Help Fund Neurotoxin Testing In Tahoe For ALS-MND!

-Sponsored by:Tahoe Area ALS/MND Research Library on Facebook

Greetings Everyone,

Our team from the Tahoe Area ALS/MND Research Library is continuing our research again this summer into the deadly neurotoxin, Beta-Methylamino-L-Alanine or BMAA, Anatoxin-A( nerve toxin) and Microcystin( liver toxin), in our water and air in Lake Tahoe. Due to time constraints, rules and regulations for the Serene Lakes water district, etc. we are going to have to solely focus on Lake Tahoe and allow the Serene Lakes community to organize a separate study with Dr. Haney for next summe. Our community in Lake Tahoe has been besieged by large clusters of ALS cases. Our first year of research on the question of ALS and cyanobacteria was quite successful. Our goal last summer was to determine if these three toxins were present in our water and air. As it turns out they were and in surprisingly large quantities for an oligotrophic lake such as Lake Tahoe. You are all well aware that ALS is a horrible and terminal disease with no known cure and after decades of research into BMAA, a neurotoxin produced by cyanobacteria, it has been found to be a causative agent for neurodegeneration when inhaled or consumed, specifically ALS/Parkinson's and Alzheimer's Disease.

Dr. Jim Haney and his Aerosol Toxin Lab at the University of New Hampshire(UNH) will be investigating BMAA as well as two other toxins, Anatoxin-A, a nerve toxin and Microcystin, a liver toxin, which are also dangerous and damaging to humans and pets. Last summer we found all three toxins in our studies of the Tahoe Keys, Valhalla Pier and Serene Lakes areas. High levels were surprisingly found in both lake water and in the air, requiring further investigation. The community of toxic cyanobacteria in the Tahoe Keys differed strikingly from the "open water" Valhalla Pier area. The Tahoe Keys toxins were mainly produced by the bloom-forming cyanobacteria generally associated with high nutrient(eutrophic) lakes whereas the "open water" toxins appear to be coming from the tiny, invisible to the eye, picocyanobacteria and not generally included in most lake testing programs. All three toxins were found in the aerosols emitted from Lake Tahoe and the Tahoe Keys. Toxic concentrations in the aerosols were unexpectedly high, especially in the Valhalla Pier area, which were higher than some of the eutrophic lakes on the East Coast. This raises the questions of what species are the picocyanobacteria? Are they uniquely toxigenic and do they increase with the nutrient loading of Lake Tahoe? Does Lake Tahoe have other chemical/physical properties which enhance aerosol production? Last year's research uncovered an important puzzle and may be key to learning about possible links between the lakes and neurological disorders. This aerosol toxin research is critical to understanding the impact of our lakes on our residents as well as addressing the issue of lake water quality and human health. For anyone who wants to read our research report from last summer it can be found on our Facebook Library page: Tahoe Area ALS/MND Research Library under "Lake Tahoe Aerosol Toxins 2022" along with over a hundred more articles demonstrating the connection between ALS and the cyanotoxin BMAA.

As l have mentioned in several posts on our Facebook Library page, none of the agencies in Lake Tahoe are doing this type of research nor have they offered to provide funds for our project. In short, we need your help as we are the first team to find this neurotoxin in our water and air. With further investigation this summer we are continuing to expand our research by doing more collection dates (4) in August through October at three sites in Lake Tahoe and testing for three toxins: BMAA, Anatoxin-A and Microcystin. Given how many people live and recreate in the Tahoe Basin, thus exposing themselves to these toxins by breathing and drinking them, it is important to find out what is driving these toxins and where they are present. Dr. Elijah Stommel, an epidemiologist at Dartmouth who is also working with us, wants to study our ALS cases so we would like to provide him with the necessary data points so that he can make the connection between environmental toxins and neurodegeneration in the Tahoe area.

We are trying to raise $12,500 which would cover the cost of our testing kits, laboratory analysis, salaries for two scientists, lab fees and supplies, collection costs, overnight shipping fees, office supplies, administrative fees and other associated costs which have all increased this past year. We will have a report to share with you all by the end of the year.

For the past eight years our team has generously volunteered their time and energy in an effort to understand why so many people who live in Lake Tahoe have died from ALS. So far, we are the ONLY group who is looking into this and we would like to continue our research this summer, with your help, if possible.

For those of you interested in the connection between cyanotoxins and neurodegeneration, please join our Facebook Library: Tahoe Area ALS/MND Research Library on Facebook to stay up to date, access last summer's report, read research articles and view photos. And please, share this fund raiser with your friends as this topic is quite important to the local communities in the Tahoe area.

Thank you,

Trish: Curator For: Tahoe Area ALS/MND Research Library

*Photos are from cyanobacteria blooms in Lake Tahoe and Serene Lakes last summer where we found the deadly neurotoxin BMAA.