The Roskamp Institute wants to find out what concentration of toxins starts to affect the brain, and who is most susceptible.
By Joanne Mills
Original Air Date: March 19, 2025
Host: Been coughing lately? Have headaches? Do you live close to the coast in Southwest Florida? Maybe you can help others by participating in a study. WSLR News reporter Joanne Mills has volunteered, and she tells us what this study is all about.
Lab at the Roskamp Institute near the Sarasota airport.
Joanne Mills: Since 2003, Roskamp Institute has been researching Alzheimer’s, traumatic brain injury, PTSD, and Gulf War Illness. Now, the Sarasota-based non-profit is conducting studies on the connection between red tide exposure and brain health in Southwest Florida residents.
Red tide blooms have existed along the Gulf Coast for centuries, but they have become longer and more intense over the last few years. The blooms are caused by microscopic algae that produce toxins that kill fish and make shellfish dangerous to eat. With three out of four Floridians living near the coast, and fast population growth, a rising number of people are exposed to the phenomenon.
In 2022, the Roskamp Institute in collaboration with the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean and Observing System began working with more than 250 community volunteers from Sarasota, Manatee, Lee, Charlotte and Collier counties to survey the effects of red tide. The goal is to understand whether red tide toxins pose a significant health risk. Researchers working out of a low-profile facility north of the airport delivered first results in December 2024.
Dr. Abdullah
Asthmatics, people with chronic migraines, chronic fatigue syndrome, or compromised immune systems are susceptible to active airborne red tide blooms. Symptoms include numbness, headaches, and loss of coordination.
Dr. Laila Abdullah, a research biologist with Roskamp Institute, leads the study.
Laila Abdullah: After the 1990-91 Gulf War conflict, a lot of the veterans started to come back with complaints that involved the brain. When we developed our research, it also pointed to environmental exposure involvement. We’ve been focused on studying how the environment has affected the brains of our veterans. As a consequence, we were very well aware of how the environment can impact the brain. After the big 2017-2019 bloom, we were trying to figure out what’s going on.
JM: Red tide airborne particles can carry up to 2.5 miles.
LA: We saw that the brevetoxin—the toxin that’s released from the red tide when the cells break down—is actually a neurotoxin. That means it can affect neurons once it can enter the brain. And in animal studies, when we looked it up, it’s shown to enter the brain.
JM: Many questions, such as when levels of toxicity become problematic, have yet to be answered.
LA: Barbara Kirkpatrick—you may have heard of her; she was at the Mote Marine—she led the respiratory health effects. They found that there was increased reporting of headaches. She saw that lifeguards were reporting more headaches when they were exposed to red tide or were working near where the red tides were. We actually don’t know what the levels need to be in the air, how much ends up in the body, and how much is needed in the body to produce the brain health effects. That’s why we’re doing the study that we’re doing. That is exactly what we’re trying to learn. We measure brevetoxin levels in the environment. We’ve been working to measure the water levels. We are also capitalizing on prior work in this area by Mote and others.
There’s been a lot of work on neurotoxic shellfish poisoning. When people eat shellfish that’s contaminated with brevetoxin—usually clams and things like that—they get what’s called neurotoxic shellfish poisoning. You may have heard of it. It’s a lot of gastrointestinal [effects], but along with that, they get some neurological problems like confusion, dizziness, headaches. Those are the kind of things that people with neurotoxic shellfish poisoning experience.
In our prior study, we learned that, even though people weren’t eating shellfish, they were still reporting—when there was red tide in the air—some of these symptoms. Not all of them, but some of the neurological symptoms that are associated with NSP. We called it “NSP-like symptoms” because they’re not really NSP because they’re not all of them and they’re not characteristic of eating contaminated shellfish. As a consequence, we’re expanding the work to better understand it.
JM: What can we do to mitigate exposure to red tide neurotoxins? For one, check with the Florida Department of Health Advisory.
LA: Dr. Kirkpatrick’s studies have shown the respiratory effects. People with asthma might be more prone to it. We, at the minute, don’t know that. Our prior study did show that people with a history of migraines and chronic fatigue may be more susceptible. There might be genetic predispositions, but we don’t know for sure and we’re working on it. There might be others. That’s part of what we’re going to be learning going forward.
The Florida Department of Health does have a task force. They do put out a health advisory. Do keep an eye on that. If you know you are sensitive to red tide, you should avoid beaches when it’s in full bloom. The Florida Department of Health does put out some advisories, so when you’re heading to the beach, check out those advisories before you head in if there’s red tide in the area.
JM: If you want to participate in the study, call (941) 256-8010 or go to www.roskampclinic.org.
This has been Joanne Mills with WSLR.
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