BUTLER, Pa., May 7 (UPI) -- Zinc levels in Super Poligrip led to a nerve disorder in a Butler, Pa., woman, a lawsuit filed against the maker of the denture cream alleges.
Terri Charpentier, 41, was forced to resign her clerical job and was unable to walk without a walker or a cane, said her lawsuit filed Thursday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court against GlaxoSmithKline.
The zinc levels in Super Poligrip led to a copper deficiency in Charpentier from 2005 to 2009, the lawsuit says. She then stopped using the product and her health improved somewhat, it says.
GlaxoSmithKline stopped making Super Poligrip containing zinc in February and since has introduced zinc-free versions of the denture cream, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Friday.
The American Dental Association said in February it was aware of a few cases in which there was a "possible association" between excessive use of zinc-containing denture creams and neurological problems.
GlaxoSmithKline said it would not comment on a pending lawsuit.
