Donna, you may have peripheral neuropathy, which is neurological
damage linked to lead poisoning and a host of other illnesses. It is
called 'stocking and glove' in the medical profession because those
are the areas affected - I have numbness down the sides of my legs
and my wrists and hands are much weaker than they used to be.

Also there is another condition - I don't know whether it is linked
to peripheral neuropathy, but it is called 'wrist drop' and this is
extremely common in lead poisoned people. It is an inability to hold
the hands up straight and presumably is also related to neurological
damage - in the 19th century when lead poisoning was a lot more
common than nowadays they actually invented a device to support the
wrists of affected people. You will see wrist drop in people with
various neurological disorders, I am not sure whether it is spina
bifida patients or Downes' Syndrome or what it is, but it is when the
hand is completely collapsed at the wrist. There is a bit about it
at Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrist_drop

And there is quite an interesting article about lead poisoning at
Wikipedia as well -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_poisoning

Best wishes,
Jay



--- In LPAE@yahoogroups.com, donna liloia <donnaliloia@...> wrote:
>
> Doug,
>
> I have lead poisining from old paint I sanded in a rental.  Did you
have symptons of joint pain?  I did the cheleation and my hands and
joitns are still a problem. Wondering if I'll ever stop feeling like
a 90 year old waoman.
>
> Donna
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: humphriesdoug <humphriesdoug@...>
> To: LPAE@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Saturday, September 13, 2008 6:44:27 AM
> Subject: [LPAE] Re: Fw: [Leadnet] "Is lead linked to mental
decline?"
>
>
> Hi all
> I have been proceeding along my detox path with my hair analysis
off the top of the page with regard to lead sometimes as I have an
analysis done every four months.
> As I detox with IV chelation with EDTA (I have  had 36 treatments
but none for several months) as well as with oral chelation I have
noticed that the lead in my hair can vary enormously which to me
implies that the detoxification can occur in sudden avalanche type
releases of toxic metals. As predicted the first thing that comes out
is the lead, followed by cadmium followed by mercury. All my problems
started in 1970 when I was poisoned with methyl mercury chloride
fungicide while preparing seed wheat. It is known that mercury stuffs
up many of the body's mechanisms for detoxification.  It is listed in
the following document as one of the most toxic pesticides ever
developed. I found this link most helpful. For me I had an
identifiable exposure to methyl mercury chloride which enabled me to
make the link. One of the most notable characteristics of organo
mercury poisoning is that there can be a silent latency period of 150
days between exposure and
> symptoms.
> http://www.ehponlin e.org/members/ 2002/suppl- 5/851-854weiss/
weiss-full. html
> It is noteworthy that 5 months after exposure that I was
incorrectly diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic  (subjective
rubbish from a well meaning but ignorant medical profession).
> Being treated for toxic metals has been like having a veil lifted.
The lesson is - do an exposure analysis taking into account the time
delay between exposure and symptoms.
> Here is another great resource.
> http://www.epa. gov/oppfead1/ safety/healthcar e/handbook/
handbook. htmI think that there is a huge problem out there that the
silent latency is masking as it did with other medical /
environmental / poisoning diagnostic disasters.
> Cheers
> --- In LPAE@yahoogroups. com, <egroup@> wrote:
> >
> > for all those interested in later health effects of lead (and
pesticides and
> > mercury, etc) please refer to the website below. I have also
pasted the text
> > of the article at the end.
> > Kind regards
> > Elizabeth O'Brien
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Ralph Scott" rscott@
> > To: leadnet@
> > Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2008 6:12 AM
> > Subject: [Leadnet] "Is lead linked to mental decline?"
> >
> >
> > A June 15 news story that reviews some research on lead exposure
in
> > childhood and mental decline later in life:
> >
> > www.orlandosentinel .com/orl- leadbrain08jun15 ,0,3574316. story
> > ----------
> > Ralph Scott
> > Community Projects Director
> > Alliance for Healthy Homes
> > 50 F St., NW, Suite 300
> > Washington, DC 20001
> >
> > phone - 202-347-7610
> > fax - 202-347-0058
> > rscott@; www.afhh.org
> >
> > Working for affordable healthy housing for all.
> >
> > ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---
------ ------
> > A blank message to these addresses performs the following -
> > Leadnet-on@ .. subscribes you to the list.
> > Leadnet-off@ ... unsubscribes you from the list.
> > Leadnet-switch@ ... toggles you to/from the fancy digest version.
> > Leadnet-vacation@ ... toggles you to/from the vacation list.
> >
> > Post your message to the list by sending it to Leadnet@
> >
> > To contact the list owner, send your message to
> > Leadnet-list- owner@
> >
> >
> >
> > To unsubscribe your email address, click on the following web
page.
> > http://cgi.mail- list.com/ u?ln=leadnet&nm=egroup@ .
> >
> > www.orlandosentinel .com/orl- leadbrain08jun15 ,0,3574316. story
> > [LID 9565]
> >
> > OrlandoSentinel. com
> > YOUR TIME: WELLNESS
> > Is lead linked to mental decline?
> > Some experts say long-ago exposure to the toxin adversely affects
the brain
> > later in life, but more study is necessary.
> > Malcolm Ritter
> >
> > The Associated Press June 15, 2008
> >
> > Could it be that the "natural" mental decline that afflicts many
older
> > people is related to how much lead they absorbed decades before?
> >
> > That's the provocative idea emerging from some studies, part of a
broader
> > area of new research that suggests some pollutants can cause harm
