By Tyler Treadway of TCPalm 
Just as the potential for blue-green algae blooms in local waters ramps up, scientists are warning there’s a newly discovered and potentially deadly toxin in the slimy stuff.
Blue-green algae produces a toxin called BMAA that is suspected of triggering neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
The link between BMAA (Beta-N-Methylamino-L-alanine) in blue-green algae blooms and neurological diseases is “still a hypothesis,” said Larry Brand, marine and atmospheric science professor at the University of Miami, “but the evidence is growing.”
Not everyone who lives along water with blue-green algae is going to develop a neurological disease, Brand said.
“The possibility is somewhat low,” he said. “But if you live along the Indian River Lagoon, years from now, you have a greater chance of coming down with one of these diseases than you would have if you had not been exposed to (blue-green algae) blooms.”
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