Abstract

With the expansion of certain types of industrialization into agricultural areas, fluorosis in livestock has become an important toxicologic problem in some places in the United States and many other countries. Fluorine has beneficial effects when ingested in small amounts, but toxic and adverse effects when ingested in excessive amounts. Many sources may contribute to the total fluorine intake of animals. Various factors influence biologic responses of livestock to ingested fluorides. Fluorosis can be correctly diagnosed and evaluated by qualified individuals. Some methods and procedures are helpful in alleviating fluorine toxicosis. Several programs may be used for settlements and solutions of fluorosis problems. Standards and a comprehensive guide for use in diagnosing and evaluating fluorosis in livestock has been compiled.

Excerpt:

The onset of chronic fluorosis is insidious and may be confused with chronic debilitating diseases such as osteoarthritis . . .

Print PDF

• Related Studies :

  • The pathogenesis of endemic fluorosis: Research progress in the last 5 years.

    Fluorine is one of the trace elements necessary for health. It has many physiological functions, and participates in normal metabolism. However, fluorine has paradoxical effects on the body. Many studies have shown that tissues and organs of humans and animals appear to suffer different degrees of damage after long-term direct

  • Skeletal fluorosis mimicking seronegative spondyloarthropathy: a deceptive presentation

    Skeletal fluorosis is rarely recognized early and is amajor cause of morbidity.We report on a 40-year-old man with skeletal fluorosis mimicking seronegative spondyloarthropathy.

  • Experimental fluorosis in rats: NaF induced changes of bone and bone marrow

    The results of our experiments suggest that increased doses of NaF cause more extensive osteosclerosis due to the decrease in number and/or activity of osteoclasts. Therefore oateosclerosis is caused primarily, not by increased bone formation but, by the inhibition of bone resorption. This view is supported by the fact that

  • [Threshold effects of body mass index on the bone mineral density of Chinese rural women in fluorosis area]

    To explore the threshold effect of body mass index (BMI) on bone mineral density (BMD) in Chinese women living in the fluorosis area, we conducted a cross-sectional study and recruited 722 women in rural areas in Henan Province, China. After detection and analyses, we found that compared with the normal

  • Increased incidence of hip fracture in osteoporotic women treated with sodium fluoride

    There has been controversy as to whether fluoride therapy increases the risk of fracture in the appendicular skeleton. In the present study we compared the incidence of hip fracture in four groups of osteoporotic women: 22 treated with placebo, 17 with fluoride and calcium, 18 treated with fluoride and calcitriol,

• Related FAN Content :

  • "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.

  • 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.

  • 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.