Welding may increase brain damage risk

ST. LOUIS, April 6 (UPI) -- A U.S. professor says more research is warranted into whether welding fumes cause neurological problems, including Parkinson's disease-like symptoms.

Fumes produced by welding contain manganese, an element that scientists have linked to such health problems.

"In the United States alone, there are more than 1 million workers who perform welding as a part of their jobs," Dr. Brad Racette, professor of neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, says in a statement.

"If further investigation of this potential link between neurotoxic effects and these fumes proves it is valid, it would have a substantial public-health impact for the U.S. workforce and the economy."

His study involved 20 welders with no symptoms of Parkinson's disease, 20 people with Parkinson's disease who were not welders, and 20 people who were not welders and did not have Parkinson's recruited from two shipyards and a metal fabrication company.

Each had an average of 30,000 hours of lifetime welding exposure, Racette says.

The study, published in the journal Neurology, found in one area of the brain PET scans showed welders had an average 11.7 percent reduction in a marker of the chemical dopamine -- those with Parkinson's disease have decreased levels of dopamine in some brain regions -- compared with those without welding exposure.