Al

Aluminum
atomic no. 13, atomic wt. 26.98, metal, row 4, col.3A, val. 3, orbits 2-8-3

{Merck Index - © 1952 by Merck & Co., Inc.}

Aluminum. Al; at. wt. 26.98; at. no. 13; valence 3. Discovered by Wöhler in
1827. Obtained from cryolite (double sod. and aluminum fluoride) or bauxite
(native aluminum hydroxide) by electrolysis in electric furnace.

Tin-white, malleable, ductile metal, with somewhat bluish tint; capable of

taking brilliant polish which is retained in dry air. In moist air gradually
oxidizes superficially. Available in bars, leaf, powder, sheets or wire. d. 2.70.
m. 660°. b. 1800°. Does not vaporize even at high temps., but finely divided
aluminum dust is easily ignited, and may cause explosions. Soluble in dil. HCl,
H2SO4, in soln. KOH and NAOH with evolution of hydrogen; almost insoluble in
HNO3 or acetic acid when hot.

Reduces the cations of many heavy metals to the metallic state. Solns. of the
metal in dil. HCl or neutral or slightly acid solns. of most aluminum salts, yield
with Na2S a white ppt. soluble in excess of Na2S. Dil. neutral soln. of aluminum
salts yield white gelatinous ppt. on boiling with sod. acetate.

Use: As the pure metal or as alloys (magnalium, aluminum bronze, etc.) for
aircraft, utensils, apparatus, electrical conductors; instead of copper in dental
alloys. The coarse powder is used in aluminothermics (thermite process); the
fine powder as flashlight in Photography, in explosives, fireworks and in
aluminum paints; for absorbing occluded gases in manuf. of steel. In testing
for Au, As, Hg; coagulating colloidal solns. of As or Sb; pptg. Cu; reducer for
determining nitrates and nitrites; instead of Zn for generating hydrogen in
testing for As.

Grades available: Reagent, technical.

Med. Use: Inhalation of finely divided aluminum dust proposed as a means of

"binding" silica to prevent and reverse lung changes caused by silica dust.

Aluminum Toxicity
The following information was compiled and submitted by Frank Hartman.
"From the earliest days of food regulation, the use of alum (aluminum
sulphate) in foods has been condemned. It is universally acknowledged as a
poison in all countries. If the Bureau of Chemistry had been permitted to
enforce the law ... no food product in the country would have any trace of ...
any aluminum or saccarin. No soft drink would contain caffeine or hebromin;
no bleached flour would be in interstate commerce. Our food and drugs would
be wholly without adulteration ... and the health of our people would be vastly
improved and their life greatly extended."

From History of crime against the Food Laws (1929) by Dr. Wiley, the prime
mover behind the original Pure Food Law and Director of the FDA. He resigned
in disgust in 1912 over exceptions granted to the law and lack of enforcement.

Aluminum has been exempted from tesitng for safety by the FDA under a
convoluted logic wherein it is classified as GRAS. (Generally Regarded As
Safe.) It has never been tested by the FDA on its safety and there are NO
restrictions whatever on the amount or use of aluminum.

There are over 2000 references in the National Library of Medicine on adverse
effects of alumium. The following were extracted to provide a small sample of
the range of toxicity of aluminum.

Chemical Registry

Aluminum toxicity has been recognized in many settings where exposure is

heavy or prolonged, where renal function is limited, or where apreviously
accumulated bone burden is released in stress or illness. Toxicity may
include: encephalopathy (stuttering, gait disturbance, myoclonic jerks,
seizures, coma, abnormal EEG) osteomalacia or aplastic bone disease
( associated with painful spontaneous fractures, hypercalcemia, tumorous
calcinosis ) proximal myopathy, increased risk of infection, increased left
ventricular mass and decreased myocardial function microcytic anemia with
very high levels, sudden death.

