Manganese?

[kaypeeoh]

I've always wondered about the PD diagnosis because I don't respond to Sinemet. So what else might be involved? For the past 30 years my hobby has been restoring 1960s-era VWs. Which involved a lot of welding using my cheap flux wire mig welder. And never using a mask. Some of the early signs such as handwriting problems and forgetting common words started a few years ago when I was spending all my free time doing a full-body restoration of a 1967 VW. It involved a lot of welding. At the time I joked the bug has more weld metal than original metal. This is from a report on manganese-induced parkinsonism:

"Mn toxicity is characterized by motor and sensory disturbances, as well as neuropsychiatric and cognitive deficits [92,93]. The motor impairments include hypertonia with cogwheel rigidity, bradykinesia, “cock-gait”, rapid postural tremor, and tendency to fall when walking backwards....Mn-induced parkinsonism is distinguishable from PD by the absence of Lewy bodies (another hallmark of PD) [19], the lack of therapeutic response to levodopa (a drug used to treat early stages of PD), failure to detect fluorodopa uptake by positron emission tomography (PET) studies, more frequent dystonia, and less resting tremor"

I know it's a long-shot but what is “cock-gait”, rapid postural tremor? I see the neurologist next month and will definitely ask about this.

kpo

[park_bear]

Is there manganese in your welding rods? If so manganism is a likelihood rather than a long shot, especially if you do not respond to levodopa.

[kaypeeoh]

Found this in a welding forum:

"Exposure to manganese dust occurs primarily in mining.... Manganese fumes are produced during metallurgical operations and several types of welding operations. The exposure can vary considerably depending on the amount of manganese in the welding wire, rods, flux and base metal. Confined space welding can significantly increase exposure to manganese fumes. For information about assessment of occupational exposure to manganese visit the NIOSH manganese topic page."

I wonder if I can demand chelation?

[park_bear in reply to kaypeeoh]

Test first to confirm diagnosis. Depending on how recently you have been exposed may be some in your hair.

[Vegegardner in reply to kaypeeoh]

Has anyone had experience with P amino salicylic acid to treat manganism ?

[EnterTheDragon in reply to Vegegardner]

I’ve tried to find a doctor to administer a PAS IV for my condition. I had direct correspondence with the professor at Purdue university that did the study of patients with manganese induced Parkinsonism. He couldn’t provide me a doctor anywhere in the United States that would do it as it’s not approved by the AMA. ( even though it’s a drug that has been used for years to treat TB patients) . I don’t know why it couldn’t be used for off label conditions. The professor was willing to provide me with doctors in China that were willing to do this procedure. I can’t afford the trip.

[park_bear in reply to EnterTheDragon]

Dr. Shallenberger maybe. Here is his contact page:

antiagingmedicine.com/contact/

Include links to the relevant research.

[EnterTheDragon in reply to park_bear]

Thanks much, Bear.....

[Vegegardner in reply to EnterTheDragon]

I wonder about Australia, who is the expert in chelation. Anyone know.?

[Vegegardner]

I believe my dad has been his. Manganism. I read a good article once. Titled. Manganese induced occupational Parkinson nsonism is not ideopathic Parkinson's. It was scary ay long and over my head. Get hair analysis. .

An essay. Effective treatment for manganism, P amino salicylic acid.

Wanted dad to look at. But who to ask.

PAS ? Tuberculosis drug. Relative to aspirin.

Please let me know anything about this . My dad has high metals.

Blessings. All the best.

[Fava-1]

Hi kaypeeoh. I researched the manganeese induced PD symptoms.. there are several herbs that chelate the toxins. Cilantro, milk thistle, green algae, Brazil nuts, selenium, melissa officials, EDTA, and intravenous infusions ofAminosalicylic acid (PAS). Research these and let me know if you decide to try any of these and if they help. MAY God bless and guide you. Fava-1

[Vegegardner in reply to Fava-1]

Thanks fava

[Sapeye2020]

If you start with the edible,/ food stuffs, make sure to add one item at a time so yo will know which item improves or takes your father backward. If you give them all at once you will be no further ahead. in knowing what made the change. Oh and try to make notes.

[Godiv]

Please let me know what they say. I had a hair test and tested high for manganese, probably because I’ve been drinking well water all my life. Thinking it was healthy ha ha. Used to be. But I still need to get blood work done for manganese; I guess the hair test isn’t always reliable or they consider it one of the tests you have to take. I respond to levodopa, but not consistently; it’s just been impossible to fine tune the dosage. Anyway please let me know what your neurologist says. Thanks so much!

[Godiv]

Kay, Forgot to ask if you’ve tried to walk backwards. There’s something about people with that condition that they either can’t walk backwards or they tend to fall backwards when standing. Another thing maybe to check on: I read that treatment with iron can help because it binds to the Manganese. But you have to definitely do that under doctors care because you can really mess yourself up with too much iron. The manganese poisoning sounds like a pretty heavy duty disease also and I don’t know if they’ve really been able to fix it with treatment so far even with the infusions that people are talking about. Ugh.

[kaypeeoh in reply to Godiv]

I've been told it's Festination. When hiking up a steep hillside I have the urge to turn around and walk the opposite way. Typically happened after an hour or two of hiking on a half-mile asphalt path surrounding the rec complex. The path is on an 8% grade.

[Godiv in reply to kaypeeoh]

Oh that’s weird and interesting! I’ll check into that, thank you. I’m also impressed that you’re hiking up steep hills! I’ll have to try and see if I get that feeling. How strange.