Abstract

Roentgenograms of the lateral lumbar area of the spine were obtained from 1,015 subjects over age 45 who were residing in North Dakota. Three hundred lived in an area where the fluoride content of the water supply was high, 4 to 5.8 ppm, and 715 in an area where it was low, 0.15 to 0.3 ppm. Evidence of osteoporosis, reduced bone density, and collapsed vertebrae was substantially higher in the low-fluoride area, particularly in men. Limited information on milk and cheese consumption does not indicate that differences in calcium consumption are a significant factor. Fluoride consumption is important in the prevention of osteoporosis and may also play a significant role in preventing calcification of the aorta.

• Related Studies :

  • Fluorosis in Aden

    The cases to be described here occurred in the Aden Protectorate where for the last 12 years mass screening of the chest to exclude pulmonary tuberculosis has been carried out. The patients had all drunk the brackish water from the wells, and the analysis of the water from a well

  • Further observations on radiological changes of endemic food borne skeletal fluorosis

    Among radiological changes in 396 cases of foodborne skeletal fluorosis, from 4 endemic areas in Guizhou, China, osteoporosis, osteomalacia and impaired bone growth were seen in addition to previously recorded findings of osteosclerosis, bone prominences, joint changes and calcification of peripheral arteries. The deformity of genu valgum, a manifestation of

  • Medical aspects of excessive fluoride in a water supply

    A 10-year study of 116 persons in Bartlett and 121 in Cameron, Tex., was conducted to determine if prolonged exposure to fluoride in the water supply of Bartlett had produced detectable physiological effects. Bartlett's water contained about 8 p.p.m. F until 1952, when an experimental defluoridation unit was installed, reducing the

  • Effects of fluoride and aluminum exposure to dams prior to and during gestation on mineral compositions of bone and selected soft tissues of female mice dams and pups.

    Sixty-four CD-1 female mice were assigned to onez of four water treatment groups: Control (distilled, deionized water) (C); Fluoride (50 ppm F as NaF) (F); Aluminum (100 ppm Al as AlCl3) (Al); and Al & F (50 ppm F & 100 ppm Al) (AlF). One-half of the animals in each

  • Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA’s Standards.

    Excerpts: Summary Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to establish exposure standards for contaminants in public drinking-water systems that might cause any adverse effects on human health. These standards include the maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG), the maximum contaminant level (MCL), and the secondary

• Related FAN Content :

  • Fluoride & Arterial Calcification

    The major change involved with cardiovascular disease is development of atherosclerosis in critical arteries, which is partially characterized by vascular calcification. The level of coronary artery calcification is thought to be the most important indicator of future cardiovascular events. Increased arterial calcifications have frequently been reported in those with skeletal fluorosis

  • Fluoride & Electrocardiogram Abnormalities

    An electrocardiogram (ECG) is a diagnostic test that measures the electrical activity of the heart. An ECG can reveal heart rate, heart rhythym (i.e. steady or irregular), and the strength and timing of the heart’s natural electrical signals. ECGs are described in terms of “waves” (e.g. amplitude and duration). Problems

  • Fluoride & Myocardial Damage

    Structural damage to the heart resulting from fluoride toxicity has been observed in numerous human and animal studies. The general features of this damage include cloudy swelling, vacuolization or vacuolar degeneration, hemorrhages, interstitial edema, fibrous necrosis, dissolution of nuclei, and thickening of the vessel walls in the heart muscle (Basha

  • 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.

  • 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.