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Bogus Science Department Joel Kauffman, Ph. D. UPDATE - July 12, 2005 Prof. Kauffman somehow managed to get his ‘review’ published in the Summer issue of the Journal of American Physicians And Surgeons. [To read article, please click here.] Prof. Kauffman - although having been notified of his false statements more than 6 months ago - failed to correct these statements, further described below, and is thereby guilty of libel. His article contains many outrageous statements, displaying virtually no knowledge nor understanding what fluorosis is or what ‘total intake’ means. He further makes statements about the toxicological properties of fluorinated drugs, PTFE etc., with no apparent understanding of the literature at all, in many places stating the exact opposite as the evidence presented had indicated. Today, Andreas Schuld sent a Letter to the Editor of the JAPS addressing the Kauffman issue. Unfortunately, the letter had to be below 500 words, so only few issues could be addressed. We will see if it gets published. [You can read the letter here.] ====== December 2004 The following is background information for the response to Prof. Kauffman’s article in which he deliberately distorted PFPC communication received. On August 17, 2004 we received an e-mail from a man calling himself Joel Kauffman. He wrote: Dear PFPC: I am in complete agreement with you on the uselessness of fluoridating water to prevent tooth decay in children, and the dangers of excess fluoride ion in any form. But both you and the writers of two books: Fluoride: Drinking Ourselves to Death, Barry Groves, and The Fluoride Deception, Christopher Bryson, have made an elementary error in chemistry that would get you laughed out of any courtroom. Fluoride ion in the body in excess is dangerous. Fluoro compounds with strong carbon-fluorine bonds usually are not dangerous. There is NO fluoride ion in common drugs. There is NO fluoride ion in teflon or saran wrap. First-year Chemistry Majors and even High School students taking Chemistry quickly learn the big difference between ionic compounds such as sodium fluoride, and covalent compounds such as teflon. The fluoro groups or trifluoromethyl groups in drugs are there to prevent the body from deactivating the drugs, and drugs or metabolites are excreted with the carbon-fluorine bonds intact. You must recognize this to avoid being laughed out of court. I posed this to Barry Groves in teh UK, and he admitted he did not know any Chemistry. Sincerely & wanting to help, --Joel M. Kauffman, Professor of Chemistry Emritus, USP Andreas Schuld answered as follows: To: "Joel M. Kauffman" <kauffman@hslc.org> Dear Prof. Kauffman, I thank you for your mail although I do not appreciate the condescending tone of your communication. I have added my comments below. [ed. Kauffman’s words are in bold green] I am in complete agreement with you on the uselessness of fluoridating water to prevent tooth decay in children, and the dangers of excess fluoride ion in any form. But both you and the writers of two books: Fluoride: Drinking Ourselves to Death, Barry Groves, and The Fluoride Deception, Christopher Bryson, have made an elementary error in chemistry that would get you laughed out of any courtroom. Fluoride ion in the body in excess is dangerous. Fluoro compounds with strong carbon-fluorine bonds usually are not dangerous. There is NO fluoride ion in common drugs. There is NO fluoride ion in teflon or saran wrap. I haven't read either one of the books. However, it is vital that people educate themselves on this issue before making blanket statements, including those made by you above. There are many issues to consider, only ONE being the question of degradation into "fluoride ion", which can occur by photochemical degradation, etc.. 1) It is well known, for example, that many fluorinated drugs (including many fluoroquinolones) degrade into several metabolites upon UVA radiation - including "fluoride ion" as you call it , this in turn being the reason for the photosensitivity reactions observed (Chignell 1998). Many more examples can be given here and are easily found on MEDLINE or the like. One example of increased systemic fluorides after fluoroquinolones: when children were administered ciprofloxacin, serum fluoride levels increased after 12 hours in 79% of the children; on day 7 the 24-hour urinary fluoride excretion was higher in 88.9% of children observed (Pradham et al.,1995). 2) The effects of radiation on PTFE degradation have been known since the 1950s, and also should be no real news to anyone familiar with the issue, as it was the very reason why PTFE was not used in sterilization materials. A few helpful papers on this subject include: Allayarov SR, Kirn LP, Gordon DA - "Mechanism of radiation destruction of linear perfluoroalkanes and polytetrafluoroethylene" Inst. of Chemical Physics, Chemogolovka of RAS (1997) Schulze M, Bolwin K, Gulzow E, Schnurnberger W -"XPS Analysis of PTFE Decomposition Due to Ionizing-Radiation" Fresenius Journal of Analytical Chemistry 335 (5-8):778-784 (1995) 3) Most importantly, the toxicity concerns of "fluoride" are not related to "free fluoride ion", a term by itself an Any and all fluoride compounds, be it inorganic or organic are anti-thyroid agents (this being at the core of all fluoride poisoning/toxicity) - the variable being one of "amplitude". This was already firmly established in the early 1930s by IG Farben chemists who investigated many fluoro-compounds. This research led to the wide-spread use of such compounds as Capacin (3-fluoro-4-oxy-phenylacetic acid) in the treatment of hyperthyroidism (Basedow). As a basic understanding on the matter at hand the work by Kraft and Dengels (1937a, 1937b, 1951, 1952),Euler et al (1942, 1949), as well as Litzka (1936a, 1936b, 1937a, 1937b) is suggested. Already in the 1940s Prof. Euler and colleagues from the University of Breslau were able to cause identical bone and enamel defects with