Abstract
Significantly elevated bone fluoride concentrations have been reported in a population of eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) resident near a fluoride-emitting aluminum smelter in southeastern Australia. This paper describes the skeletal and synovial joint lesions observed post mortem in the same sample of kangaroos (n = 76). The prevalence and severity of skeletal lesions, specifically the formation of multiple, large, smooth exostoses over the diaphysis of long bones (especially, but not exclusively, on the tibia, fibula and metatarsi), were positively associated with bone fluoride concentration. So too were lesions of degenerative joint disease, including periarticular osteophytosis, articular cartilage erosion/ulceration, synovial hyperplasia and joint capsular fibrosis. Joint lesions were most commonly seen in the knee, hock and metatarsophalangeal joints. This is the first study to describe in detail the full range of lesions induced by chronic fluorosis in a marsupial species.
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Bone and joint pathology in fluoride-exposed workers
Clinical and radiological investigations were performed for 2,258 aluminum workers exposed to fluoride for an average of 17.6 yr (standard deviation = 7.6). Changes in bone and joints were presented in detail in three groups: (1) exposed up to 5 yr (135 cases), (2) exposed from 6-32 yr (1,463 cases),
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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
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Brick tea fluoride as a main source of adult fluorosis
An epidemiological survey was conducted in Naqu County, Tibet in September 2001 to investigate the manifestations of fluorosis in adults caused by the habitual consumption of brick tea. Profiles were obtained for the total daily fluoride intake, environmental fluoride levels and average urinary fluoride concentration, and a physical examination and a
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[Ossification of ligament and tendon attached around the elbow joint in diagnosis of skeletal fluorosis].
Objective: To probe into the significance of osteosis of the junctions of ligaments and tendons around elbow joints for the diagnosis of skeletal fluorosis. Methods: Analyses were conducted on X-ray signs of elbow joints in 23 cases with skeletal fluorosis and fluoridated elbow joints identified in March 2011 in an
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Early diagnosis and classification of professional fluorosis
On the basis of evaluating the clinical course and supplementary method of examination carried out in 132 patients suffering of professional fluorosis and in 200 workers in the premorbid state the author proposes criteria of early diagnosis. Considering Zislin's classification of professional fluorosis, literature data and own findings the author
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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 & 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 in India & China
In India and China, scientists have repeatedly found that skeletal fluorosis occurs in populations drinking water with just 0.7 to 1.5 ppm fluoride. Although nutritional deficiencies and hot climates make populations in India and China more susceptible to fluoride toxicity than is generally the case in western countries, this fact does not remove the relevance of the Indian and Chinese experience to the situation in fluoridating countries. This is because (a) nutritional deficiencies also exist in the western world, particularly in low-income communities, and (b) some individuals, including those with kidney disease, can be just as -- if not more -- susceptible to fluoride toxicity.
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Industrial Fluorosis
A highly significant relationship of exposure to fluoride was established with the frequency of back and neck surgery, fractures, symptoms of musculoskeletal disease and past history of diseases of bones and joints in the absence of the typical findings of skeletal fluorosis. Monitoring exposed workers for the early manifestations of "musculoskeletal fluorosis" is recommended prior to the development of destructive and degenerative changes of the skeleton.
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