=============================================================== == == == ----------- ALS INTEREST GROUP ----------- == == ALS Digest (#61, 14 October 1993) == == == == ----- amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) == == ----- motor neurone disease (MND) == == ----- Lou Gehrig's disease == == ----- == == This e-mail list has been set up to serve the world-wide == == ALS community. That is, ALS patients, ALS researchers, == == ALS support/discussion groups, ALS clinics, etc. Others == == are welcome (and invited) to join. Currently there are == == 130+ subscribers. == == == == To subscribe, to unsubscribe, to contribute notes, == == etc. to ALS Digest, please send e-mail to: == == bro@huey.met.fsu.edu (Bob Broedel) == == == == All interested people may "broadcast" messages to == == ALS Digest subscribers by sending to: == == als@huey.met.fsu.edu == == == == Bob Broedel; P.O. Box 20049; Tallahassee, FL 32310 USA == =============================================================== Date : 09-Oct-93 12:23 EDT >From: RON LEEB [72613,2113] Subj : FOR YOUR INTEREST. The Castor Bean's (Ricin's) Link to Lou Gerhig's Disease. I've had amyotrophic lateral scleroses (ALS) going on fourteen years now, I'm 36 years old. In researching the environment to which I was exposed to as a child, I've discovered an environmental toxin that I propose is the pathogen that is the cause of ALS. When I was a young boy of about ten, there was an empty field behind my house that I spent many days in digging, extending over a five year period or thereabout. To get there I would climb through a plant called a castorbean (Ricinus communis) which contains a powerful neurotoxin (principle toxin being: Ricin) that is 10 to 1,000 times more potent than potassium cyanide, according to the State of California's toxicologist. I can still remember the bitter taste of my sappy hands when they came into contact with my mouth. Ricin's toxic properties are the equivalent or even surpass those found in such deadly bacterial toxins as tetanus and botulism. In addition, ricin is an allelopath* ( a genetic mutator) which is "rapidly taken up by axons and transported retrogradely to their cell bodies," where it selectively induces axonal degeneration in which long-lasting blood-nerve barrier breakdown (BNB) occurs. This "selective" neuronal degeneration, (which is a critical feature of ALS), is due to inhibition of protein synthesis through inactivation of the 60s ribosomal subunit (NeuroToxicology 11: 23- 34, 1990). I hypothesize that ricin's ability to prevent protein synthesis by retrograde transport along neuronal processes to the cell body where it inactivate ribosomes, resulting in neuronal death (Science. Vol. 216, 21 May 1982 p.889), that process in humans is called Lou Gerhig's Disease (ALS). This ricin induced process of degeneration fits a theory raised by Dr. Caine in Lancet (ii, l986, 1067-69), that ALS/Parkinson's Disease Complex (PDC: which also involves Alzheimer's disease) may be due to an environmental agent exposure at an early stage of life, and depending on the level of that exposure, the disease appears promptly (as in my own case), or must be combined with age-related (and I add, or trauma related) attrition of the compromised neurons, in order to find their clinical expression. And that environmental agent I propose is the castorbean's neurotoxin/ allelopath ricin. It could also be that the variants seen in the classical forms of ALS are due to the means of ricin's entry into the bloodstream (inhalation, directly; or even by absorption through the skin [personal correspondence with a researcher]) and the quantity entering the blood? I do not believe that every person with ALS has been in direct contact with the castor bean plant as I was. My case is the Rosette Stone if you will, unlocking the etiopathogenesis of ALS. Although on the South Pacific Island of Guam where a high incidence of ALS/PDC has been documented, the castor bean plant has been on the island since the Spanish conquest, having established itself by 1905 around the island as a weed (Safford, W.E., The Useful Plants of the Island of Guam. 1905), and I theorize is the source of the AlS/PDC pathogen on the island. ( Do not confuse the castor bean plant with the cycad nut plant that others have sought to identify its nerve toxin as the pathogen, for the two plants are quite different.) Having been "well established" on Guam by 1905, the castor bean plant is today limited to several small areas on the island (personal correspondence with a researcher). Is there a correlation between the high rates of ALS/PDC since the early 1800s on Guam and the lowering of those rates after 1955 with the disappearance of the castor bean plant on the island? --------------------------------> New Guinea and Japan both have had clustered outbreaks -------------> of ALS; Japan imports large quantities of the castor bean to crush and process, for it has extensive applications in industry (USDA publi- cation, Castor: Assessing the Feasibility of U.S. Production. May 91). In support of ricin as the ALS/PDC pathogen, I've received a case study from a doctor in Mississippi (the castor bean plant thrives in Mediterranen type climates in the United States, and around the world, and is an extremely prolific plant, easily escaping and adapting: New Guinea?) who had a patient that attributed his Parkinsonism to eating castor beans as a child. The boy was comatose five days after eating the beans, but later fully