Abstract
The results of surveys carried out between 1976 and 1985 in the fluorosis-endemic area of the Ethiopian Rift Valley is summarised, with emphasis on the neurological complications resulting from the crippling osteofluorosis. The neurological manifestations in the forms of myelopathy with and without radiculopathy (respectively 72% and 28%) occurred after exposure to high fluoride (greater than 4 ppm) for longer than 10 years. These deficits were clearly found to be a consequence of fluoride deposition in bones, resulting in generalised sclerosis and osteophytosis, with reduction in the diameter of the intervertebral foramina and of the spinal conal. Advanced osteosclerosis commonly causes severe spastic quadriparesis in flexion, accompanied by distressing spasms and urinary incontinence. The dilemma of these medical problems in relation to the agro-industrial economic developments of the Ethiopian Rift Valley is discussed.
-
-
Changes in basic metabolic elements associated with the degeneration and ossification of ligamenta flava
OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between levels of basic metabolic elements and degeneration and ossification of the ligamentum flavum (LF). SUBJECTS: Fourteen consecutive patients with degenerative lumbar stenosis, 11 with ossification of the thoracic ligamenta flava, and 11 control subjects. METHODS: The basic elements of calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg), zinc
-
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
-
Posttraumatic pseudomenigocoele of cervical spine in a patient with skeletal fluorosis. Case report
A case of fluorotic cervical compressive myelopathy precipitated by trauma is reported. The delayed neurological deterioration was due to a posttraumatic pseudomenincocele, the prompt treatment of which resulted in recovery. Posttraumatic pseudomeningocele is very rate; and certainly so in fluorosis, and thus has not been reported in the literature to date.
-
Skeletal fluorosis causing high cervical myelopathy
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
Related Studies :
-
-
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Fluoridation, Dialysis & Osteomalacia
In the 1960s and 1970s, doctors discovered that patients receiving kidney dialysis were accumulating very high levels of fluoride in their bones and blood, and that this exposure was associated with severe forms of osteomalacia, a bone-softening disease that leads to weak bones and often excruciating bone pain. Based on
Related FAN Content :
-