There are many reasons that can lead to dolphins and whales get stuck on the beaches. They are usually considered injured or sick, or even that they wandered almost voluntarily to die there. With all this, bathers are advised to call specialists and not take on the obligation to push them back into the sea. They usually do this with all the good intentions in the world, but it could be a way to prolong their agony. Agony, which, according to a study recently published in European Journal of Neurologymaybe because neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s diseaseR.
In this study, a group of scientists from Leiden University analyze brains 22 toothed whales stranded at sea, in Scottish waters. Interestingly, many of them have characteristic features of neurodegenerative diseases, and three of them in particular show some of the brain signals associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
There is no way to know if these animals came to the show signs of dementia. However, it makes sense as it could provide a new explanation for why some dolphins and whales end up stranded. Perhaps they feel disoriented, like people with Alzheimer’s disease.
Dolphins with Alzheimer’s: a new investigation
Toothed whales are a suborder of cetaceans characterized by the presence teeth instead of a beard. There are many species, but samples of five different species were analyzed in this study: risso dolphins (gray grammus), pilot whales with long fins (globicephala melas), white-billed dolphins (Lagenorhynchus albirostris), porpoises (focene focene) D bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncated).
Brain tissue samples were taken and analyzed for various markers associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Thus, they saw that absolutely everyone beta amyloid plaques. These are protein deposits that are known to be one of the main indicators of this disease. However, by themselves they can be indicators of other neurodegenerative diseases.
For this reason, three specimens attracted particular attention, each of the species in which they also found phosphotau deposits and fibrous aggregations of glial cells in the central nervous system. Both are much more specific indicators of Alzheimer’s disease. So while it’s impossible to know for sure if they had the disease, it appears that they had a brain process similar to that of people who suffer from it.
The Sick Leader Problem
This study is one of the first to indicate the possible presence neurodegenerative diseases in non-human animals. But this is true for other reasons as well. For example, because it could give more clues about sick leader problem.
This is one of the reasons why entire pods of dolphins or whales can sometimes be seen aground. It is known that you herds sometimes they have an animal that acts as a leader, guiding the others. If it happens that this particular specimen develops Alzheimer’s disease or a similar disease, it may happen that its disorientation and erratic swimming will lead to the death of the rest.
It is important to know how to find what a sick specimen. Bringing him back to sea would only prolong his agony, as he would be lost again. But perhaps the rest can still be saved. All this should be studied in more depth. That is why it is so important to conduct such studies, which provide an explanation of the reasons that can lead to the death of these animals on the seashore.
Source: Hiper Textual