Aluminum is ubiquitous in our environment; it is the third most prevalent

element in the earth's crust. The gastrointestinal tract is relatively impervious
to aluminum, absorption normally being only about 2%. Aluminum is absorbed
by a mechanism related to that for calcium. Gastric acidity and oral citrate
favors absorption, and H2-blockers reduce absorption. As is true for several
trace elements, transferrin is the primary protein binder and carrier for
aluminum in the plasma, where 80% is protein bound and 20% is free or
complexed to small molecules such as citrate.

Cells appear to take up aluminum from transferrin rather than from citrate.
Purified preparations of ferritin from brain and liver have been found to
contain aluminum.

It is not known if ferritin has a specific binding site for aluminum. Factors
regulating the migration of aluminum across the blood–brain barrier are not
well understood.
Serum aluminum correlates with encephalopathy; red cell aluminum correlates
with microcytic anemia, and bone aluminum correlates with aluminum bone
disease.

Basal PTH when elevated appears to protect bone and thereby favor CNS
toxicity.

Other factors favoring one form of toxicity over another are not well
understood.

Aluminum toxicity has been reported to impair the formation and release of
parathyroid hormone. The parathyroid glands concentrate aluminum above
levels in surrounding tissues. Treatment of aluminum toxicity in renal failure
patients often reactivates hyperparathyroidism, which to a certain extent is
helpful for bone remodeling and healing.

Distilled Water Placed in Various Containers

Distilled water was placed in metal containers and the amount of the "Metal
Can" that disolved into the distilled water was measured daily using Specific
Conductance readings. You can divide the SC number by 2 to get the
approxamite amount of atoms in ppm ( mg / l ).

4 ppm of aluminum in human blood can cause it to colagulate.

Aluminum in humans is documented to Inhibit Learning.  See Below ...
 Aluminum neurotoxicity in preterm infants receiving intravenous-feeding
solutions.

Bishop N.J. – Morley R. – Day J.P. – Lucas A.

From:   N Engl J Med (1997 May 29) 336(22):1557-61

Aluminum, a contaminant of commercial intravenous–feeding solutions, is

potentially neurotoxic. We investigated the effect of perinatal exposure to
intravenous aluminum on the neurologic development of infants born
prematurely.

RESULTS: The 90 infants who received the standard feeding solutions had a
mean (± SD) Bayley Mental Development Index of 95 ±22, as compared with 98
±20 for the 92 infants who received the aluminum-depleted solutions (P=0.39).
The former were significantly more likely (39 percent, vs. 17 percent of the
latter group; P=0.03) to have a Mental Development Index of less than 85,
increasing their risk of subsequent educational problems. For all 157 infants
without neuromotor impairment, increasing aluminum exposure was
associated with a reduction in the Mental Development Index (P=0.03), with an
adjusted loss of one point per day of intravenous feeding for infants receiving
the standard solutions. In preterm infants, prolonged intravenous feeding with
solutions containing aluminum is associated with impaired neurologic
development.

Aluminum-containing emboli in infants treated with extracorporeal membrane

oxygenation.

Vogler C. – Sotelo-Avila C. – Lagunoff D. – Braun P. – Schreifels J.A. – Weber

T.

From:   N Engl J Med (1988 Jul 14) 319(2):75-9

We found fibrin thrombi or thromboemboli at autopsy in 22 of 23 infants with

respiratory failure who had been treated with venoarterial extracorporeal
membrane oxygenation (ECMO). In addition, distinctive basophilic aluminum-
containing emboli were found in 12 of the infants; the distribution of these
emboli was similar to that of the thromboemboli, except that an aluminum-
containing embolus was found in a lung in only 1 infant. Sixteen infants had
pulmonary thrombi or thromboemboli. We also found friable aluminum-
containing concretions adhering loosely to the mixing rods of heat exchangers
that had been used to warm the blood flowing through the ECMO circuit; such
concretions were not present on unused mixing rods. We propose that these
aluminum-containing concretions developed as the silicone coating of the
heat exchanger wore away and aluminum metal was exposed to warm,
oxygenated blood and that fragments of aluminum-containing concretions
formed emboli. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that aluminum-
containing emboli were generally not present in the lungs, which are bypassed
by ECMO.
 Sequential serum aluminum and urine aluminum: creatinine ratio and tissue
aluminum loading in infants with fractures/rickets.

