1) Fluoride's ability to damage the brain represents one of the most active areas of research on fluoride toxicity today.
2) The research on fluoride and the brain has been fueled by recent human studies from China finding elevated levels of fluoride exposure to be associated with reduced cognitive ability (e.g. reduced I.Q.) in children.
3) The impact of fluoride on children's IQ has been documented even after controlling for children's lead exposure, iodine exposure, parental education and income status, and other known factors that might impact the results (Xiang 2003 a,b).
4) A recent UNICEF-sponsored study reported that in areas of China with endemic iodine deficiency, fluoride exposure during childhood significantly exacerbated the neurological deficits produded by iodine deficiency.
5) The findings of neurological effects in fluoride-exposed humans is consistent with, and strengthened by, recent findings from over 30 animal studies published since 1992. As with the studies on humans, the studies on animals have reported an impairment in learning and memory prorcesses among the fluoride-treated groups.
6) The animal studies have also documented considerable evidence of direct toxic effects of fluoride on brain tissue, even at levels as low as 1 ppm fluoride in water (Varner 1998). These effects include:
-- reduction in nicotinic acetylcholine receptors;
-- reduction in lipid content;
-- impaired anti-oxidant defense systems;
-- damage to the hippocampus;
-- damage to the purkinje cells;
-- increased uptake of aluminum;
-- formation of beta-amyloid plaques (the classic brain abnormality in Alzheimer's disease);
-- exacerbation of lesions induced by iodine deficiency; and
-- accumulation of fluoride in the pineal gland.
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