Manganese and Parkinson's Disease

Some names for disorders that have been associated with exposure to manganese are Parkinson's disease (also parkinson disease or PD), manganese-induced Parkinsonism, manganism and manganese poisoning.  All of these disorders are diseases of a part of the brain called the basal ganglia.

The primary symptoms of manganism are fatigue, headache, speech disturbances, mask-like face, rigidity, muscle contractions, some tremors, disorientation, loss of memory, impairment of judgment, abnormal gait or difficulty in walking, and the loss of the ability to control muscular movement.

These symptoms are also symptoms of the neurological disorder known as Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's disease is a progressive disorder of the central nervous system.  Parkinson's disease can be quite difficult to diagnose at the onset.  The symptoms of Parkinson's disease can be different from person to person.  Generally it tends to begin with a periodic tremor of the hand on one side of the body.  As the condition worsens, it may affect the other side of the body as well and there may be slowness or stiffness too.  Parkinson's disease occurs in all races and in all geographic locations.

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