Manganese produce a parkinsonism-like illness characterized by movement abnormalities. This condition is not responsive to typical therapies used in the treatment of PD, suggesting an alternative pathway than the typical dopaminergic loss within the substantia nigra. Manganese may accumulate in the basal ganglia, leading to the abnormal movements. A mutation of the SLC30A10 gene, a manganese efflux transporter necessary for decreasing intracellular Mn, has been linked with the development of this Parkinsonism-like disease. The Lewy bodies typical to PD are not seen in Mn-induced parkinsonism. Animal experiments have given the opportunity to examine the consequences of manganese overexposure under controlled conditions.
Manganese modern times as pyrolusite or manganese dioxide. Neither this mineral nor elemental manganese is magnetic. In the 16th century, manganese dioxide was called "manganesum" (note the two Ns instead of one) by glassmakers, possibly as a corruption and concatenation of two words, since alchemists and glassmakers eventually had to differentiate a "magnesia negra" (the black ore) from "magnesia alba" (a white ore, also from Magnesia, also useful in glassmaking). Michele Mercati called magnesia negra "manganesa", and finally the metal isolated from it became known as "manganese" (German: "Mangan"). The name "magnesia" eventually was then used to refer only to the