ret on tue 15 apr 97
This article came to my attention today and I thought it might interest a
few of you Raku addicts.
"Long exposure to metals tied to Parkinson's ", Susan Okie, The Washington
Post
Work-related exposure to certain metals over a period of two decades or
more appears to increase a person's risk of developing Parkinson's
disease,a degenerative brain disorder, according to a new study.
The study compared the detailed work histories of 144 Parkinson's patients
with those of 464 people of similar age, sex, race and smoking habits who
didn't have the disease. If found that workplace exposure for more than 20
y ears to manganese, copper or certain combinations of metals was
associated with a much-higher risk of Parkinson's disease than that seen
in unexposed people.
Relatively few people in the study had worked with manganese, but
long-term exposure to that metal was linked with a tenfold increase in
risk of PD. Parkinson-like symptoms in manganese miners had previously
been observed. Long-term copper exposure appeared to more than double the
risk. People who had worked for 20 years or more with combinations of lead
and copper, lead and iron or iron and copper also had an increased risk of
the disorder.
The kinds of exposures associated with increase risk were found in a
variety of jobs, including pipe fitters, electrical workers, chemists,
machinists, fire fighters, steam fitters and toolmaker.
People with PD suffer from muscle rigidity, tremors and loss of balance,
and have difficulty moving at normal speed. The symptoms occur because of
damage to a population of cells in a specific part of the brain that helps
control movement. Surveys suggest about two percent of people over the age
of 60 have the disorder.
Chronic lead exposure has long bee known to affect learning and
intelligence, but "people generally had not associated chronic exposure to
metals with degenerative brain disease", said Jay M. Gorell, a specialist
in the neurology dept. Of Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital.
Gorell conducted the study with researchers from the hospital as well as
colleagues at the U. Of Michigan and the U. Of California at San Diego. It
was published in the March issue of the Journal Neurology.
ELKE BLODGETT email: eiblodge@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca
12 Grantham Place
St. Albert, AB T8N 0W8
403 (458-3445); 403 (727-2395)
June Perry on wed 16 apr 97
And for those of us who color our hair, there is manganese and other
chemicals in that stuff. I had some blood tests done several years ago and I
was loaded with manganese, nickel, etc. I don't use manganese in my pottery
other than the odd glaze test periodically but it is in the hair dye. Same
goes for nickel. I rarely use the stuff but I did smoke in my youth and there
is nickel in cigarettes. It's also in solder for those who do jewelry work or
other soldering which I also did for a while. Aluminum causes alzheimers and
a lot of us grew up eating food that was cooked in aluminum pots and are
drinking sodas from aluminum cans, not to mention that a lot of restaurants
still use aluminum cookware, not to mention aluminum foil. Many of us grew up
in older homes with copper pipes or lead pipes and deal with that aws well.
As potters we get more than our share of exposure to these heavy metals.
So if anyone is having symptoms of a compromised immune sytem I would
strongly suggest having some blood tests and finding out what metals are
lurking in your body. If you get a lot of colds or upper respiratory
infections and can't seem to shake them and if if you have a lot of muscle
aches and pains, etc, you may have some heavy metal poisoning. The good news
is that through chelation therapy, either through diet and/or intravenous
introduction of chelating chemicals or just plain blood chelation - you can
rid the body of these poisons. There are also wonderful herbals on the market
like Cats Claw 5000 which is one of the most powerful immune system boosters
along with Colloidol gold.
Off my soap box for now!
