Drug overdose treatments for humans are helping sea turtles stranded by red tide

JUNO BEACH — Scientists hope a technique used to treat drug overdoses in humans can help sea turtles ravaged by red tide algal blooms.

Researchers at Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach are investigating the potential of a treatment called intravenous lipid emulsion. The treatment entails injecting fats into a turtle’s bloodstream, so they can combine with algae-linked toxins and be excreted as waste.

Partners at three wildlife and research centers on Florida’s Gulf Coast administered the emulsion treatment to roughly 25-30 stranded sea turtles dating back to late 2017, said Justin Perrault, Loggerhead’s director of research.

The clinical results are promising. Perrault said all the turtles were nearly fully recovered in a day.

The recovery time is notable, Perrault said, because existing treatment for turtles sickened by algal blooms can take months. Red tides can strand anywhere from a couple dozen to hundreds of turtles, Perrault said.

The current treatment method involves feeding turtles water pills to force toxins out through their kidneys.

“It’s kind of remarkable to think about how the therapy evolved,” Perrault said.

The Colorado-based Morris Animal Foundation awarded Loggerhead a $32,131 grant after the Juno Beach facility submitted a proposal last year, foundation spokesman Sean Andersen-Vie said.

The grant is backing “months and months of lab work” on blood samples that Perrault said Loggerhead still has to conduct.

The lab work should indicate how quickly the toxins leave turtles’ blood. Perrault said he hopes to have some data by mid-October.

Kelly Diehl, the foundation’s senior director of science and communications, said there were “solid reasons” for Loggerhead’s work.

“It could have an enormous impact on turtles,” Diehl said, adding that research has implications for the rehabilitation of other marine animals.

Intravenous lipid emulsion treatments have been used in cats and dogs for more than a decade, Diehl said.

Each year, the foundation typically receives more than 170 grant proposals for wildlife research, Diehl said. Fewer than two dozen projects are usually selected.

Diehl envisions the research could be a game-changer for sea turtle rehab groups that are trying to keep up with the plight of algal blooms.

“If it works, it would be awesome, especially for wildlife facilities,” Diehl said. “They have limited resources, limited space. They’re overwhelmed.”

The study is the first to examine the use of intravenous lipid emulsion in sea turtles, Perrault said.

Loggerhead typically doesn’t encounter turtles in Palm Beach County reeling from algal blooms, Perrault said, but he and his colleagues had firsthand experience with the lipid therapy in July.

That month, they took in a turtle named Seiche that stranded in Stuart after apparently coming into contact with toxins linked to algae, Perrault said.

“The turtle is having seizures,” Perrault said. “It’s insane. I’d never seen anything like it.”

After Loggerhead administered intravenous lipid emulsion to Seiche, the turtle was quickly on the mend. Perrault said the facility released Seiche back into the wild this month.

“It worked immediately,” he said.

showard@pbpost.com

@SamuelHHoward