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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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
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Ossification of the ligamentum flavum as a result of fluorosis causing myelopathy: report of two cases
OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE: Ossification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF) is increasingly being recognized as a cause of myeloradiculopathy. However, the cause of such OLF has been identified only occasionally. The purpose of this case report is to highlight one more cause of OLF causing myelopathy. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: Two middle-aged men residing
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Thoracic myelopathy from coincident fluorosis and epidural lipomatosis
Skeletal fluorosis is rare in North America. It can present with back pain and extremity weakness. Immobilization of the spine and the extremity joints can occur. It is usually caused by abnormally increased oral fluoride intake over many years. Epidural lipomatosis is usually caused by idiopathic obesity or corticosteroid use.
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[Fluorotic cervical spinal cord disease].
Skeletal fluorosis was reported as a disease endemic to an area in the Madras Presidency of Indian in 1937 and prior to this, it was known as an occasional disease. There are two endemic areas in India, one in Punjab and the other in Andhra Pradesh State. This disease is also endemic
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[Etiology and treatment of postoperative spinal cord injury for patients undergoing laminectomy for fluorosis thoracic canal stenosis].
OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the etiology of postoperative spinal cord injury (PSCI) for patients undergoing laminectomy for fluorosis thoracic canal stenosis (FTCS) and summarize the methods of diagnosis and treatment. METHODS: From 2006 to 2009, a total of 192 FTCS cases underwent laminectomy. Among them, 16 cases with gradual postoperative neural deterioration were finally
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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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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 & 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.
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Tea Intake Is a Risk Factor for Skeletal Fluorosis
A number of recent studies have found that heavy tea drinkers can develop skeletal fluorosis - a bone disease caused by excessive intake of fluoride.
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