MANY different factors leading to relative or absolute deficiency of iodine may cause changes in the thyroid gland. May (1935) found that the administration of fluorine to rats produced hypoplasia of the thyroid epithelium with altered staining reaction of the colloid. Having experimented with over 800 patients, he advocated internal fluorine therapy in the treatment of toxic goitre. The evidence of alteration in thyroid structure in the experimental production of chronic fluorosis in animals is
Background of the hypothesis
Asylum seekers and immigrants in Scandinavia are admitted to mental hospitals for psychotic disorders up to ten times more frequently than native Scandinavians [1], [2] and [3]. The high frequency of psychosis among immigrants is usually explained as a result of traumatic experiences in their countries of origin, problems with adapting to a new culture, and the fact that immigrants are often socially underprivileged [4] and [5].
The frequency of psychotic disor
