Several Poligrip lawsuits have been prompted by cases of peripheral neuropathy in the United States among users of Poligrip and other denture adhesive creams. A serious neurological condition, peripheral neuropathy is most commonly seen among diabetics, and the Poligrip lawsuits contend that neuropathy is an unwarranted risk of a denture cream use that is not described by GlaxoSmithKline, the pharmaceutical giant that makes Poligrip.
Denture Adhesive Cream and Neuropathy
Millions of people in America have dentures and use Poligrip or another adhesive on a daily basis to keep their dentures in place. A link between neuropathy from denture cream was claimed to be revealed in the Poligrip lawsuits that have arisen in the past years. These lawsuits note the often debilitating symptoms of neuropathy:
* pain and/or tingling in the extremities (i.e., the "peripheral" part of "peripheral neuropathy")
* sensation disorders, such as a sensation of gloves or stockings being worn although the hands or legs are bare
* a loss of balance, difficulty walking
* cognitive decline
In some cases, neuropathy symptoms improve on their own after a period of time. Unfortunately, however, in other cases, treatment programs do not help and the neuropathy never goes away.
Poligrip and Zinc Poisoning
Neuropathy can be caused by:
* an injury
* a metabolic problem
* an infection
* exposure to toxins
* diabetes (about half of all diabetics develop some degree of neuropathy)
* alcoholism (because of poor dietary habits)
However, the link between denture creams such as Poligrip and neuropathy is based on the zinc content of the creams. Zinc — a mineral that is normally vital to one's health — is toxic at high doses. The USDA recommended daily allowance (RDA) for zinc is 15 milligrams of zinc from food and/or supplements every day. On the other hand, too much zinc can be quite harmful to one's health, because a high-enough level of zinc decreases the body's ability to absorb the essential minerals copper and iron.
In Japan on March 4, 2010, the Japanese subsidiary of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), announced that it would begin a voluntary recall of Poligrip products that contain zinc in that country. The company's decision followed just three reports of adverse health effects in consumers of the product, sold in Japan as Poligrip EX.
Despite hundreds of American consumers reporting similar disabling effects stemming from the company's many zinc-containing products in the U.S., Glaxo's American subsidiary has yet to order a recall here.
In a letter in 2009, the company had “received an increased number of adverse event reports” that together with recent medical literature suggest that there were serious dangers associated with denture adhesives spiked with zinc.
Even as Glaxo warned doctors of the dangers posed by its denture cream, the company continued to blame users of its products, writing, “some patients apply more adhesive than directed and use it more than once per day.”
Talk with Mark Zamora, who may be reached at mark@markzamora.com or call 404-451-7781.
