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

Mon Feb 7 08:33:43 EST 2005

No, I don't believe anybody really followed it up but it should really get
your attention.  Three in one area, yet alone the same shop, says something
was going on.  This happened about 12 years ago and I should ask my sister
if she ever heard anything else.  I don't remember what these guys were
working on but it wasn't regular steel.

Walt  

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Ralph Sproul
Sent: Monday, February 07, 2005 7:21 AM
To: Sponsored by ABANA
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Article in "Neurology" Journal,,,sound familiar?

Walt, Wow, three guys from one shop.......did they ever figure what caused
those odds?

Ralph

----- Original Message -----
From: "Walter Mullett" <wmullett at bright.net>
To: <artgawk at thegrid.net>; "'Sponsored by ABANA'" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2005 10:09 AM
Subject: RE: [TheForge] Article in "Neurology" Journal,,,sound familiar?

> 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.
>
>
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