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

[Walter Mullett]

My brother-in-law, a welder, worked with a lot of different metals / alloys.
He developed brain cancer as did two others in the same shop.  He was lucky
because it killed him within 3 months of discovery.  His initial symptoms
were palsy like.

Walt

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Peter Fels And Phoebe
Palmer
Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2005 9:23 PM
To: Sponsored by ABANA
Subject: [TheForge] Article in "Neurology" Journal,,,sound familiar?


 
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.
 

> ___________________
> Manage membership or unsubscribe at:
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
> theforge mail list group photo site is http://www.photoaccess.com
> Login:  blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
> password:  anvil
> ___________
>
>
>
>

_______________________________________________
Manage membership or unsubscribe at:
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
theforge mail list group photo site is
http://www.photoaccess.com
Login:  blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
password:  anvil
___________