Koo W.W. – Krug-Wispe S.K. – Succop P. – Bendon R. – Kaplan L.A.

From:   Pediatrics (1992 May) 89(5 Pt 1):877-81

Aluminum toxicity is associated with the development of bone disorders,

including fractures, osteopenia, and osteomalacia. Fifty-one infants with a
mean (± SEM) birth weight of 1007 ±34 g, gestational age of 28.5 +/-0.3 weeks,
and serial radiographic documentation at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months for the
presence (n = 16) or absence (n = 35) of fractures and/or rickets were studied
at the same intervals to determine the serial changes in serum aluminum
concentrations and urine aluminum-creatinine ratios. Autopsy bone samples
were used to determine the presence of tissue aluminum. One infant who
received aluminum-containing antacid had marked increase in serum
aluminum to 83 micrograms/L while urine aluminum-creatinine ratio increased
from 0.09 to a peak of 8.53. Vertebrae from three infants at autopsy (full enteral
feeding was tolerated for 37 and 41 days in two infants, respectively) showed
aluminum deposition in the zone of provisional calcification and along the
newly formed trabecula.

Aluminum in parenteral solutions revisited — again.

Klein G.L.

From:   Am J Clin Nutr (1995 Mar) 61(3):449-56

It has been a dozen years since aluminum was first shown to contaminate
parenteral nutrition solutions and to be a contributing factor in the
pathogenesis of metabolic bone disease in parenteral nutrition patients as well
as in uremic patients. However, there are no regulations in place to effectively
reduce aluminum contamination of various parenterally administered
nutrients, drugs, and biologic products. The purpose of this review is fourfold:
1.) to summarize our knowledge of the adverse effects of aluminum on bone
formation and mineralization in parenteral nutrition patients; 2.) to discuss the
possible role of aluminum in the osteopenic bone disease of preterm infants;
3.) to show how lack of regulations covering aluminum content of parenteral
solutions can lead to vulnerability of new groups of patients to aluminum
toxicity, the example being given here is that of burn patients

Aluminum-induced anemia.

From:   Am J Kidney Dis (1985 Nov) 6(5):348-52

... many questions still remain unanswered, it is clear that aluminum causes a
microcytic hypoproliferative anemia and is a factor responsible for worsening
anemia in patients with end-stage renal disease.

Arch Dermatol (1984 Oct) 120(10):1318-22

Three patients had subcutaneous nodules at the sites of previous injections of

vaccine containing tetanus toxoid, showed aluminum crystals in the nodules
from two patients. From the evidence available, we believe that these nodules
are a complication of inoculations with aluminum-containing vaccines.

Persistent subcutaneous nodules in patients hyposensitized with aluminum-

containing allergen extracts.

Garcia-Patos V. – Pujol R.M. – Alomar A. – Cistero A. – Curell R. – Fernandez-

Figueras M.T. – de Moragas J.M.

From:   Arch Dermatol (1995 Dec) 131(12):1421-4

These lesions have been mainly attributed to a hypersensitivity reaction to

aluminum hydroxide, which is used as an absorbing agent in many vaccines
and hyposensitization preparations. Patch tests with standard antigens and
aluminum compounds and histopathologic and ultrastructural studies were
performed on 10 patients with persistent subcutaneous nodules on the upper
part of their arms after injection of aluminum-adsorbed dust and/or pollen
extracts. The nodules appeared 1 month to 6.5 years after injections.

Trace metals and degenerative diseases of the skeleton.

Savory J. – Bertholf R.L. – Wills M.R.

