A novel type of intoxication in Canada in 1987 was traced to consumption of cultivated mussels contaminated with the excitotoxin domoic acid. Studies carried out in rats and monkeys revealed that parenterally administered domoic acid induces in rats neuroexcitatory phenomena culminating in seizures. Monkeys respond with gagging, emesis and less clearly evident seizure activity. CNS damage consisting of dendrotoxic and gliotoxic edema and nerve cell degeneration occurs in structures of the limbic system and the retina in both species. CNS lesion distribution similarities in animals treated with domoic acid or kainic acid suggest that these excitotoxins share a common pathogenesis mediated by glutamic acid, a putative endogenous excitatory neurotransmitter.
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