Abstract

The prevalence of dental and skeletal fluorosis was determined among children of Kheru Nayak Thanda of Gulbarga district, where the fluoride concentration in drinking water ranges from 0.6 to 13.4 ppm and the water has low levels of copper and zinc. These children were investigated clinically, radiologically and biochemically. The study revealed that 89% of the children had dental fluorosis and 39% exhibited skeletal fluorosis. Serum samples of these children showed elevated levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), and decreased levels of total protein, albumin, and potassium. Radiographic changes suggestive of osteoporosis, osteosclerosis, and genu valgum were observed.

• Related Studies :

  • Radiological spectrum of endemic fluorosis: relationship with calcium intake

    Skeletal fluorosis continues to be endemic in many parts of India. Osteosclerosis and interosseous membrane calcification have long been regarded as hallmarks of this disease. Our study showed in addition a wide variety of radiological patterns: coarse trabecular pattern, axial osteosclerosis with distal osteopenia and diffuse osteopenia. Subjects with osteopenic changes had

  • [Dermatoglyphic indices in assessing the predisposition to occupational fluorosis].

    Dermatoglyphic investigations which prove the existence of genetic predisposition to occupational fluorosis in workers of aluminum and criolite plants were carried out. Mathematical methods of pattern recognition were used for the multifactorial analysis. It was found that the complex analysis of ten the most informative dermatoglyphic parameters permits to prognosticate

  • Value of the bone biopsy in the diagnosis of industrial fluorosis

    Iliac crest biopsies taken from 43 men with industrial fluorosis were compared with control bone samples. The bone fluoride content was determined, histological examinations were made on stained sections and microradiographs, and morphometric analysis performed on the microradiographs alone. In the subjects with fluorosis, the bone fluoride content (5617 +/- 2143

  • Bovine calves as ideal bio-indicators for fluoridated drinking water and endemic osteo-dental fluorosis

    Relative susceptibility to fluoride (F) toxicosis in the form of osteo-dental fluorosis was observed in an observational survey of 2,747 mature and 887 immature domestic animals of diverse species living in areas with naturally fluoridated (>1.5 ppm F) drinking water. These animals included buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis), cattle (Bos taurus), camels (Camelus dromedarius),

  • Experimental fluorosis in rats: NaF induced changes of bone and bone marrow

    The results of our experiments suggest that increased doses of NaF cause more extensive osteosclerosis due to the decrease in number and/or activity of osteoclasts. Therefore oateosclerosis is caused primarily, not by increased bone formation but, by the inhibition of bone resorption. This view is supported by the fact that

• Related FAN Content :

  • 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.

  • X-Ray Diagnosis of Skeletal Fluorosis

    In 1937, Kaj Roholm published his seminal study Fluorine Intoxication in which he described three phases of bone changes that occur in skeletal fluorosis. (See below). These three phases, which are detectable by x-ray, have been widely used as a diagnostic guide for detecting the disease. They describe an osteosclerotic bone disease that develops first in the axial skeleton (the spine, pelvis, and ribs), and ultimately results in extensive calcification of ligaments and cartilage, as well as bony outgrowths such as osteophytes and exostoses. Subsequent research has found, however, that x-rays provide a very crude measure for diagnosing fluorosis since the disease can cause symptoms and effects (e.g., osteoarthritis) before, and in the absence of, radiologicaly detectable osteosclerosis in the spine.

  • Skeletal Fluorosis Causes Bones to be Brittle & Prone to Fracture

    It has been known since as the early as the 1930s that patients with skeletal fluorosis have bone that is more brittle and prone to fracture. More recently, however, researchers have found that fluoride can reduce bone strength before the onset of skeletal fluorosis. Included below are some of the