that shows
> > up only years after someone is exposed.
> >
> > The work suggests long-ago lead exposure can make an aging
person's brain
> > work as if it's five years older than it really is. If that's
verified by
> > more research, it means that sharp cuts in environmental lead
levels more
> > than 20 years ago didn't stop its widespread effects.
> >
> > "We're trying to offer a caution that a portion of what has been
called
> > normal aging might in fact be due to ubiquitous environmental
exposures like
> > lead," says Dr. Brian Schwartz of Johns Hopkins University.
> >
> > "The fact that it's happening with lead is the first proof of
principle that
> > it's possible," says Schwartz, a leader in the study of lead's
delayed
> > effects. Other pollutants such as mercury and pesticides may do
the same
> > thing, he says.
> >
> > In fact, some recent research does suggest that being exposed to
pesticides
> > raises the risk of getting Parkinson's disease a decade or more
later.
> > Experts say such studies in mercury are lacking.
> >
> > The notion of long-delayed effects is familiar; tobacco and
asbestos, for
> > example, can lead to cancer. But in recent years, scientists are
coming to
> > appreciate that exposure to other pollutants in early life also
may promote
> > disease much later on.
> >
> > "It's an emerging area" for research, says Dr. Philip Landrigan
of the Mount
> > Sinai School of Medicine in New York. It certainly makes sense
that if a
> > substance destroys brain cells in early life, the brain may cope
by drawing
> > on its reserve capacity until it loses still more cells with
aging, he said.
> > Only then would symptoms such as forgetfulness or tremors appear.
> >
> > Linda Birnbaum, director of experimental toxicology at the U.S.
> > Environmental Protection Agency, says infant mice exposed to
chemicals such
> > as PCBs show only very subtle effects in young adulthood. But
more dramatic
> > harm in areas such as movement and learning appears when they
reach old age.
> >
> > Animal studies also show clear evidence that being exposed to
harmful
> > substances in the womb can harm health later on, she says. For
example,
> > rodents that encounter PCBs or dioxins before birth are more
susceptible to
> > cancer once they grow up.
> >
> > Studying delayed effects in people is difficult because they
generally must
> > be followed for a long time. Research with lead is easier because
scientists
> > can measure the amount that has accumulated in the shinbone over
decades and
> > get a read on how much lead a person has been exposed to in the
past.
> >
> > Lead in the blood, by contrast, reflects recent exposure.
Virtually all
> > Americans have lead in their blood, but the amounts are far lower
today than
> > in the past.
> >
> > The big reason for the drop: the phasing out of lead in gasoline
from 1976
> > to 1991. Because of that and accompanying measures, the average
lead level
> > in the blood of American adults fell 30 percent by 1980 and about
80 percent
> > by 1990.
> >
> > That's a major success story for environmentalists. But work by
Schwartz and
> > Dr. Howard Hu of the University of Michigan suggests that the
long-term
> > effects of the high-lead era are still being felt.
> >
> > In 2006, Schwartz and his colleagues published a study of about
1,000
> > Baltimore residents. They were ages 50 to 70, old enough to have
absorbed
> > plenty of lead before it disappeared from gasoline. They probably
got their
> > peak doses in the 1960s and 1970s, Schwartz says, mostly by
inhaling air
> > pollution from vehicle exhaust and from other sources in the
environment.
> >
> > The researchers estimated each person's lifetime dose by scanning
their
> > shinbones for lead. Then they gave each one a battery of mental-
ability
> > tests.
> >
> > In brief, the scientists found that the higher the lifetime lead
dose, the
> > poorer the performance across a wide variety of mental functions,
such as
> > verbal and visual memory and language ability. From low to high
dose, the
> > difference in mental functioning was about the equivalent of
aging by two to
> > six years.
> >
> > "We think that's a large effect," Schwartz says.
> >
> > Hu and his colleagues took a slightly different approach in a
2004 study of
> > 466 men with an average age of 67. Those men took a mental-
ability test
> > twice, about four years apart on average. Those with the highest
bone lead
> > levels showed more decline between exams than those with smaller
levels,
> > with the effect of the lead equal to about five years of aging.
> >
> > Nobody is claiming that lead is the sole cause of age-related
mental
> > decline, but it appears to be one of several factors involved, Hu
stresses.
> >
> > If so, it would join such possible influences as high blood
pressure,
> > diabetes, stroke, emotional stress and maybe education level,
said Bradley
> > Wise of the National Institute on Aging. Nobody knows exactly
what causes
> > mental decline with age, he says.
> >
> > Although the studies by Hu and Schwartz suggest lead is involved,
Wise and
> > others say they don't prove the link.
> >
> > "I think many things impact how we age, but I think right now
it's maybe
> > premature to be giving lead a huge role in our age-related
cognitive
> > decline," says Dr. Margit L. Bleecker, director of the Center for
> > Occupational and Environmental Neurology in Baltimore. Still, she
calls the
> > lead hypothesis "a very interesting idea" deserving more study.
> >
> > Others are more impressed.
> >
> > "The new evidence from these studies should concern people" says
> > epidemiologist Andrew Rowland of the University of New
Mexico. "These two
> > research groups are finding adverse effects on the aging brain at
low levels
> > of lead exposure. More work needs to be done, but these studies
are raising
> > important questions."
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Copyright © 2008, Orlando Sentinel
> >
> Doug Humphries 
>