Fluoride & Bone Disease
Fluoride & Bone - Skeletal Fluorosis:
Excessive exposure to fluoride causes an arthrtiic bone disease calledskeletal fluorosis.
Skeletal fluorosis, especially in itsearly stages, is adifficult disease to diagnose, and can be readily confused with various forms ofarthritisincludingosteoarthritis, andrheumatoid arthritis.
In the advanced stages, fluorosis can resemble amultitudeof bone/joint diseases, including:osteosclerosis,renal osteodystrophy,DISH, spondylosis,steomalacia,osteoporosis, and secondary hyperparathyroidism.
The risk of developing fluorosis, and thecoursethe disease will take, is influenced by the presence of certainpredisposing factors, includingimpaired kidney function;dietary deficiencies;gastric acidity; andrepetitive stress.
While only a limited number of studies have documented the diseasein the U.S., it is almost certain that other cases of the disease have occurred but escaped detection.
Fluoride & Bone - Bone Fracture:
1) The vast majority ofanimal studiesinvestigating fluoride's effect on bone strength, have found fluoride to have either no effect or anegative effect on strength. Very few animal studies have found a beneficial effect.
2) Studies onhuman populationsconsuming fluoride in drinking water, have found an association betweendental fluorosisand increasedbone fracture in children; and between long-term consumption of fluoridated water andincreased hip fracturein the elderly.
3) Carefully conductedhuman clinical trials- including two "double-blind trials" - have found that fluoride (at doses of 18-34 mg/day for just 1-4 years) increases the rate of bone fracture, particularly hip fracture, among osteoporosis patients.
4) Animal studies and human clinical trials indicate that fluoride can reduce bone strengthbeforeskeletalfluorosisis present.
Fluoride & Bone - Research Gaps:
1) No systematic research exploring the incidence ofskeletal fluorosisamong susceptible subsets of the population includingheavy tea-drinkersand people withkidney disease.
2) Other than 3 small, limited studies from the 1950s-1960s (Steinberg 1955, 1958; Ansell 1965), no research exploring the relationship between fluoride exposure andarthritisin the general population.
3) No comprehensive research exploring the doses of fluoride capable of producing theearly stagesof skeletal fluorosis, and how such doses vary based on the presence or absence ofpredisposing factors.
4) No research exploring howgeneticsmay influence the risk and nature of fluoride-induced bone effects in the general population.
5) No comprehensive data in the US on the levels of fluoride in the bone and blood of individuals in fluoridated communities and the relationship of these levels to bone changes.
Fluoride & Bone - CONTENTS of DATABASE:
A) Fluoride & Bone Fracture:
Data Compilation:
B) Skeletal Fluorosis:
Data Compilation:
Excerpted Papers:
C) Fluoride & Bone Density:
Data Compilation:
D) Fluoride & Bone Cells:
Data Compilation:
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