Detection of β-N-methylamino-l-alanine in postmortem olfactory bulbs of Alzheimer’s disease patients using UHPLC-MS/MS: An autopsy case-series study

With support from the Herbert W. Hoover Foundation, Dr. David Davis and a team of scientists at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine contributed to a study exploring how exposure to airborne cyanobacterial toxins may be linked to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. The researchers examined postmortem olfactory tissue—located in the upper nasal passage—of individuals with varying stages of Alzheimer’s and detected the presence of BMAA, a neurotoxic compound produced by cyanobacterial blooms. The study raises important questions about whether inhaling aerosolized environmental toxins could play a role in triggering or accelerating neurological decline. By highlighting a potentially overlooked pathway of exposure through the nose, this work adds to growing evidence that environmental factors contribute to brain disease. The full study is published in Toxicology Reports and is available open access here.