Chinese Studies Showing Fluoride Lowers IQ Available in Translation
7/10/2008, IAOMT News and Flouride Action Network
While dentists in the US continue to treat fluoride as if it only effects one tissue in the body (the teeth), researchers around the world continue to study fluoride’s effects on other areas in the body. Of particular concern is a growing number of studies suggesting that fluoride can interfere with the brain, particularly the developing brain of the fetus, infant, and toddler.
In 2006, the US National Research Council (NRC) provided a much-needed wake up call with an excellent summary of the available literature on fluoride. According to the NRC, “it is apparent that fluorides have the ability to interfere with the functions of the brain.”
In its review, the NRC examined the studies showing an association between fluoride and reduced IQ in children and concluded that “the consistency of the results appears significant enough to warrant additional research on the effects of fluoride on intelligence.” Since the NRC review was released, 4 additional studies on fluoride and IQ have been published — from Mexico, Iran, India, and China.
A Wealth of “New” Data
In addition, an investigation last year by Fluoride Action Network revealed that there are many important studies on fluoride and the brain which the NRC was unable to review because they have only been available in Chinese. To help get these studies in the hands of western scientists and government regulators, FAN paid to have them translated and has worked to get them published in an English-language journal.
We are extremely happy to announce, therefore, that 12 of the studies that FAN paid to get translated have just been published in the journal Fluoride (with more translations expected to be published in the coming months) — marking the first time these studies (with one exception) have ever seen the light of day in an English-language journal.
The studies published this week – available online at http://www.fluorideresearch.org — (click on Fluoride 2008;41(2):97-172 for April-June 2008) provide a wealth of additional data confirming fluoride’s ability to damage brain development. As noted in an introduction by Dr. Albert W. Burgstahler, Editor of Fluoride, the studies “are of great importance worldwide for a fuller understanding of how fluoride can affect neurological development, function, and performance.”
For example, a 1996 study by researchers at Guiyang Medical College (Yu 1996) details how fluoride exposure among pregnant mothers can disrupt the synthesis of neurotransmitters and receptors in the brain cells of the fetus. Such effects could lead to long-lasting defects in brain function after birth.
Another study details how infants born to mothers with a history of high fluoride exposure exhibit differences in neuro-behavioral function shortly after birth, including delayed reaction to visual and auditory stimulus (Li 2004). According to the authors: “The present observations indicate that fluoride, as a toxic material to nerve development, can have an adverse impact on the neurobehavioral development of neonates.”
Other studies include five additional human studies showing a correlation between elevated fluoride intake and reduced intelligence in children (Li 2003; Hong 2001; Guo 1991; Chen 1991; Qin 1990), along with two animal studies finding that fluoride produces “considerable deterioration” in the learning and memory abilities of mice (Sun 2000; Zhang 1999).