Parkinson's disease/Parkinson syndromes—clinical aspects

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1992
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 607 KB
• Volume: 7
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0885-3185
• DOI: 10.1002/mds.870070540

✦ Synopsis

It is seldom to have an opportunity to follow closely the alteration of parkinsonism due to manganese intoxication. Here we report the results of clinical reevaluation in 4 of 6 patients whom we discovered in a ferromanganese factory 5 years ago (Huang et al, Arch Neurol 1989). In the remaining 2 patients, one died without postmortem study and the other was unavailable. Their parkinsonian disabilities showed a slow progression particularly in gait disturbance, postural stability, finger dexterity, rigidity and seborrhea. While the tremor, bradykinesia, speech disturbance, and hypomimia remained unchanged. Their mcan disability score evaluated by King's College Hospital Rating Scale in 1987 and 1991 was respectively 15.0y4.2 and 28.3i6.7 ( P=0.003, paired t-test ). A review of the video records also confirmed mild deterioration of parkinsonism The initial response to levodopa faded shortly. There was neither clinical fluctuations nor dyskinesia induced by levodopa therapy. It is concluded that there was a mild clinical progression in manganese-induced parkinsonism long after cessation of exposure.