Researchers also think that the findings could be the answer to the unexplained phenomenon on why some dolphins and whales get stranded in the coast.
The findings could also support the"sick leader" theory in which a group follows its aged leader to shallow waters, researchers said. Groups of odontocetes get usually stranded on British coasts. Lead researcher Mark Dagleish, however, said despite their"significant findings," they need to conduct more research to better understand what's happening to the animals.Dagleish pointed out that it's impossible to confirm whether the brain lesions they found indicate that the animals had been suffering the same cognitive deficits associated with human Alzheimer's. A diagnosis, he said, can only be made while they're alive.
"If these are the only animals that spontaneously develop these lesions, further study may give us some sort of help and insight into what happens in the very early stages of the development of these lesions," Dagleish said."If we can determine the likely triggers of this, can we work out ways to treat or prevent it?”
"Whether these pathological changes contribute to these animals’ stranding is an interesting and important question for future work," co-researcher Tara Spires-Jones added.