From:   Acta Pharmacol Toxicol (Copenh) (1986) 59 Suppl 7:282-8

Aluminum related osteodystrophy is the most important manifestation of trace

metal toxicity related to degenerative diseases of the skeleton.

Postvaccinal sarcomas in the cat: epidemiology and electron probe

microanalytical identification of aluminum.

Hendrick M.J. – Goldschmidt M.H. – Shofer F.S. – Wang Y.Y. – Somlyo A.P.

From:   Cancer Res (1992 Oct 1) 52(19):5391-4

An increase in fibrosarcomas in a biopsy population of cats in the

Pennsylvania area appears to be related to the increased vaccination of cats
following enactment of a mandatory rabies vaccination law.
The majority of fibrosarcomas arose in sites routinely used by veterinarians
for vaccination, and 42 of 198 tumors were surrounded by lymphocytes and
macrophages containing foreign material identical to that previously described
in postvaccinal inflammatory injection site reactions. Some of the vaccines
used have aluminum-based adjuvants, and macrophages surrounding three
tumors contained aluminum oxide identified by electron probe microanalysis
and imaged by energy-filtered electron microscopy. Persistence of
inflammatory and immunological reactions associated with aluminum may
predispose the cat to a derangement of its fibrous connective tissue repair
response, leading to neoplasia.

Aspects of aluminum toxicity.

Hewitt C.D. – Savory J. – Wills M.R.

From:   Clin Lab Med (1990 Jun) 10(2):403-22

Attention was first drawn to the potential role of aluminum as a toxic metal
over 50 years ago, but was dismissed as a toxic agent as recently as 15 years
ago. The accumulation of aluminum, in some patients with chronic renal
failure, is associated with the development of toxic phenomena; dialysis
encephalopathy, osteomalacic dialysis osteodystrophy, and an anemia.
Aluminum accumulation also occurs in patients who are not on dialysis,
predominantly infants and children with immature or impaired renal function.
Aluminum has also been implicated as a toxic agent in the etiology of
Alzheimer's disease, Guamiam amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and
parkinsonism-dementia.

Soft tissue sarcoma associated with aluminum oxide ceramic total hip
arthroplasty. A case report.

Ryu R.K. – Bovill E.G. Jr – Skinner H.B. – Murray W.R.

From:   Clin Orthop (1987 Mar)(216):207-12

Malignant tumors around fracture fixation implants have been reported

sporadically for many years. Recently, however, reports of sarcomatous
degeneration around a standard cemented hip arthroplasty and around cobalt-
chromium-bearing hip arthroplasties raise new questions of the malignant
potential of metallic ends prostheses. Sarcomatous changes around aluminum
oxide ceramics seem not to have been reported in the literature. The present
report may be the first documented case of an aggressive soft tissue sarcoma
detected 15 months after the patient had an uncemented ceramic total hip
arthroplasty. If a causal relationship exists, the incidence of this phenomenon
in the United States is 250 times greater than would be expected from
statistics on soft tissue sarcoma at the hip.
 Aluminum-induced granulomas in a tattoo.

McFadden N. – Lyberg T. – Hensten-Pettersen A.

From:   J Am Acad Dermatol (1989 May) 20(5 Pt 2):903-8

Aluminum was the only nonorganic element present in the test site tissue.
This is the first report of confirmed aluminum-induced, delayed-
hypersensitivity granulomas in a tattoo.

Delayed healing in full-thickness wounds treated with aluminum chloride

solution. A histologic study with evaporimetry correlation.

Sawchuk W.S. – Friedman K.J. – Manning T. – Pinnell S.R.

