Abstract

Skeletal fluorosis is endemic in some parts of the world and is the result of life-long ingestion of high amounts of fluoride in drinking water. Its clinical presentation is characterized mostly by bone and dental changes with later ossification of many ligaments and interosseous membranes. We present a rare case of high cervical myelopathy caused by ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament and ligamentum flavum in a patient from an area endemic for skeletal fluorosis. The clinical presentation of skeletal fluorosis and treatment options are discussed.

• Related Studies :

  • Thoracic ossification of ligamentum flavum caused by skeletal fluorosis

    Thoracic ossification of ligamentum flavum (OLF) caused by skeletal fluorosis is rare. Only six patients had been reported in the English literature. This study reports findings from the first clinical series of this disease. This was a retrospective study of patients with thoracic OLF due to skeletal fluorosis who underwent surgical management at the

  • Fluorosis in Nalgonda District, Hyderabad-Deccan

    Details of inviestigations of 32 cases of skeletal fluorosis with neurological manifestations are described. The results of the eighth-nerve functions are reported. The probable factors responsible for early skeletal changes in patients from Kamaguda are discussed. A case is described in which excretion of previously stored fluoride continued in the

  • Endemic fluorosis with neurological complications in a Hampshire man

    We describe below a case of skeletal fluorosis occurring in a Hampshire man who presented with neurological complications, and whose condition was appreciably improved by operation. We believe that this is the first case of its kind to be reported from Britain, and also the first case of skeletal fluorosis

  • Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament and fluorosis

    There is only one report of ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) in patients suffering from fluorosis. Deshpande, Dinakarand Reddy (1976) mention an association with fluorosis in 14 of 26 cases. OPLL is not mentioned in two reviews of fluorosis (Jolly 1981; Reddy and Reddy 1987). Patients. In our neurological service,

  • Chronic fluoride intoxication with fluorotic radiculomyelopathy

    This case of a patient with chronic fluoride intoxication, extensive osteosclerosis, and fluorotic radiculomyelopathy is believed to be the first reported froni the United States. The development of advanced fluorosis in this patient exposed to drinking vater with less than 4 ppm of fluoride was unusual and with probably a

• Related FAN Content :

  • Fluoride & Spinal Stenosis

    Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spaces in the spine that results in pressure being placed on the spinal cord and/or nerve roots. Although stenosis can develop without symptoms, it may produce numbness, tingling, pain and difficulty in walking, as well as a heavy/tired feeling in the legs. It is estimated that 250,000 to 500,000 Americans currently have symptoms of spinal stenosis. Skeletal fluorosis is one cause of stenosis.

  • Fluoride & Osteoarthritis

    While the osteoarthritic effects that occurred from fluoride exposure were once considered to be limited to those with skeletal fluorosis, recent research shows that fluoride can cause osteoarthritis in the absence of traditionally defined fluorosis. Conventional methods used for detecting skeletal fluorosis, therefore, will fail to detect the full range of people suffering from fluoride-induced osteoarthritis.

  • "Pre-Skeletal" Fluorosis

    As demonstrated by the studies below, skeletal fluorosis may produce adverse symptoms, including arthritic pains, clinical osteoarthritis, gastrointestinal disturbances, and bone fragility, before the classic bone change of fluorosis (i.e., osteosclerosis in the spine and pelvis) is detectable by x-ray. Relying on x-rays, therefore, to diagnosis skeletal fluorosis will invariably fail to protect those individuals who are suffering from the pre-skeletal phase of the disease. Moreover, some individuals with clinical skeletal fluorosis will not develop an increase in bone density, let alone osteosclerosis, of the spine. Thus, relying on unusual increases in spinal bone density will under-detect the rate of skeletal fluoride poisoning in a population.

  • Skeletal Fluorosis: The Misdiagnosis Problem

    It is a virtual certainty that there are individuals in the general population unknowingly suffering from some form of skeletal fluorosis as a result of a doctor's failure to consider fluoride as a cause of their symptoms. Proof that this is the case can be found in the following case reports of skeletal fluorosis written by doctors in the U.S. and other western countries. As can be seen, a consistent feature of these reports is that fluorosis patients--even those with crippling skeletal fluorosis--are misdiagnosed for years by multiple teams of doctors who routinely fail to consider fluoride as a possible cause of their disease.

  • Mayo Clinic: Fluoridation & Bone Disease in Renal Patients

    The available evidence suggests that some patients wtih long-term renal failure are being affected by drinking water with as little as 2 ppm fluoride. The finding of adverse effects in patients drinking water with 2 ppm of fluoride suggests that a few similar cases may be found in patients imbibing 1 ppm, especially if large volumes are consumed, or in heavy tea drinkers. The finding of adverse effects in patients drinking water with 2 ppm of fluoride suggests that a few similar cases may be found in patients imbibing 1 ppm, especially if large volumes are consumed, or in heavy tea drinkers and if fluoride is indeed the cause. It would seem prudent, therefore, to monitor the fluoride intake of patients with renal failure living in high fluoride areas.