Fluorine 18 Research Paper

Fluoride Fluoride is a mineral that occurs naturally in almost all foods and water supplies. The fluoride ion comes from the element fluorine. Fluorine, the 13th most abundant element in the earth's crust, is never encountered in its free state in nature. It exists only in combination with other elements as a fluoride compound. Fluoride is effective in preventing and reversing the early signs of tooth decay.

     The brain function being studied during a PET scan determines which positron-emitting radiopharmaceutical is used. Oxygen-15 can be used to label oxygen gas for the study of oxygen metabolism, carbon monoxide for the study of blood volume, or water for the study of blood flow in the brain. Similarly, fluorine-18 can be attached to a glucose molecule to produce 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) for use in the observation of the brain’s sugar metabolism.

1. Explain the position of the role you have been assigned, and provide at least two references that support the position of your role.

Fluorine (F) is an element found in the 7th group of the periodic table from the halogen family. It’s an element that most reactive as it only needs to gain one electron to form Fluoride ion (F-). It’s in this form of fluoride that is found in our drinking water also known as fluoridated water. Water, food and living organisms are exposed to inorganic fluorides and they are hydrogen fluoride (HF), calcium fluoride (CaF2), sodium fluoride (NaF), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) and silicofluoride. Fluoride compounds are plentiful in the earth’s crust and naturally found in rocks, soils, salt and sea water, representing approximately 0.06-0.09%.

For over 60 years, Americans have been inundated with propaganda proclaiming the benefits of artificially fluoridating the public’s drinking water to prevent tooth decay. I do not use the term “propaganda” lightly. In fact the “father” of modern propaganda, nephew of Sigmund Freud, Edward Bernays was brought in to sell spiking America’s public water supply with fluoride (Pilger). This was critical to protect the American Aluminum Company (ALCOA), the world’s largest aluminum producer, from litigation from their workers who were exposed to toxic levels of sodium fluoride. Fluoride in the public water supply is a detriment to the health of Americans and provides no positive benefits while presenting great risk. Fluoridated water is poison, it is proven to decrease IQ, and it is medicating the public with an FDA classified tranquilizer without the informed consent of the citizens.

Issue: In medicine, radioisotopes are bonded with chemical compounds to form radioactive tracers, which are then injected into the patient’s bloodstream. The radiation emitted by the tracers allows doctors to obtain images of organ systems, facilitating the early and accurate diagnosis of disease. However, to avoid radio- active contamination, care must be taken in the storage, use, and disposal of this material.

As early as 1996, Moon et al evaluated the use of Whole-Body Fluorine-18-FDG PET in 57 patients suspected to have recurrent or metastatic breast cancer and proved that FDG PET was 93% sensitive and 79% specific

Despite differences in symptoms, Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Psoriasis are significantly linked, they are both immune-mediated and can be treated by the same drug: dimethyl fumarate. Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks the Myelin Sheath that covers a nerve cell in the CNS, thus causing scar tissue called Sclerosis.* Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) involves episodes of inflammation called relapses which include: numbness and tingling, fatigue and vision loss (also known as optic neuritis).*Like MS, the exact cause of Psoriasis is unknown besides the fact that the cause of symptoms, such as inflamed red patches of skin which may crack or bleed are due to the immune

Water fluoridation came about in 1945 when Grand Rapids, Michigan came to be the first foremost town in the world whose water was artificially fluoridated. The lead up of fluoridation of water started in 1901, when dentist Dr. Frederick McKay discovered the natives of Colorado had brown stains covering their teeth. In 1902, Dr. J.M. Eager also became aware of a similar condition in Naples. Over the next few years, McKay came to learn of multiple cases suggesting that the water supply may be accountable for the discolouration.

The feature of fluorine has delayed to develop since it has a feature of reactivity that eats away the normal react container. This has paused on a development of discovery of fluorine but during the WW2 (1939-1945), America begun to deal a huge quantities of uranium trifluoride in order to develop the atomic bomb. From this point, the fluorine started to develop rapidly than the period time when it has no commercial productions of

The following are some examples that are detected by this diagnostic tool: cancer, brain disorders, heart problems and problems in the central nervous system (Healthline, 2015). One of the brain disorders that PET can detect is Alzheimer’s disease. The patient would be advised not to eat or drink anything for 4-6 hours prior to the exam. The patient is injected with a dye called a radioisotope to demonstrate the function of a body part to rule out a diagnosis. Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) is the most common radioisotope used in PET. After the patient is injected, the radioisotope is absorbed by the tissues and organs (Dolson, L., 2001). When PET is used as a diagnostic tool for cancer, the clinician is then able to see how the malignant tumor is developing or if it has moved to other areas. It also allows the clinician to see how the malignancy is reacting to chemotherapy. PET scans show problems at the cellular level, therefore giving your clinician the best possible view of complex systemic diseases (Healthline, 2015). The tracers are normally out of the patient’s system within two days after a PET scan, but the patient should drink plenty of fluids afterward to help speed up the process of expelling the tracer.

Positron emission tomography (PET) enables the visualisation of organs and their functionality. PET scans utilise positron-emitting radioactive materials called radioisotopes (also known as radionuclides). Common radioisotopes and their respective half-lives include 11Carbon (~20 minutes), 13Nitrogen (~10 minutes), 15Oxygen (~2 minutes), and 18Fluorine (~110 minutes). These radioisotopes can be incorporated into radiopharmaceuticals (also known as radiotracers) to detect diseases and disorders. These radioisotopes enable the detection of differences in both metabolic and chemical activity in the body. The decay of a radioisotope results in the emission of positrons. The positrons are absorbed by organs and tissues of the body, and the PET scanner

Last but not least, sterilization of medical equipment is a huge factor. Radioisotopes disinfect utensils used in surgery and radioactive machinery. Metal entering a human body needs to be as sterile as possible to prevent any further damage such as infection or disease. The spread of germs is inevitable without the proper cleansing of equipment. The main isotope used is Cobalt-60 because it “destroys bacteria and doesn’t damage material” (world nuclear association). This is key because if the radiation effects the object there is no longer any need for

Fluorouracil is a pyrimidine analog and is used in cancer treatment. It is a suicide inhibitor and works through irreversible inhibition of thymidylate synthase. It belongs to the family of drugs which is called the antimetabolites

A major characteristic of radioactive material is that it decays from one element to another through particle and gamma decay. Essentially, all radioactive materials are byproducts of previously decayed elements. In order to utilize the radioisotopes of their choice, providers must artificially employ forms of specific radionuclide formation. This process is induced in a variety of ways, namely, production in a particle accelerator or creation in a nuclear reactor.