Polly Grip and Neuropathy
 

i just watched a news report on my local abc news. it was about toxic levels of zinc in Polly Grip.

there have been law suits agaisnt the company already.

has anyone heard of this?

i'm going to try and link to the story. i am on dial up..so bare with me.

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dw....96905d65.html


More claims of denture cream poisoning


10:38 PM CDT on Tuesday, May 22, 2007


By JANET ST. JAMES / WFAA-TV


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An estimated 35 million people use denture adhesives, especially when they wake up and after they eat.
But now, another North Texas man claims it poisoned him and he said he believes others may also unknowingly be exposed to danger in a tube.
Gerald Elliott, of Ellis County, can barely walk on his own.
"The problem with my feet is they're almost totally dead," he said. "I [can] hardly feel."
Elliott makes his way through his small cabin by grabbing onto the walls.
"I'm able to hold on to everything, I've got a post here and there almost like a chimpanzee," he said.
After years of increasing discomfort and declining health, Elliott went to the doctor and was diagnosed with neuropathy: nerve damage.
"And [the doctor] diagnosed me with zinc toxicity; and I didn't believe it," he said.
But a second opinion confirmed it.
After months of ruling out other factors, medical records showed high levels of zinc in his system attributed to SuperPoligrip.
He's not alone.
Last year, News 8 profiled JD Jackson, who said he also suffered neuropathy linked to zinc toxicity from Super PoliGrip.
News 8 learned of at least two lawsuits filed against GlaxoSmithKline, the makers of Super PoliGrip, for the same problem. At least one of those suits was settled out of court with a confidentiality agreement.
Denture cremes were approved more than 30 years ago as a "Class 1 medical device" according to a statement by the FDA. Class 1 medical devices are considered low-risk and are not required to list the ingredients on the label.
Denture adhesives also come with no warning.
GlaxoSmithKline admitted zinc is one of SuperPoligrip's primary ingredients. In a statement, GSK said the risk of zinc poisoning is "minimal" when the product is "used as directed."
But Baylor College of Dentistry Dr. Charles Wakefield said the vast majority of people who use over-the-counter denture creams do so because they have poorly fitting dentures, which often means they use much more product than recommended.
"And for those people, that's exactly correct, and there's a huge market for that," Dr. Wakefield said.
Dr. Wakefield said the mouth's membranes absorb minerals and medicines better than anywhere else in the body. So, it's entirely possible that many people are soaking in more zinc through their gums than they should.
"Sure it's all possible," said Dr. Wakefield when asked if possible zinc poisoning has been mistaken for something else. "But, what needs to be done is a really good, thorough, well-controlled study needs to be done to rule it in or out."
Since discontinuing use of Super PoliGrip, Elliott claimed his zinc levels have returned to normal; but the effects are permanent.
"I'm just a common ol' boy, but it was hard for me to believe that something that simple could cause so much damage," he said.
He's suing the company. He said his ultimate isn't to punish the company, but warn other denture wearers of a potential risk.

E-mail jstjames@wfaa.com

GSK strikes again?
 

At the same time, would penicillin pass current FDA Standards? The 'process' changes and if WE don't report s/e's to mfr and to the FDA...only complain...who's gonna know? Best in my book to get it on records.

Most of us over 40+ seem to have become or simply are more sensitive to lots of stuff...I just wonder where/if there are connections.

I've lots other stuff to worry about and research now, I'll try to include this in the menu of 'to be done's' '

-j

it just made m wonder about lots of stuff. since they don't have to put the list of ingredients on the box. kinda scary when you think about it. :(

It takes ALOT of zinc
 

to poison someone.

I can't look right now, but I will try and figure this one out.

I have a zinc thread on Vit forum with links to zinc information.

I am wondering if something else is in that PolyGrip?
I found this quickly at http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...0183557AAE35f3

from GSK website:
from http://www.poligrip.com/faqs.aspx#free

Getting the ingredients themselves, may prove very difficult here.

I'll be back later...

mrsd, i'm going to email the guy at the tv station. they got the ingredients. they showed it on the news cast.

maybe because like what the dentist said:Dr. Wakefield said the mouth's membranes absorb minerals and medicines better than anywhere else in the body. So, it's entirely possible that many people are soaking in more zinc through their gums than they should.

update.

i got a very fast response from janet...the reporter. she would also like to know if this comes to anyhting on our part. she is such an advocate for people. she is the health reporter. ( i did not give her what forum we are on) here is part of her email to me:

Curious,
Thank you ever so much for posting this information, it was over 3 years ago when I started using this product and in six months time my feet and legs began their burning and numbness. I started taking Zocor at about the same time and have been chasing the information on statin side effects. You sure have given me a big uplift and a different sense of direction. Will get a test done next week as I also developed BPH at about the same time. Many, Many THANKS
Lanny

lannny..janets email addy is on the post. she would LOVE to hear from anyone like yourself. she is NOT going to let this drop.

i am so sorry for you pain. :hug:

I've been searching around....
 

and can not find any papers about zinc excess and neuropathy.

Here is an example:
http://ceramic-materials.com/cermat/education/291.html
Now, this incident may be very unique. Or a scam. Zinc also produces gastrointestinal side effects. And anemia. Anemia is not mentioned on that news story.
Could not find anything here either:
http://www.intox.org/databank/docume...lt/ukpid89.htm

and this:from http://jn.nutrition.org/nutinfo/content/zinc.shtml

Arsenic DOES cause neuropathy however, and so do some other heavy metals. A contaminated batch perhaps? Poor manufacturing practices?
I tend to think that more likely....GSK has had severe manufacturing issues with Paxil CR (FDA intervention) and Citrucel bulk laxative.

Given that PN can be very idiopathic...there may be more to this story and the other ingredients in PolyGrip. I would like to see some documentation of this issue...I could not find any papers on PubMed for example.

Here is another link:
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/cc/zinc.html#risks
It states that 40mg daily of ELEMENTAL zinc is the upper tolerable limit. The word elemental is important here. Since zinc SALTS dilute the effect. i.e. there is usually a little bit of zinc with ALOT of salt (carrier molecules). Zinc tastes really BAD... affects the whole mouth. Try a Cold Eeze lozenge http://www.coldeeze.com/clinical_info/safety.html and see how your mouth reacts! I just did one a couple of weeks ago for a severe sore throat, and I can tell you even with flavorings..the zinc was powerful and somewhat "nasty". It took a whole day to recover taste and normal mouth functions for me. But it did nip that nasty virus for me. So the trade off was worth it. If PolyGrip were so high in zinc, then
the perceptions of taste would be significant and noticeable, IMO. Notice also that PolyGrip was reformulated in 2006 to improve "taste"...this might be a change in the zinc concentration. (notice one of the media articles was from Feb 2006).

Zinc requires active transport in the small intestine for absorption. It is not well passively absorbed without "help". These are called ligands. Skin absorption may also occur, but over LARGE areas...for example the "butt creams" as we compound in nursing home providers, are used on the skin in large areas, for long periods of time. I have never seen a case of zinc toxicity from this use. I searched and searched buccal (mouth) absorption for zinc and minerals, and came up with nothing useful basically.