From:   J Am Acad Dermatol (1986 Nov) 15(5 Pt 1):982-9

Wounds were treated either with 30% aluminum chloride solution or ferric
subsulfate solution or were allowed to clot with minimal pressure from a gauze
pad. Delay in reepithelialization was noted histologically both in wounds
treated with aluminum chloride and in those treated with ferric subsulfate
compared to controls. Presumably this delay was the result of tissue necrosis
caused by these hemostatic agents, resulting in slightly larger and less
cosmetically acceptable scars. Plots of evaporimetry data revealed a biphasic
pattern of water loss during healing, with an initial rapid decline in water loss
followed by a much slower decline.

Aluminium and injection site reactions.

Culora G.A. – Ramsay A.D. – Theaker J.M.

From:   J Clin Pathol (1996 Oct) 49(10):844-7

To alert pathologists to the spectrum of histological appearances that may be

seen in injection site reactions related to aluminium, showed unusual features
not described previously. In one, there was a sclerosing lipogranuloma-like
reaction with unlined cystic spaces containing crystalline material. The other
case presented as a large symptomatic subcutaneous swelling which
icroscopically showed diffuse and wide-spread involvement of the subcutis by
a lymphoid infiltrate with prominent lymphoid follicles.

CONCLUSIONS: This report highlights the changes encountered in aluminium

injection site reactions and emphasises that the lesions have a wider range of
histological appearances than described previously.

Aluminum and gallium arrest formation of cerebrospinal fluid by the

mechanism of OH- depletion.
 Vogh B.P. – Godman D.R. – Maren T.H.

From:   J Pharmacol Exp Ther (1985 Jun) 233(3):715-21

AlCl3 or GaCl3 was added to artificial cerebrospinal fluid and perfused through
the cerebral ventricles of the rat. Depending on the metal and its concentration
(1-10 mM) the pH of the perfusate ranged from 7.2 to 3.5. At 10 mM metal
chloride, yielding pH 4.7 (Al) or 3.5 (Ga), formation of cerebrospinal fluid was
suppressed 100%. This mechanism may also account for the antiperspirant
action of Al salts.

Aluminum toxicity and albumin.

Kelly A.T. – Short B.L. – Rains T.C. – May J.C. – Progar J.J.

From:   ASAIO Trans (1989 Jul-Sep) 35(3):674-6

During a study of priming solutions for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation

(ECMO) in the intensive care nursery, it was discovered that those solutions
using certain brands of 25% albumin contained aluminum levels within the
toxic range. When the brand was changed to a brand known to have a lower
aluminum (Al) content, a marked drop in priming solution Al levels was
measured.

The role of aluminium for adverse reactions and immunogenicity of diphtheria-

tetanus booster vaccine.

Mark A. – Granstrom M.

From:   Acta Paediatr (1994 Feb) 83(2):159-63

235 schoolchildren aged 10 years received either a regular, aluminium-

adsorbed diphtheria-tetanus vaccine or the same vaccine in fluid form, in
order to investigate if local side effects could be diminished by exclusion of
aluminium. System reactions were rare and local reactions frequent in both
groups but larger local reactions were even more pronounced in the non-
adsorbed vaccine group.

Potroom palsy? Neurologic disorder in three aluminum smelter workers.

Heyer N.J.

From:   Arch Intern Med (1985 Nov) 145(11):1972-5

We studied three patients with a progressive neurologic disorder, all of whom

had worked for over 12 years in the same potroom of an aluminum smelting
plant. All had incoordination and an intention tremor. Two of the three patients
had cognitive deficits, and the most severely affected patient also had spastic
paraparesis. None had involvement of the peripheral nervous system. Despite
extensive evaluations, the cause of these patients' problems remains obscure.

Neurotoxic effects of aluminum in animals are directed at the central nervous

system, and theoretically long-term low-level exposure to aluminum in the
potroom could explain the findings in our patients.

Reducing aluminum: an occupation possibly associated with bladder cancer

Theriault G. – De Guire L. – Cordier S.

From:   Can Med Assoc J (1981) 124(4):419-422,425

These findings suggest that employment in an aluminum reduction plant

accounts for part of the excess of bladder cancer in the region studied.
(Author abstract) (85 Refs)

Immunohistochemical study of microtubule-associated protein 2 and ubiquitin

in chronically aluminum-intoxicated rabbit brain.

