Possible New Treatment for Manganese Toxicity
A tuberculosis drug similar to the chemical compound of aspirin provides new hope for treating neurological complications caused by high-level manganese exposure, according to a case study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Currently, the drug is being tested in larger clinical trials and could become the first effective treatment for tremors, rigidity, and other symptoms of neurological damage suffered by thousands of workers who are exposed to high levels of the toxic chemical manganese in the mining, steel, welding, and other industries.
In the small case study conducted by Wei Zheng of Purdue University in Indiana and his colleagues, para-aminosalicylic acid (PAS) proved effective on a Chinese woman who worked in a milling facility for 19 years and suffered from neurological damage.
The women received intravenous injections of PAS for a period of three months after which almost all of her symptoms disappeared. The woman remains healthy.
Zheng is not yet completely sure how PAS works, but it is possible that the drug soaks up manganese and eliminates the metal from the brain more efficiently than other treatments that have been tested. Zheng also noted that PAS may have anti-inflammatory compounds that work to protect neurons in the brain.
“The results are very impressive,” said Michael Aschner, a neurotoxicologist at Vanderbilt University, of the case study. However, Aschner does warn that large-scale clinical trials are necessary to determine if PAS effectively treats manganism.
High levels of manganese exposure have long been linked to serious illnesses and diseases like Parkinson’s. A case in federal court is currently debating whether low levels of manganese exposure have the same effects.
To learn more about manganese exposure from drinking water in children, and other various side effects of manganese,please contact an attorney.
