Movie claims link between harmful algal blooms and ALS

SANDUSKY — If you need one more reason to get rid of harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie, the documentary movie "Toxic Puzzle" appears to supply it.The award-winning documentary, an English language movie released in 2017 by Sweden's Scandinature Films, focuses on a scientist named Paul Alan Cox, who goes to harmful algal bloom locations around the world, including Sandusky and the Lake Erie Shore.The movie also follows Cox to Australia, the Baltic Sea, Florida and other locales. The movie won several awards and is narrated by actor Harrison Ford.The movie argues that a chemical produced by harmful algal blooms, BMAA, can trigger ALS (also known as "Lou Gehrig's disease"), Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease in some people, and asserts that clusters of ALS exist near bodies of water with harmful algal blooms.It also claims that eating foods rich in the amino acid L-Serine, such as sweet potatoes and soy products, can protect against ALS.It's important to note the movie's claims, while intriguing, have yet to be proven by scientists. There are ongoing clinical trials of L-Serine that have not concluded yet.In addition, a national registry for ALS recently has been created. It eventually could make it clear whether there is a geographical risk factor associated with harmful algal blooms.There's no final answer yet to the movie's claims, said Lisa M. Bruening, director of care services for the Northern Ohio chapter of the ALS Association.The movie includes a scene filmed in Sandusky's water filter plant and has a brief interview with Professor George Bullerjahn, a Bowling Green State University scientist who has studied harmful algal blooms in Sandusky Bay. Bullerjahn could not be reached for comment for this article.Anyone in the Sandusky area easily can see the film for themselves. It's offered on Hoopla Digital, the digital service offered by Sandusky Library and other local libraries.Once checked out, the movie can be viewed on computers. The Hoopla app also makes the movie available on smartphones and tablets, and TV devices such as the Roku.It's also available for streaming on Amazon.The Register sat down to discuss the movie with Bruening and Lynn A. Lams, director of development for the local ALS chapter. They both are familiar with the movie's claims but had not seen it yet.Catawba Island resident David Amerine, 75, also took part in the discussion.Amerine has watched the movie five times, including a screening in Toledo. Amerine's wife, Cindy Amerine, was diagnosed with ALS in 2014. She was 71 when she died from the disease last year."She was absolutely my support over a 45-year career in the nuclear industry. We owned 17 homes over the course of our marriage," Amerine said. "When we retired, that was supposed to be Cindy time. That lasted for about two years."A song Cindy Amerine wrote with two musicians, the "ALS Odyssey Anthem," is available on YouTube.Amerine said he accepts that the movie's claims have not been proven yet, but says that if there's a possible problem with harmful algal blooms, "Why take a chance?"He said he does not take L-Serine as a dietary supplement but said one of his two grown daughters does.Amerine said he watched the movie at the recommendation of Dr. Erik Pioro, a Cleveland Clinic neurologist who is featured in the movie.Pioro has received funding for a several year study that examines whether Ohio has increased risk factors for ALS. It does not focus solely on harmful algal blooms, Bruening said.The ALS Association says at any given time, there are at least 16,000 Americans who have ALS, an abbreviation for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive neurodegenerative disease of the brain and spinal cord.The prevalence of ALS is about equal to that of multiple sclerosis, Bruening said. There are fewer Americans living with ALS, however, because most people with it die within a few years, notwithstanding exceptions such as physicist Stephen Hawking, who lived with it for decades.A promotional image for the documentary "Toxic Puzzle." Two officials with the Northern Ohio Chapter of the ALS Association, Lisa Bruening, left, and Lynn Iams, discuss "Toxic Puzzle" and ALS with David Amerine, right.