Takeda M. – Tatebayashi Y. – Tanimukai S. – Nakamura Y. – Tanaka T. –

Nishimura T.

From:   Acta Neuropathol (Berl) (1991) 82(5):346-52

Experimental neurofibrillary change was produced in rabbit brain by daily

subcutaneous aluminum tartrate injection for 40 days.

Neurotoxic effects of aluminium on embryonic chick brain cultures.

From:   Acta Neuropathol (Berl) (1994) 88(4):359-66

Toxic damage of brain cells by aluminium (Al) is discussed as a possible

factor in the development of neurodegenerative disorders in humans. Effects
of Al on cell viability (lysosomal and mitochondrial activity) and differentiation
(synthesis of cell-specific proteins) were found to the brain area specific with
the highest sensitivity observed in optic tectum.

Aluminium in tooth pastes and Alzheimer's disease.

Verbeeck R.M. – Driessens F.C. – Rotgans J.

From:   Acta Stomatol Belg (1990 Jun) 87(2):141-4

The role of aluminium from tooth pastes may be even more important than that
from the drinking water.

Persistent subcutaneous nodules in children hyposensitized with aluminium-

containing allergen extracts.

Frost L. – Johansen P. – Pedersen S. – Veien N. – Ostergaard P.A. – Nielsen

M.H.

From:   Allergy (1985 Jul) 40(5):368-72

A follow-up study of 202 children who had received hyposensitization with

aluminium-containingallergens showed that 1-3 years after cessation of
hyposensitization 13 children still had severely treatment-resistant
subcutaneous nodules in their forearms. Because of their long persistence the
nodules of six children were studied in detail. Histologically, the nodules
showed infiltration with lymphocytes (forming germinal centres),
macrophages, plasma cells, mast cells and a few eosinophils.

In five patients aluminium crystals were found scattered between the cells and,
in addition, the phagosomes of the macrophages contained aluminium. Patch
tests for aluminium were positive in four of the six patients.

Contact sensitivity to aluminium in a patient hyposensitized with aluminium

precipitated grass pollen.

Clemmensen O. – Knudsen H.E.

From:   Contact Dermatitis (1980 Aug) 6(5):305-8

Standard patch testing of a patient with eczema revealed positive reactions to

the aluminium discs used for testing.

Behavioural effects of gestational exposure to aluminium.

Rankin J. – Sedowofia K. – Clayton R. – Manning A.

From:   Ann Ist Super Sanita (1993) 29(1):147-52

The involvement of aluminium in the aetiology of a number of human

pathological diseases has altered its status from being a nontoxic,
nonabsorbable, harmless element. This maybe of particular concern to the
developing foetus which is more susceptible to agents and at lower levels than
the adult. Little attention has been given to aluminium's potential reproductive
toxicity until recently and further research is required for a full evaluation of its
toxicity. Our preliminary results demonstrate behavioural and neurochemical
alterations in the offspring of mice exposed to aluminium during gestation.
Further, the effects of such exposure are also present in the adult animal
suggesting persistent changes in behaviour following prenatal exposure.

The absence of extracellular calcium potentiates the killing of cultured

hepatocytes by aluminum maltolate.

Snyder J.W. – Serroni A. – Savory J. – Farber J.L.

From:   Arch Biochem Biophys (1995 Jan 10) 316(1):434-42

This data defines a new model in which aluminum kills liver cells by a
mechanisms distinct from previously recognized pathways of lethal cell injury.
It is hypothesized that aluminum binds to cytoskeletal proteins intimately
associated with the plasma membrane. This interaction eventually disrupts the
permeability barrier function of the cell membrane, an event that heralds the
death of the hepatocyte.

Sensitization to aluminium by aluminium-precipitated dust and pollen extracts.

