Scientists study red tide’s health effects

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Researcher Michael Mullan may be one of the few Floridians who’s eager for another red tide.

It’s not that he’s hoping for environmental devastation and human misery, but each bloom adds more data to the picture he and researchers at Sarasota’s Roskamp Institute are piecing together. And to bring their ongoing study into sharper focus, the nonprofit is seeking volunteers from Florida.

Roskamp has studied the causes and potential cures for neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders such as Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis and Gulf

War illness. Their work has led to new treatments being clinically tested in Europe and the U.S. The institute is partnering with the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System on the study, which is funded with a $400,000 federal grant.

The goal is to understand the neurological effects of brevetoxins, said Mullan, Roskamp’s executive director. They’re the harmful compounds produced by Karenia brevis, the saltwater algae responsible for red tide. In large numbers, the microorganisms give the surrounding water a red tint, lending the algae its common name.

Beyond the countless creatures killed, the blooms drove humans off the beaches and sent some to doctors’ offices and emergency rooms with respiratory woes as well as severe headaches and other neurological problems.

Six months in, the study is already yielding intriguing results.

What’s already clear is that brevetoxins do not affect everyone equally, says research team leader Dr. Laila Abdullah.

“Some people are relatively unaffected by it, whereas others get severe symptoms very easily. We are very interested to know the reason for this and so we are examining the role of the immune system and looking at differences in neurological effects between those that have severe symptoms versus those that do not.”

People exposed to the blooms produce antibodies to the toxin, but levels also vary widely, Mullan says.