From pfpc@istar.ca Mon Apr 17 13:14:43 2000
Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2000 18:38:33 -0800

In the US, according to the NICHCY, approximately 40% of all Americans may
have spina bifida occulta, but because they experience little or no
symptoms, very few of them ever know that they have it. The other two types
of spina bifida, meningocele and myelomeningocele, are known collectively
as "spina bifida manifesta," and occur in approximately one out of every
thousand births. Of these infants born with "spina bifida manifesta," about
4% have the meningocele form, while about 96% have myelomeningocele form.

In a study on 46 prepubertal and 10 pubertal children with myelomeningocele
endocrine hormone levels were found to be significantly altered.

[Perrone L, Del Gaizo D, D'Angelo E, Rea L, Di Manso G, Del Gado R -
"Endocrine studies in children with myelomeningocele" J Pediatr Endocrinol
7(3):219-23 (1994)
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FLUORIDES CAUSE INCREASE IN SPINA BIFIDA

Gupta SK, Gupta RC, Seth AK, Chaturvedi CS 0A - "Increased incidence of
spina bifida occulta in fluorosis prone areas" Acta Paediatr Jpn  37:4,
503-6 (1995)

Spina bifida, a congenital deformity of the posterior wall of vertebrae of
the spine, is a midline defect of skin, vertebral arches and neural tube,
usually in the lumbosacral region. Its incidence is reported to be 0.2 to
0.4 per 1000 live births. Various hypotheses have been put forward as
etiological factors for spina bifida including consumption of potato
affected by blight and hardness of drinking water but these have not been
proven. Two groups of 50 randomly chosen children were established. The
study group consisted of children aged 5 to 12 years, weighing 15 to 30 kg,
consuming fluoride rich drinking water (4.5 and 8.5 ppm fluoride; WHO
permissible limit is 1.5 ppm fluoride), and manifesting either clinical,
dental and/or skeletal fluorosis. The control group consisted of age and
weight-matched children, consuming less than or equal to 1.5 ppm fluoride
in drinking water and not showing any evidence of fluoride toxicity. These
children were evaluated for antenatal history, general clinical examination
(especially for dimples, tufts of hair, haemangioma on skin throughout the
length of spine), other congenital abnormalities, evidence
of fluoride toxicity, biochemical estimation for fluoride levels in blood
and serum and by skiagrams of the spine to examine for the presence of
spina bifida occulta. A total of 22 (44%) of the 50 children in group A,
the study group, and 6 (12%) of the 50 children in group B, the control
group, revealed spina bifida occulta in the lumbosacral region.(ABSTRACT
TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
---------------------------------
Dental Workers have more than twice the normal number of problems with
pregnancy.

More spontaneous abortions, stillbirths, and congential defects occurred in
dentists and dental assistants
compared with the control group (24% compared to 11%,  respectively),
whereas five out of six malformations were ****spina bifida.

Drs. Birgitte Blatter, Marjolihn van der Star, Nel Roeleveld
Department of Medical Informatics and
Epidemiology, University of Nijmegen, Netherlands

International Archives of Occupational &  Environmental Health
Vol. 59:551-557, 1987