Domoic Acid Webinar: Research on Effects of Repeat Low-Level Exposures and Its Implications for Human Toxicity

On Tuesday July 30, 2019, OEHHA hosted the Domoic Acid Webinar: Research on Effects of Repeat Low-Level Exposures and Its Implications for Human Toxicity. The webinar included scientifc lectures followed by a panel discussion with a question and answer session at the end (see agenda below). A recording of the webinar and transcript of the audio portion are now available.

Domoic acid is a neurotoxin that is produced by some species of the algae Pseudo-nitzschia and can accumulate in shellfish, including crustaceans. Following large algal blooms along the California coast, the contamination of shellfish can be widespread. Consuming contaminated shellfish poses potential health concerns for humans. For more information on domoic acid, visit OEHHA’s marine biotoxin page.

This webinar examined recent research on the adverse neurological and developmental effects that may result from repeat oral exposure to low levels of domoic acid.

Topics included:

• Prenatal exposure and neurological effects in offspring
• Pharmacokinetic modeling during pregnancy and domoic acid disposition
• Epidemiological study of effects of chronic, low-level domoic acid exposure
• Implications of research for shellfish consumers

Erratum:  At 1 hr and 19 minutes in the recording, the units on the slide and spoken in the recording should be milligrams/kg and not micrograms/kg.

AGENDA

Tuesday July 30, 2019 at 9:00 AM - 12:45 PM PDT/ 12:00 PM - 3:45 PM EDT (Schedule times are shown in Pacific Daylight Time)

09:00 – 09:10 Opening Remarks: Webinar Goal Lauren Zeise, Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA)

Moderators: Susan Klasing and Shannon Murphy, OEHHA

09:10 – 09:25 Derivation of the Action Levels for Domoic Acid Susan Klasing, OEHHA (Sacramento, CA)

09:25 – 09:30 Brief Q & A

09:30 – 09:45 Recapping the State of the Science: Reflections on the 2017 Workshop Shannon Murphy, OEHHA (Sacramento, CA)

09:45 – 10:15 Maternal and Offspring Effects of Chronic, Low-level Domoic Acid Exposure in a Nonhuman Primate Model Thomas Burbacher & Rebekah Petroff, University of Washington (Seattle, WA)

10:15 – 10:20 Brief Q & A

10:20 – 10:50 Toxicokinetics and Physiologically-based Modeling of Domoic Acid Exposures Nina Isoherranen, University of Washington (Seattle, WA)

10:50 – 10:55  Brief Q & A

10:55 – 11:05  BREAK

11:05 – 11:35  Low-Level Domoic Acid Exposure and Everyday Memory Lynn Grattan, University of Maryland (Baltimore, MD)

11:35 – 11:40  Brief Q & A

Moderator:     Pam Lein, University of California (Davis, CA)

11:40 – 12:40  Discussion Panel Thomas Burbacher, Lynn Grattan, Nina Isoherranen, Rebekah Petroff; Audience Q&A

12:40 – 12:45  Acknowledgements and Wrap-up Lauren Zeise, OEHHA