Abstract

Despite having an exceptionally high fluorine (F) concentration in their bones (up to 9000 µg/g in the present study), radiographs of mature Ade?lie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) do not show any symptoms of skeletal fluorosis. In this research, a series of chemical fractionation and speciation analyses for F gave a tentative explanation for this seemingly abnormal fact. The results showed that the inorganic fraction of F in penguin bones represented only about one-third of the total F with the rest bound organically, mostly in the form of fluorinated chitin or its derivatives. A laboratory experiment with rats on a high F intake indicated that chitin might prevent skeletal fluorosis by effectively combining with F and inhibiting abnormal mineralization, thereby decreasing the expected increase in bone mineral density.

• Related Studies :

  • Fluorosis in horses drinking artifically fluoridated water

    Quarter Horses drinking water artificially fluoridated at 0.9 to 1.1 ppm over long periods of time developed dental fluorosis. Even when the horses had not been exposed to artificially fluoridated water (AFW) during formation of enamel, brown discoloration occurred and progressed. Pronounced loss of tooth-supporting alveolar bone with recession of

  • Back pain in chronic renal failure.

    Article w/o Photos (see pdf attached) Patient SK, a 40-yr-old female, resident of Bhagalpur village in Bihar, India, was operated for gallstones 3 years previously. On pre-operative checkup, mild renal dysfunction was detected. She was asymptomatic for renal disease with serum creatinine of 159 mmol/l (1.8mg/dl), bland urinary sediment and small echo-genic kidneys on ultrasound. She was

  • Endemic skeletal fluorosis in children: hypocalcemia and the presence of renal resistance to parathyroid hormone

    Although endemic skeletal fluorosis has been reported in children, hypocalcemia has not been previously noted. In a prevalence study of 260 schoolchildren living in an endemic fluorosis area in South Africa (water fluoride content 8-12 ppm), hypocalcemia was documented in 23%. Furthermore in a separate study of nine children with skeletal symptoms due to

  • The impact of the hyperacid Ijen Crater Lake: risks of excess fluoride to human health.

    The Asembagus irrigation area (East Java, Indonesia) receives a high input of fluoride (F) via surface water that partially originates from the hyperacid crater lake of the Ijen volcano. Endemic dental fluorosis among local residents has been ascribed to F in water wells. In this study, the total F intake

  • Skeletal fluorosis from eating soil

    A woman with chronic pyelonephritis developed progressive muscular weakness and bone pain. For twenty years she had habitually ingested fluoride-rich soil. Osteosclerosis was found on x-ray examination, and fluorosis was confirmed by bone biopsy. Renal failure augmented skeletal retention of excessive fluoride intake which, in turn, appears to have intensified symptomatic renal

• Related FAN Content :

  • 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.

  • "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.

  • 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.

  • Skeletal Fluorosis in the U.S.

    Although there has been a notable absence of systematic studies on skeletal fluorosis in the U.S., the available evidence indicates that the consumption of artificially fluoridated water is likely to cause skeletal fluorosis and other forms of bone disease in people with kidney disease and other vulnerable populations.

  • Kidney Patients Are at Increased Risk of Fluoride Poisoning

    It is well established that individuals with kidney disease are susceptible to suffering bone damage and other ill effects from low levels of fluoride exposure. Kidney patients are at elevated risk because when kidneys are damaged they are unable to efficiently excrete fluoride from the body. As a result, kidney patients