[Magnetic resonance imaging of fluorosis and stress fractures due to fluoride].

Abstract

Osteocondensation of the spine and stress fractures of the appendicular bones are observed under treatment with sodium fluoride or after long-term drinking of Vichy Saint-Yorre spring water. Five patients with a mean total dose of fluoride intake of 24.7 g (9-66) were studied with MR imaging. Two of them had a diffuse osteocondensation; MRI showed a low signal intensity in the vertebrae on T1 and T2-weighted images. MRI was performed in an asymptomatic patient who was being treated with sodium fluoride for 16 months; it revealed a heterogenous low signal intensity in the pelvis and femoral metaphysis. Two patients experienced stress fractures; MRI demonstrated a linear area of very low signal intensity surrounded by an area of decreased signal intensity on T1-weighted images and high signal intensity on T2-weighted images. MRI of fluorosis shows a non specific low signal intensity linked to a densifying image on the standard radiograph or an area of high technetium-99m intake on bone scan.