EDITORIAL:
In 1854 Maument (1) administered to a dog from 20 to 120 mg sodium fluoride daily for four months. He observed an enlargement of the neck which he interpreted as a goiter. Ever since then conflicting data concerning the action of fluoride on the thyroid gland have appeared in the medical literature. In the early part of this century several authors concurred that fluoride intake may contribute to the production of goiter. This concept led to the administration of sodium fluoride fo
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... The supporting cancer hazard evidence was an animal study sponsored by the government’s National Toxicology Program (Lancet, Feb 3, p 282). Since then, the Public Health Service has responded to this and similar news stories by reaffirming its confidence in the safety and effectiveness of fluoridated drinking water. Th
... The present investigation concerns the influence of inorganic fluorine compounds on chromosomes in bone marrow and on the mytotic activity of epithelial cells of the cornea in female white rats. The animals were exposed 6 hours a day, six days a week, for 5 months, to the inhalation of cryolite (Na3AlF6) in concentrations of 3, 1, and 0.5 mg/m3 (calculated as fluoride ion), which is frequently encountered in the air of electrolysis areas of aluminum plants, and also of a mixture of 0.5 mg/m3
These [fluorotic] changes first appear at sites of greatest metabolic activity and stress within a given bone and in bones that are under the greatest stress from weight bearing and locomotion.
In "Indian basket weavers exposed to fluoride, it was observed that the much used left arm and wrist were particularly susceptible to fluorotic exostosis... [T]he areas suffering repeated or constant stress or trauma, and as a result requiring ongoing repair, may be areas of increased circulation and metabolism and, as a consequence, increased deposition of fluorides.
