, or let alone seen a shark, have other potential cause of Alzheimer's. A very common cause of the disease is found with in the genes. If a parent has it then a child is more likely to get the disease. So it looks as if the gene is a type of mutation or recessive allele. The chemical found in shark meat has shown that it can mutate the gene, but it is not the most common cause of the disease. So in other words, we can still get Alzheimer's Disease even if we have never had shark meat.
DeleteK.M.
So am I understanding then, that if you don't have the gene, you can eat all the shark meat you want?
Deletea.wardell
I think what they were saying is that if you have never eaten shark meat it still might be a problem if you have the gene in your family, but eating the shark meat highers your chance of getting it.
Delete-H.B.
Does this mean that other marine species that are in the same mercury infested waters could also be contaminated? It seems that only a few countries eat sharks, but there is a higher level of people who have Alzheimers.
ReplyDeleteB. Calder
I definitely think it's possible. You make a great point. Few countries eat sharks, yet the number of people that have Alzheimers is much higher. I believe there are other contaminated marine species.
DeleteJ. Ryan
So to clarify, is the article essentially linking eating shark as a increased risk of having Alzheimers? (essentially is it the mixture of increased mercury and BMAA that is the problem?) Or is the concept more along the lines of increased mercury consumption? It would be interesting to know if there are higher rates of Alzheimers closer to the ocean where seafood is more readily available. JS
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your grandfather. I was wondering if BMAA is the main cause of Alzheimers, or if it just increases your risk of developing the disease? If so, what is it about BMAA that increases the risk, and what happens in the brain to lead to Alzheimers?
ReplyDeleteI think I voice kind of the same thoughts as those above that correlation definitely does not equal causation and that, according to some simple Google searches, seems that eating shark does not correlate to increased rates of Alzheimer's. Is there something else we are doing in Western society that is causing greater rates of Alzheimer's than in the East, where the shark meat should technically increase Alzheimer's rates? Or are we more genetically predisposed to the disease? I think it is interesting that they are willing to look at other animals and their chemicals to treat human diseases or causes of human diseases. I do know that there are currently plasma treatments being tested that have shown to stop Alzheimer's in its tracks. It isn't showing repairs or healing from Alzheimer's but with the right screening processes, maybe they can catch the disease and provide treatments to stop the disease from getting worse.
ReplyDelete-Alex G.
Ya I agree with lots of the comments on this post. I feel like there can't be much of a link because Alzheimer's is quite prevalent here in the US but eating shark is extremely rare. However, I do agree with you. I hope that studying the BMAA from the sharks, they will be able to find more successful cures and treatments to this terrible disease. And I too am really sorry about your grandpa. -Chad B
ReplyDeleteI think the correlation here may be irrelevant. Sure, the chemicals are the same, but is it possible that they have tied these two ideas together by mistake? As a result to the BMAA do sharks have very poor memories? KH
ReplyDeleteWell if this is article is true, then I am very sad. Shark was definitely on my list of things I wanted to try and eat. However, based on my feel of the article, this seems more like trying to put together a list of carcinogens. Bacon is on the list, and we as people continue to eat it anyway! So I'm not surprised that people aren't willing to change their diet just because of what science says.
ReplyDeleteMatt N.
Sorry if I missed the answer to this, but just to clarify, did they test these toxin levels in humans to see if those who had higher amounts of the toxins showed a higher rate of Alzheimer’s? If so, how many people were tested, and where were these people from? Also what were the results from this?
ReplyDelete-Mindy C.
In certain sharks is there less of the harmful chemical? Or none at all? I wonder if Asian cultures would be willing to cut shark out of their diet or their own safety.
ReplyDeleteSkyler H.
I chose to look at this article because the title caught my attention. I think it is very interesting that something as random as sharks could be related to a degenerative disease such as Alzheimer's. Are there any other foods that have links to Alzheimer's as well?
ReplyDelete--A.S.
Are sharks the only marine life that possess alzheimers inducing mercury? I was told when I was pregnant that tuna has high amounts of mercury and I'm curious if that could have the same effects?- Or are sharks unique in this?
ReplyDeleteHW