Experimental study of the influence of fluorine administration on tuberculous lesions in rabbits (Second Report) : Experiments using bovine tubercle bacilli

Abstract

We performed experiments in which rabbits inoculated with bovine tubercle bacilli were fed fluoride in large (200mg NaF daily) and in small (40mg NaF daily) amounts. In cases of large amounts of fluoride administration animals suffered from heavy intoxication, and tuberculous rabbits thus treated died early. We could not observe any influence of fluorine administration on pathological changes or fluorine content of various organs of tuberculous rabbits. Animals receiving a small amount of fluoride remained alive. But tuberculous lesions provoked by intravenous inoculation of highly virulent bovine tubercle bacilli had already developed to the maximal grade before the start of fluorine administration. Therefore we could not observe apparent signs of influences of fluorine administration. However we found that fluorine ion combined with calcium ion was caught particularily in tuberculous lesions. This may suggest that fluorine administration will be able to influence a more chronically developing process of tuberculosis.