Cataractogenic Effect of Fluorosis in an Animal Model

Endemic fluorosis is a chronic, crippling, skeletal and dental disease caused by ingesting large amounts of fluoride either through water or rarely from foods of endemic areas. Although systemic disorders of fluorosis have a wide variety of appearances, little attention has been given to the spectrum of lenticular findings. Thirty rats were given commercially available spring water either with 100 ppm fluoride (Experimental group, n=15 rats, 30 eyes) or 0.07 ppm fluoride (control group, n=15 rats, 30 eyes) for 24 weeks. The examinations revealed various levels of opacifications and histopathologic changes in 12 eyes of the high fluoride intake group, whereas none of the eyes were affected in the control group. Differences between groups were statistically significant (p<0.05). Our study demonstrates that fluoride is a potential cataractogenic agent. Hence, we believe that dilution of fluoride in tap waters in endemic areas is an important measure for ophthalmic health. We suggest that ophthalmologic examinations should be performed on patients with documented endemic dental and skeletal fluorosis.