Abstract

Objective: Study the mechanism of action chronic fluorosis in neurones.

Methods: Terminal deoxyribo-nucleotide transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) and flow cytometry (FCM) were used to observe changes of apoptosis in cerebral cells in chronic fluorosis in rats.

Results: TUNEL results show non-random expression of DAB positive stain apoptosis cells which appear only in the hippocampus CA4 region. FCM results show that the percentage of DNA fragmentation increased markedly in the cerebral neurones of rats with chronic fluorosis but not in different cerebral regions.

Conclusions: There is a tendency for neurone apoptosis in chronic fluorosis in rats. It is most evident with changes in pathology. It is not likely that only one form of neurone damage exist in the process of chronic fluorosis. There are recessive changes and apoptosis in the process at the same time.