Abstract

Previously by the time skeletal fluorosis among aluminum smelter workers due to high fluoride exposure was diagnosed numerous cases of bone fluorosis had already reached stages II and III according to Roholm. Today, as a result of improved working conditions and continuous health care, the picture has changed. This paper reports the frequency of occurrence of bone changes caused by fluoride in a population of 358 aluminum smelter workers who had been fluoride exposed for more than 5 years and whose diagnosis had not been made prior to 1971. In the examination, particular attention was paid to degenerative changes of the skeleton and the frequency of spondylosis, arthrosis of the hip and elbow joints as well as changes in the form of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (spondylosis hypeostotica Forestier). A population of 81 foundry workers in aluminum smelters under similar working conditions, but not fluoride exposed, served as controls.

• Related Studies :

  • Enduring fluoride health hazard for the Vesuvius area population: the case of AD 79 Herculaneum

    BACKGROUND:  The study of ancient skeletal pathologies can be adopted as a key tool in assessing and tracing several diseases from past to present times. Skeletal fluorosis, a chronic metabolic bone and joint disease causing excessive ossification and joint ankylosis, has been only rarely considered in differential diagnoses of palaeopathological

  • [Two cases of skeletal fluorosis in the hand].

    Skeletal fluorosis is well known, particularly in the spine, pelvis and forearm. However, the hand may also be involved. The authors report two cases of this site in endemic areas in Senegal, after ingestion of large amounts of fluoride in the water. Fluorosis consisted of deforming metacarpal and phalangeal osteoperiotitis in one case

  • Paleopathology of skeletal fluorosis

    Skeletal fluorosis is one of a range of conditions causing excessive ossification and joint ankylosis in skeletons. It is rarely considered, however, in differential diagnoses of palaeopathological lesions. This paper considers the identification of skeletal fluorosis in a skeletal sample from the island of Bahrain, Arabian Gulf, dating to ca.

  • Industrial fluorosis [Boillat et al.]

    43 potroom workers (aluminium industry) with fluorosis have been compared with 18 foundry workers of the same age, but who had never been exposed to fluorides. Clinical examination revealed a higher incidence of articular pain and limitation of motion in the exposed group. The diagnosis of fluorosis is not only

  • Bone mineral structure after six years fluoride treatment investigated by backscattered electron imaging (BSEI) and small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS): a case report

    NaF, a bone formation stimulating agent, is used for the treatment of osteoporosis. Controversy exists concerning the quality of the newly formed bone and the antifracture effectiveness. We report about a 70 years old woman, who had received 50 mg NaF/d for about 6 years. Calcium or Vit D supplements

• Related FAN Content :

  • 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.

  • Variability in Radiographic Appearance of Skeletal Fluorosis

    Osteosclerosis (dense bone) is the bone change typically associated with skeletal fluorosis, particularly in the axial skeleton (spine, pelvis, and ribs). Research shows, however, that skeletal fluorosis produces a spectrum of bone changes, including osteomalacia, osteoporosis, exostoses, changes resulting from secondary hyperparathyroidism, and combinations thereof. Although the reason for this radiographic variability is not yet fully understood, it is believed to relate to the dose of fluoride consumed, the individual's nutritional status, exposure to aluminum, genetic susceptibility, presence of kidney disease, and area of the skeleton examined.

  • "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.

  • 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.

  • Kidney Patients Are at Increased Risk of Fluoride Poisoning

    It is well established that individuals with kidney disease are susceptible to suffering bone damage and other ill effects from low levels of fluoride exposure. Kidney patients are at elevated risk because when kidneys are damaged they are unable to efficiently excrete fluoride from the body. As a result, kidney patients