Castelain P.Y. – Castelain M. – Vervloet D. – Garbe L. – Mallet B.

From:   Contact Dermatitis (1988 Jul) 19(1):58-60

... the means of sensitization was the inoculation of aluminium-precipitated

pollen or dust extracts for hyposensitization. We conclude that aluminium
allergy is not exceptional.

Allergy to non-toxoid constituents of vaccines and implications for patch

testing.

Cox N.H. – Moss C. – Forsyth A.

From:   Contact Dermatitis (1988 Mar) 18(3):143-6

Aluminium allergy causes false positive patch test reactions and we propose
methods of patch testing patients with symptoms at vaccination sites in order
to avoid this problem.

Aluminium allergy in patients hyposensitized with aluminium-precipitated

antigen extracts.

Lopez S. – Pelaez A. – Navarro L.A. – Montesinos E. – Morales C. – Carda C.

Aluminum precipitated antigen solutions, a small percentage of patients

develop persistent subcutaneous nodules at the injection site; the existence of
delayed sensitivity to aluminium has been implicated in the pathogenesis of
these nodules.

Aluminium allergy.

Veien N.K. – Hattel T. – Justesen O. – Norholm A.

From:   Contact Dermatitis (1986 Nov) 15(5):295-7

13 children ranging in age from 1 to 13 years and 1 adult patient had positive
patch tests to 2% AlCl3 in water. 13 of them had pruritic excoriated papules, 9
at sites of hyposensitization therapy with aluminium-bound pollen extracts,
and 4 at sites of childhood immunization with an aluminium-bound vaccine
(Di-Te-Pol).

Vaccination granulomas and aluminium allergy: course and prognostic

factors.

Kaaber K. – Nielsen A.O. – Veien N.K.

From:   Contact Dermatitis (1992 May) 26(5):304-6

21 children who had cutaneous granulomas following immunization with a

vaccine containing aluminium hydroxide, and who had positive patch tests to
aqueous aluminium chloride and/or to a Finn Chamber, were followed for 1 to
8 years. During the period of observation, the symptoms cleared in 5 children,
improved in 11, and remained unchanged in 5.

Short-term experimental acidification of a Welsh stream: toxicity of different

forms of aluminium at low pH to fish and invertebrates.

McCahon C.P. – Pascoe D.

From:   Arch Environ Contam Toxicol (1989 Jan-Apr) 18(1-2):233-42

Minimal effects were observed in the control and acid zones whilst large
mortalities and reduced feeding were recorded in the acid and aluminium
zone.

H Differentiated neuroblastoma cells are more susceptible to aluminium

toxicity than developing cells.

E. Meiri

From:   Arch Toxicol (1989) 63(3):231-7

Two specific questions were addressed: 1.) Can differentiated cells maintain
their normal excitable function when exposed to aluminium? 2.) Can proper
development of electrophysiological properties be achieved in its presence?
We report that aluminium caused premature onset of deterioration in fully
differentiated cells. Within 4-6 days they depolarized from -29.3 ±0.9 mV to
levels lower than -15 mV; compound polyphasic action potentials were
gradually replaced by slow monophasic spikes before the final loss of
excitable properties and structural deformations was noticed.

Reversal of an aluminum-induced behavioral deficit by administration of

deferoxamine.

Connor D.J. – Harrell L.E. – Jope R.S.

From:   Behav Neurosci (1989 Aug) 103(4):779-83

The behavioral deficit was not due to nonspecific effects caused by lower fluid
consumption. Partial reversal of the deficit was produced by discontinuing
aluminum treatment, 2 weeks prior to testing.

Aluminum-induced neurofibrillary degeneration disrupts acquisition of the

rabbit's classically conditioned nictitating membrane response.

Pendlebury W.W. – Perl D.P. – Schwentker A. – Pingree T.M. – Solomon P.R.