recovered. What makes this case so unusual, is that he also had a brother who had eaten the castor beans along with him, although the brother had eaten fewer of them and had gotten less sick at the time, but both brothers later in life come down with Parkinson's Disease; the doctor informed me that his patient's disease was more severe than that of his brother's. This may be attributed to his having eaten more of the ricin laden beans, which the patient himself expressed. As Ricin is "readily absorbed through the lining of the digestive tract, ulcerating the digestive tract, thereby increasing the possibility of absorption into the blood- stream, [interrupting] necessary protein synthesis; the result is cell destruction and degeneration" (Blackwell, Will H. Poisonous and Medicinal Plants. Prentice Hall NJ: 1990). There is also laboratory evidence that ricin resists enzymatic digestion (Vet Hum Toxicol 27 (6) Dec. l985). I hypopthesize that the castor bean's neurotoxin ricin is the environmantal agent and link between ALS and Parkinson- ism. However, where I believe most people that are stricken with ALS come into contact with the pathogen ricin is, unbelievably, in everyday used consumer products. I've found references to ricin's use in paints, varnishes (Duke, James A. Handbook of Medicinal Herbs. CRC Press Fla: 1985) and lacquers (as a mold growth inhibitor), in a vast variety of oils such as hydraulic brake fluids, in aviation fuels, and in biodegradable laundry detergent, and numerous other -----------------------------> products. Those products listed above contain ricin, as heat is used to extract the oil from the castor beans used in those applications, which distributes the allelopathic toxin ricin throughout the oil. Other applictions use a cold-pressed extraction process of the castor bean oil (such as in castor oil the medicinal purgative), which yields a ricin free oil. However, one company alone offers 175 different derivtives of the castor bean's oil adopted to a particular use (USDA, Texas A & M University, Castorbeans in Texas.). Which process is used, hot or cold pressed, in the manufacture of crayons, polishes, or in inks? that the above USDA publication lists as "products resulting from processing castorbeans and castor oil." This may be the early exposure that Dr. Caine's hypothesis spoke of? Another use of castor oil, some of which may contain the allelopathic neurotoxin ricin, is as a plasticizer in the plastics industry (USDA, Texas A & M, Ibid), and could be the source of the elevated rates or "clusters" of ALS seen in the plastics industry (Chicago Tribune, Feb. 15 1987). I've also read that castor oil is used heavily in the wire coating industry (reference misplaced), and "regular exposure to electrical shocks" is a suspected link to ALS (The Daily Breeze, Feb. 15, 1987). Electricians often strip wire with their teeth, increasing the possiblity of ricin entering their bloodstream. But of even more direct interest to those who suffer from Lou Gerhig's Disease (ALS): "The residue remaining after the oil has been extracted from the seed is known as castor pomace, and is used widely as organic fertilizer...Because a poisonous constituent, ricin, remains in the pomace after extraction of the oil, the pomace cannot be used for livestock feed. Processes are known for destroying the toxic nature of ricin, but are not presently economical for -------> commercial use" (USDA, Texas A & M: Castorbeans in Texas). The cb plant is masticated into the pomace pulp, other publications refer to it as the "pomace cake" or "poison cake," that is then incorporated into mixed fertilizers (Duke, James A. Handbook of Medicinal Herbs. CRC Press Fla: 1985) to alter the genetic code (an allelopath) which kills a worm (nematode) that has a voracious appetite for foliage and crops (Annuals of Applied Nematology 2:116-120. 1988). It is through the use of these mixed fertilizers that I hypothesize many people who have Lou Gerhig's disease have come into contact with the ALS pathogen ricin. It is that allelopathic impact of ricin on humans that we call ALS? It was from the fertilized grass sports fields that I theorize that the three members of the same 1964 Forty-niner football team who came down with ALS had come into contact with the allelopathic neurotoxin ricin (The Daily Breeze, "Fertilizer, disease link studied." Feb. 15, 1987). Did any of the fertilizer used on the San Francisco sports fields during the 1950s & 60s incorporate the castor pomace into it? The castor bean plant was-----------------------------------------> imported into the United States sometime around the 1850s (why, for fertilizer?), and it was in the 1870s that ALS found its clinical expression in the U.S. Lou Gerhig himself probably contacted the pathogen ricin on the fertilized grass sports fields and --------> the disease which bears his name (ALS). The state of California, Division of Chemistry, Dept. of Food and Agriculture examined thoroughly the deaths of three children from eating castor beans and twenty-three serious cases of allergic reactions attributed to the castor bean plant, "frequently from using the pressed cake of Castor Bean as a lawn fertilizer," particularly for the period 1951-56 (Fuller, Thomas C. Poisonous Plants of California. University Calif. Press:1986). I've been informed by my California state representative that the Dept. of Food and Agriculture has lost the above mentioned report. It's a frightening prospect to have such potent poison