Abstract

Of 46 cases of skeletal fluorosis in Punjab, India, 21 had compression paraplegia, All the patients lived in a small area where drinking-water and soil had an extremely high (though variable) content of fluoride.

The intoxication chiefly affected the skeleton, producing typical radiological features of diagnostic value. The teeth also showed characteristic mottling in many cases. The paraplegia was caused by compression of the spinal cord produced by excessive deposition of fluorides in the vertebral column and resultant narrowing of the spinal canal. It did not differ significantly from other compression paraplegias.

Significantly high levels of fluoride were found in the blood, urine, and bones of these patients; and there was a characteristic histological pattern of skeletal fluorosis.

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