[TheForge] Article in "Neurology" Journal,,,sound familiar?

[Peter Fels And Phoebe Palmer]

Researchers found that among more than 1,400 welders from Alabama, the 
prevalence of Parkinson-like symptoms, including tremor, muscle rigidity 
and slowed movement, was 7 to 10 times higher than the norm for the 
general population.
The findings, based on a group of mostly male welders between the ages 
of 40 and 69 years, are published in the journal Neurology.
In an earlier study of 15 career welders, the same investigators found 
that the men started suffering Parkinson's symptoms at an atypically 
early age -- at age 46 on average, versus age 63 in a comparison group 
of non-welders. That led the researchers to speculate that an as yet 
unknown toxin in welding fumes might speed the onset of Parkinson's 
disease in people who would likely have developed the disease at an 
older age.
That study, published in 2001, has since been cited in lawsuits against 
welding-rod manufacturers. Late in 2003, a jury awarded $1 million to a 
plaintiff who claimed that years of inhaling toxic welding fumes caused 
his Parkinson's disease, and thousands of similar lawsuits have since 
been filed.
But exactly how common Parkinson's is among welders has been unknown. To 
find out, Dr. Bruce A. Racette of Washington University School of 
Medicine in St. Louis and colleagues assessed 1,423 welders, mostly men, 
who were referred by an attorney for Parkinson's screening. The 
researchers compared the welders' rates of "definite" and "probable" 
Parkinson's disease with those found in a previous study of people 
living in Copiah County, Mississippi.
Overall, 6 percent to 10 percent of the welders were diagnosed with 
definite Parkinson's disease, while 13 percent were found to have 
probable Parkinson's disease. As mentioned, their rates were 7 to 10 
times higher than those in the general male population of Copiah County.
"This study is the largest, to date, implicating welding as a risk 
factor for parkinsonism," Racette told Reuters Health. Other studies, he 
added, have found no such risk, but it's unclear whether that is related 
to the smaller size of those study groups.
"We feel that our study is preliminary and requires follow-up with an 
epidemiology study that incorporates a control group without welding 
exposure," Racette said.
Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurological condition typically 
marked by four types of symptoms: tremors, muscle rigidity, slowed 
movement and problems with balance and coordination. The disease occurs 
when certain brain cells that produce the movement-regulating chemical 
dopamine are damaged or destroyed.
No one knows what triggers this brain damage, but scientists believe 
that a number of factors, genetic and environmental, likely play a role. 
On-the-job exposures to certain chemicals, including pesticides and 
herbicides, have been linked to Parkinson's disease, and overexposure to 
the mineral manganese can lead to Parkinson's-like symptoms.
The welding process creates fumes that contain manganese, and according 
to Racette and his colleagues, exposure to the metal "cannot be 
excluded" as the cause of their patients' symptoms.
There are many potential toxins in welding fumes, Racette noted, though 
manganese is the one best recognized as being damaging to nerve cells.
More research, he added, will be needed to clarify exactly what led to 
the Parkinson's symptoms seen in these welders.
The current study received partial funding from the Welder Health Fund, 
created by a group of attorneys to support Parkinson's disease screening 
for welders. None of the study authors has received money related the 
research, according to a disclosure statement in the report.
SOURCE: Neurology, January 25, 2005.
 

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