Abstract
Case: A thirty-year-old man presented with severely debilitating left hip pain and stiffness. Radiographs demonstrated diffuse osteosclerosis and heterotopic bone formation with near ankylosis of the left hip. The patient underwent successful joint-preserving surgery to restore hip range of motion. After disclosing a history of inhalant abuse, which was confirmed by elevated serum fluoride levels, he was diagnosed with diffuse skeletal fluorosis.
Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, we present the first reported case of diffuse skeletal fluorosis caused by inhalant abuse of 1,1-difluoroethane. Skeletal fluorosis is uncommon in the United States but is important to consider in the differential diagnosis when a patient presents with otherwise unexplained joint pain and osteosclerosis.
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Skeletal fluorosis from instant tea
INTRODUCTION: Skeletal fluorosis (SF) can result from prolonged consumption of well water with >4 ppm fluoride ion (F(-); i.e., >4 mg/liter). Black and green teas can contain significant amounts of F(-). In 2005, SF caused by drinking 1-2 gallons of double-strength instant tea daily throughout adult life was reported in
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Recovery from skeletal fluorosis (an enigmatic, American case)
A 52-year-old man presented with severe neck immobility and radiographic osteosclerosis. Elevated fluoride levels in serum, urine, and iliac crest bone revealed skeletal fluorosis. Nearly a decade of detailed follow-up documented considerable correction of the disorder after removal of the putative source of fluoride (toothpaste). INTRODUCTION: Skeletal fluorosis, a crippling bone
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A case of thick but brittle bones and instant tea
CASE DESCRIPTION A 45-year-old white male was found to have radiographic findings of a diffusely dense appendicular skeleton, mild trabecular thickening, and multiple thoracic compression fractures indicating structural weakness. Bone mineral density was above the expected range for his age on the lumbar spine and femoral neck. Social history was significant
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Non-Endemic Skeletal Fluorosis: Causes And Associated Secondary Hyperparathyroidism (Case Report and Literature Review).
Highlights Fluorocarbon “huffing” is an under-appreciated cause of skeletal fluorosis (SF) We present a SF case with hyperparathyroidism, osteosclerosis, and osteomalacia SF may go undetected due to variation in symptoms, radiology, and biochemistry Dietary calcium, prior bone health, and skeletal F exposure influence SF features SF is common in
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Skeletal fluorosis from brewed tea
BACKGROUND: High fluoride ion (F(-)) levels are found in many surface and well waters. Drinking F(-)-contaminated water typically explains endemic skeletal fluorosis (SF). In some regions of Asia, however, poor quality "brick tea" also causes this disorder. The plant source of brick, black, green, orange pekoe, and oolong tea, Camellia
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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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"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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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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Fluoride Magnifies Impact of Repetitive Stress on Joints
Research has repeatedly found that fluoride's effect on the skeleton is most pronounced in the bones and joints that undergo the greatest strain. Indeed, both the symptoms of fluorosis (i.e., joint pain and stiffness) as well as the radiological findings (e.g., exostoses, interosseuous membrane calcification) have been found to occur earliest, and most severely, in the joints
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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
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