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.
Methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl Cestoburn, by Cestoil Chemical Inc. in Canada. MMT is manufactured by reduction of bis(methylcyclopentadienyl) manganese using triethylaluminium. The reduction is conducted under an atmosphere of carbon monoxide. The reaction is exothermic, and without proper cooling, can lead to catastrophic thermal runaway. MMT is a so-called half-sandwich compound, or more specifically a piano-stool complex (since the three CO ligands are like the legs of a piano stool). The manganese atom in MMT is coordinated with three carbonyl groups as well as to the methylcyclopentadienyl ring. These hydrophobic organic ligands make MMT highly lipophilic. A variety of related complexes are known, including