A RARE amino acid is the cause of Guam disease, according to scientists at the University of London. The disease afflicts some Pacific islanders, destroying their central nervous system. They can become ill when they eat food made from nuts of the false sago palm (Cycas circinalis).
Although this cycad is found all over the Western Pacific, from Japan to Australia, people eat its fruit only in certain areas, including the islands of Guam and Rota. The plant is also used in traditional medicine in the Kii Peninsula of Japan, and the Jaya region of New Guinea. It is mainly in these regions that a devastating neurological disease, known as Guam disease, is found. It resembles Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, as well as a disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The brain and spinal cord degenerate, leading to dementia, paralysis and death.
The condition was particularly prevalent among the Chamorro people ...
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