organic fluoride compounds as are established to occur with inorganic ones. However, there was no dissociation of the compounds, hence no "free" fluoride was being stored anywhere. The investigation showed identical "calcium crystal deformation" as seen with inorganic fluoride. (This brings me to a big beef I have with US anti-fluoridationists insisting on measuring fluoride contents in bone to assess "fluoride toxicity". What nonsense.) Regarding the effects of organic compounds on thyroid hormones (including PFOS/PFOA etc. - now found in virtually all animals and humans on earth), see: http://64.177.90.157/science/html/organic_f-.html Anybody who cares to investigate this issue will see that, although structural considerations are important, it is the fluoride-component which is essential. A more recent example can be seen in the work by Bollen & Stalmans et al. (1988) who compared PMSF and NaF- activity on modulators of glycogen-bound protein phosphatase in liver, where a majority of thyroid hormone conversion (deiodination -> T4 to T3) occurs. Should you have any further comments, or questions, please don't hesitate to contact us. With best wishes, Andreas Schuld Bollen M, Stalmans W - "Fluorine compounds inhibit the conversion of active type-1 protein phosphatases into the ATPMg-dependent form" Biochem J 255(1):327-33 (1988) Chignell CF - "Mechanisms of chemically induced photosensitivity" Crisp Data Base National Institutes Of Health, CRISP/99/ES50046-20 (1998) Euler H, Eichler O, Hindemith H -"Über die Wirkung einiger organischer Fluoride bei chronischer Darreichung" Arch Exp. Path u Pharmakol Bd.206:75-82 (1949) Euler H, Eichler O - "Über die Wirkung von Fluor in organischer Bindung auf das Zahnsytem der Ratte" Arch Exp Pathol Pharmakol 199:179-187 (1942) Kraft K, Dengel F - "Uber die Synthese einiger aromatischer Fluorverbindungen, II. Mitteilung" Chem Ber 85:577-582 (1952) Kraft K - "Über die Synthese einiger aromatischer Fluorverbindungen" Knoll Research, Chem Ber. 84(2):150-156 (1951) Kraft K, May R - “Beiträge zur Biochemie des Fluors II. Fluorbestimmungen an Blut und Wassern” Hoppe-Seglers Z.Physiol. Chem 246:233-243 (1937a) Kraft K - "Beiträge zur Biochemie des Fluors I.Über den Antagonismus zwischen Fluor und Thyroxin." Hoppe-Seglers Z.Physiol. Chem 245:58 -65 (1937b) Litzka G - "Die experimentellen Grundlagen der Behandlung des Morbus Basedow und der Hyperthyreose mittels Fluortyrosin" Med Wochenschr 63:1037-1040 (1937a) Litzka G - "Erfolgskontrolle bei Behandlung der Schilddrüsenüberfunktion" Z Klin Med 131:791-799 (1937b) Litzka G - "Fluortyrosine" 15:1568-1569 (1936a) Litzka G - "Die antithyreotoxische Wirkung des Fluortyrosins" Arch Exp Pathol Pharmakol 183:436-458 (1936b) Pradhan KM, Arora NK, Jena A, Susheela AK, Bhan MK - "Safety of ciprofloxacin therapy in children: magnetic resonance images, body fluid levels of fluoride and linear growth" Acta Paediatr 84(5):555-60 (1995) ================ Prof. Kauffman responded: Dear Dr. Schuld: Looks like I better read your refs. before I write a review of my own. I did not use the oxymoron "free fluoride ion". The decomposition of PTFE by high doses of ionizing radiation does not mean that it will do this in ordinary cooking. The photosensitivity of people who take fluoroquinolone antibiotics is more likely due to the light absorption of the quinolone system than the presence of a fluoro group. Sincerely, --Joel M. Kauffman, PhD, Andreas Schuld responded: Dear Prof. Kauffman, Dear Dr. Schuld: Looks like I better read your refs. before I write a review of my own. I did not use the oxymoron "free fluoride ion". Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you did. It's just something we hear all the time, from pro- and anti-fluoridationists alike. The decomposition of PTFE by high doses of ionizing radiation does not mean that it will do this in ordinary cooking. In 1962 the US FDA did tests which showed that Teflon-coated pans released more fluoride into hamburgers than pure aluminum pans. Whether this was caused by radiation or heat-caused decomposition was not known. (There is much conflicting evidence as to what is released at what temperature.) When ingested, even "inert Teflon specks" activate pathways while passing through the system. [Incidentally - these are all pathways normally regulated by thyroid hormone (FT3).] The photosensitivity of people who take fluoroquinolone antibiotics is more likely due to the light absorption of the quinolone system than the presence of a fluoro group. I don't think so and the evidence does not indicate that. The "defluorination" of some fluoroquinolones is now rather well-established (see the aforementioned Chignell, or the work by Fasini et al, 1999) Fluorides are well-established activators of "photoreceptors", and modifiers of their "sensitivity", especially the alumino-fluoride complexes. As you know, AlF(x) are rapidly formed in the presence of mere trace amounts of Al. Such complexes may potentiate the effects of F- on G-protein-coupled-receptors up to 500 times. [Photoreceptors are G-protein-coupled-receptors.] see also: Best wishes, Photosensitivity The following fluoride compounds are known to induce photosensitivity: Fluoroquinolones: Amifloxacin ==== 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) (cancer treatment) Floxuridine /5'-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine (cancer treatment) (FUdR, FUDR) 5'-deoxy-5-fluoro-N-[(pentyloxy)carbonyl]-cytidine Others: Flucytosine Risperidone (Risperdal; anti-psychotic)) Desoximetasone (Topicol; topical corticosteroid) “Dexamethasone” Cyfluthrin (Pesticide) Sodium Fluoride (additive in water, salt, tablets, oral care products, etc.) Sincerely, --Joel M. Kauffman, PhD, Professor or Chemistry Emeritus, USP No further mail was received from Dr. Kauffman. Then we learned about his article "How Antifluoridationists Have Weakened Their Case"... The response to that article you can read here. |
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