and genetic mutator in our everyday lives. The pathology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis has many of the characteristics of ricin induced pathology. Ricin ingestion can produce cramps in the hands and feet, and a marked muscular hyper- tonicity, comparable to those seen in ALS. A Vienna physician, Dr. Moschl in 1938, studied cases of castor bean poisoning and carried out animal experiments using ricin. He noted in both groups inter- mittent muscle spasms (tetany), [which may account for the muscle fasciculations seen in people with ALS], along with the Babinski sign bilaterally, as well as carpal pedal-spasm (Vet Hum Toxicol. Dec.1985). Ricin is a toxic lectin which produces a characteristic process of morphological changes. When ricin is injected into the sciatic nerve of a rat, a resulting degereration of the corresponding lumbar motor neurones is seen, due to the loss of protein synthesis (Journal of Neurological Sciences. 1985, volume 70: 327-37 and 1989, volume 91: 231-58). This type of neuronal degeneration seen in people with ALS has been attributed by Dr. J.D. Rothstein to an excitotoxic injury caused by excess glutamate concentrations in the plasma, cerebrospinal fluid, and tissue, of those with the disease (The New England Journal of Medicine. May 28, 1992. vol. 26 No. 22, 1493-94). Ricin's structure is made-up of 20% glutamic acid. And Drs. Rothstein & Dennis W. Choi believe that "excess glutamate [seen in ALS patients] could be the primary cause of ALS" (New York Times National. May 28, 1992). In another animal model, the transected vagus neck nerves of rats and rabbits were dipped into a solution containing ricin and then closed. On inspection, virtually all neuronal Nissl substance had disappeared from the ipsilateral dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus and nodose ganglion within 24 to 48 hours after application. After 4 to 7 days, the large motor neurons of the dorsal motor nucleus had disap- peared and the glial reaction was evident (Science. Vol. 216, 21 May 1982, p.889). This type of Nissl substance disturbance "stand out as the most significant, perhaps the pathognomonic phenonenon in ALS" (The ALS Association). The fascinating but frightening thing about the neurotoxin/mutator ricin, is that it's not easily detectable in blood or tissue assays (Cleveland Plain Dealer. Aug. 1, 1980), and nobody has assayed for ricin in those with ALS/PDC. Ricin is only detectable by --------> radioimmunoassay which is not widely available. However, what Drs. Rothstein & Choi may have found in their studies is the signature of ricin's glutamic acid destroying nerve cells? Ricin could also be demonstrating its presence and influence within the cell as: The castor bean plant is a powerful allergen as well, which can cause an anaphylactoid reaction (Vet Hum Toxicol, Dec. 1985). Once a person has been in contact with the castor bean allergen (CBA) they may show verious symptoms, depending on the degree and location of sensitivity; and a "person who has been sensitized to CBA can detect castor in such low concentrations that the source of the irritation is undetectable without special equipment" (Weiss, E.A., Castor, Sesame, Safflower. Barnes and Noble: 1971). In my own case,----------------> the sensitivity to CBA is located in my teeth, as the castor sap (ricin + CBA) entered my system through my mouth. Thus, whenever I come into contact with a product made from the by-products of the castor bean plant, such as newsprint, kraft paper, cardboard, or an occasional perfume scent (Weiss, Ibid), my teeth register their complaint by becoming extremely sensitive to where I'm unable to speak. I can con- trol this somewhat by taking the amino acid L-Threonine, which removes my teeth sensitivity and strengthens my speech. CBA may also be the reason why aluminum seems to aggravate the condition of those with ALS, as a film which is derived from castor oil is used to line aluminum cans (USDA, Castor: Assessing the Feasibility of U.S. Production. May 91) This allergen component of the castor bean plant, and those rendered sensitive to CBA, is probably why the Mississippi Parkinson's sufferer blamed his disease on the castor beans he had eaten in his youth, for his CBA sensitivity was a constant reminder to him. In my own case, the bitter taste of my sappy hands and my teeth sensitivity put me to researching the castor bean plant and its neuro- toxin: Ricin. Also, noted in the cells of those with ALS are "small multiple intraneuronal eosinophilic (allergic states or infection of the cytoplasmic structures) inclusions" (The ALS Association). Could this be the signature of Ricin + CBA as it interupts protein synthesis? If lead in paint caused such misery in children eating it, what would the ingestion of ricin be doing to a child's cell structure and nervous system: ALS, Parkinson's, or Alzheimer's later in life (or ALS/PDC with trauma) may be its legacy? Or to an athlete's nervous system after playing on grass sports fields fertilized with the allelopathic pomace cake? I believe athletes like Lou Gerhig, Charlie Wedemeyer, and other sports active people have/are exper- iencing what the worms beneath the fertilized grass have: first mutation, then death. Any information that could strengthen or weaken my hypothesis that ricin is the pathogen responsible for ALS would be welcomed. Sincerely, Ronald Leeb 5332 Garden Grove Ave. Tarzana, CA 91356 (818) 881-0361 E-mail: 72613.2113@compuserve.com == end of als 61 ==