Regards,
June
Jim Gorman on wed 16 apr 97
a very small study! grant you metals can be
harmful but also very helpful!! did it give you
the ratio of men and women !were they upper or lower class! did they have
education! did they drink well , spring,bottle or town water and so
on and so on on on on
test like this makes me so mad they rush to get
it out!!(maybe a grant in it) and most news papers are gloom and doom they
can't wait to
print it!!!!!!! jim
Kris Baum on thu 17 apr 97
I saw this article, too - worrisome. My spouse keeps pointing out the
importance of trace elements in the human body (and I'm the biologist!),
so I may be overly paranoid. My latest discovery is that the
multivitamins I just bought include, per tablet, 15 mg zinc, 20 mcg
selenium, 2 mg copper, 3.5 mg manganese (!), 65 mcg chromium and 160 mcg
molybdenum. (And we take these voluntarily on the theory that
they're good for us!) Just some more bewildering info to throw into the
pot ...
--
===============================================
Kris Baum, Shubunkin Pottery,
mailto:shubunki@erols.com
===============================================
JULIE ATWOOD on fri 18 apr 97
While it's true we need some of these chemicals in TRACE (must note the
word TRACE) amounts...even manganese and chromium...I doubt that the
amount I subject myself to could be considered "trace". Between the
vitamin pills I take and the chemicals I handle, I figure I have more
than what I need already....so I take the time to be sure I'm just extra
cautious... Some call me paranoid (I'm ALWAYS the one to immediately
bring up safety hazards), but I figure, if I like pottery so much, I
should at least make sure I will like it for YEARS to come...and not have
to pay for it.
It bothers me that some people call me paranoid and a party pooper and
whatnot. I begin to question myself, but then I think of that age old
parent's adage: Better safe than sorry. So what if I have to find a
substitute for my glazes that use manganese or whatnot? So what if I
even have to buy a deodorant without aluminum? So what if I go out of my
way a little bit today, for even the mere possibility that I will be able
to live out a full and mostly healthy life tomorrow?
And to those who like to say that we get worse fumes from vehicles and
whatnot, I have finally found a resonse (from dieting): Why add to it?
Just like that ONE doughnut (with more calories than you know), that ONE
glaze which may seem innocent compared to truck exhaust just ADDS to the
existing problem. Why irritate and aggravate it?
Ok, sorry, got on a bit of a roll there and ended up on my soapbox. Off
I come, I think I'm getting afraid of heights up here...
Julie in Seattle
On Thu, 17 Apr 1997, Kris Baum wrote:
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> I saw this article, too - worrisome. My spouse keeps pointing out the
> importance of trace elements in the human body (and I'm the biologist!),
> so I may be overly paranoid. My latest discovery is that the
> multivitamins I just bought include, per tablet, 15 mg zinc, 20 mcg
> selenium, 2 mg copper, 3.5 mg manganese (!), 65 mcg chromium and 160 mcg
> molybdenum. (And we take these voluntarily on the theory that
> they're good for us!) Just some more bewildering info to throw into the
> pot ...
> --
> ===============================================
> Kris Baum, Shubunkin Pottery,
> mailto:shubunki@erols.com
> ===============================================
>
celine.gura@alz.org on sun 20 apr 97
Regarding your comments on manganese and aluminum:
From the book: Dementia by Peter J Whitehouse c1993
There is a chapter on Metabolic dementia which covers dementia associated with
heavy metal exposure. In the chapter the setting for risk of exposure to
manganese includes: "Occupational exposure in mines, chlorine gas manufacture,
storage batteries, paint, colored glass..."
In the beginning chapter he states that prolonged moderated or acute high level
exposure to metals can interfere with the brains' cellular metabolism and
produce dementia(like parkinsons).
Most of the studies are on WORKERS who work in mines or the manufacturing of
paint etc that includes handling and high exposure to maganese not the users of
these products.
As for ALUMINUM:
According to the Alzheimer's association and numerous studies (Harvard Health
Letter etc.) you cannot get Alzheimer's from exposure to Aluminum in pots, pans,
deoderant and water. I have the studies to back this and a 10 page bibliography
if anyone is interested.
That's just my inclusion for those who would like to make informed lifestyle
decisions based on facts rather than heresay.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Celine Gura
Personal: celine.gura@alz.org
Library: greenfld@alz.org
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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