Abstract
The present study was undertaken to investigate the various health problems caused by water-borne fluoride in endemic villages of Mehsana and Banaskantha districts of Gujarat. The study revealed high levels of fluoride in serum samples of the villagers. Mottling of teeth and skeletal complications were common. Intake of fluoride caused a decrease in haemoglobin content and in the serum protein levels. Serum cholesterol levels were normal. Circulating levels of testosterone were decreased, but not significantly enough to indicate an effect on reproductive functions. The enhanced levels of serum transaminases, which are markers for liver function, indicated structural and functional changes in liver due to fluoride intake. Changes in the serum calcium, sodium and potassium levels revealed electrolyte imbalance in the fluorotic individuals. While levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and triiodothyronine (T 3 ) did not vary, • a significant increase in the thyroxine (T 4 ) levels suggested alteration in thyroid function. Thus the study revealed some harmful effects of fluoride in the soft tissue functions of the endemic population
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Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA’s Standards.
Excerpts: Summary Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to establish exposure standards for contaminants in public drinking-water systems that might cause any adverse effects on human health. These standards include the maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG), the maximum contaminant level (MCL), and the secondary
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Safety of osteoporosis treatment with sodium fluoride, calcium phosphate and vitamin D.
During an 8-year period, 163 consecutive patients with spinal crush fracture osteoporosis started a 5-year treatment with a combination of sodium fluoride (60 mg/day), calcium phosphate (45 mmol/day) and vitamin D2 (18,000 IU/day), and were followed in the outpatient clinic every 3 months. Fourty-three patients completed the 5-year treatment. Mean
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Epidemiologic health study of workers in an aluminum smelter in Kitimat, B.C. II. Effects on musculoskeletal and other systems
A health study was carried out on 2066 workers in an aluminum smelter in Kitimat, British Columbia to study the effects of exposure to fluoride and other air contaminants encountered on the potlines on the musculoskeletal system, hemopoietic tissue, liver, and renal function. Three hundred seventy-two railway repair workers from
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Fluorosis in some tribal villages of Dungarpur district of Rajasthan, India
The prevalences of dental and skeletal fluorosis were observed in fifteen tribal villages of the Dungapur district of Rajasthan where the fluoride (F) concentration in drinking waters varies from 0.3 to 10.8 ppm. At 1.40 and 6.04 ppm mean F concentrations, 25.64% and 84.43% of school children (<16 years), and
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Medical aspects of excessive fluoride in a water supply
A 10-year study of 116 persons in Bartlett and 121 in Cameron, Tex., was conducted to determine if prolonged exposure to fluoride in the water supply of Bartlett had produced detectable physiological effects. Bartlett's water contained about 8 p.p.m. F until 1952, when an experimental defluoridation unit was installed, reducing the
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"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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Fluoride & Osteopetrosis
One of the most common radiological findings in skeletal fluorosis is osteosclerosis - a hardening of bones with a blurring of the trabecular structure. In advanced cases, the osteosclerotic form of fluorosis may closely resemble the appearance of osteopetrosis, a "marble bone" disease in which the bones are dense, but fragile and prone to fracture.
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