From:   Behav Neurosci (1988 Oct) 102(5):615-20

Aluminum intoxicated rabbits, in contrast, did not acquire the conditioned

response over the 4 days of testing. This disruption of conditioning in
aluminum-treated rabbits could not be attributed to deficits in sensory or
motor processes or to illness. Neuropathological analysis revealed
widespread neurofibrillary tangle formation in aluminum-treated animals.

Aluminum, a neurotoxin which affects diverse metabolic reactions.

Joshi J.G.

From:   Biofactors (1990 Jul) 2(3):163-9

Experimental evidence is summarized to support the hypothesis that chronic

exposure to low levels of aluminum may lead to neurological disorders.

Distribution of aluminum in different brain regions and body organs of rat.

Vasishta R.K. – Gill K.D.

 From:   Biol Trace Elem Res (1996 May) 52(2):181-92

In the present study, an attempt has been made to investigate the distribution
of aluminum in different regions of brain and body organs of male albino rats,
following subacute and acute aluminum exposure. Aluminum was observed to
accumulate in all regions of the brain with maximum accumulation in the
hippocampus. Aluminum was also seen to compartmentalize in almost all the
tissues of the body to varying extents, and the highest accumulation was in
the spleen.

Ti-6Al-4V ion solution inhibition of osteogenic cell phenotype as a function of

differentiation timecourse in vitro.

Thompson G.J. – Puleo D.A.

From:   Biomaterials (1996 Oct) 17(20):1949-54

These results indicate that ions associated with Ti-6Al-4V alloy inhibited the
normal differentiation of bone marrow stromal cells to mature osteoblasts in
vitro, suggesting that ions released from implants in vivo may contribute to
implant failure by impairing normal bone deposition.

Aluminium release from glass ionomer cements during early water exposure in
vitro.

Andersson O.H. – Dahl J.E.

From:   Biomaterials (1994 Sep) 15(11):882-8

Aluminium is a major constituent of glass ionomer cements. During mixing

and setting aluminium is released from the glass into the polyalkeonic acid
solution. Part of this aluminium may not combine with the polyalkeonic acid,
but may be released from the cement. The aluminium release from auto-cured
and light-cured glass ionomer cements during early water exposure was
studied. The former cements released more aluminium than the latter. It is
suggested that the considerable release of aluminium from glass ionomer
cements during early water exposure may explain the reported lack of
mineralization of predentin in the pulp beneath glass ionomer cements. This
would correspond to the inhibiting effect of aluminium on bone mineralization.

Impaired control of information transfer at an isolated synapse treated by

aluminum: is it related to dementia?

Banin E. – Meiri H.

From:   Brain Res (1987 Oct 13) 423(1-2):359-63

These results indicate that aluminum at concentrations similar to those found
in the diseased brain of demented patients modulates synaptic transmission.

Chronic aluminum-induced motor neuron degeneration: clinical,

neuropathological and molecular biological aspects.

Strong M.J. – Garruto R.M.

From:   Can J Neurol Sci (1991 Aug) 18(3 Suppl):428-31

Aluminum chloride induces aggregates of phosphorylated neurofilament that

mimics the intraneuronal inclusions of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Some commonly unrecognized manifestations of metabolic arthropathies.

Cobby M.J. – Martel W.

From:   Clin Imaging (1992 Jan-Mar) 16(1):1-14

The metabolic arthropathies are characterized by the deposition of abnormal

substances in or around joints. Certain features of some of these
arthropathies and their significance have only recently been recognized and
others have been insufficiently emphasized. An important group of conditions
are the arthropathies related to renal failure and its treatment, namely,
aluminum toxicity, periarticular calcification and crystal deposition,
hyperparathyroidism, and dialysis-related amyloidosis. Crystal deposition
diseases, specifically, gouty arthritis, calcium pyrophosphate deposition, and
calcium hydroxyapatite deposition, are also reviewed.

Sepsis: a cause of aluminum release from tissue stores associated with acute
neurological dysfunction and mortality.

Davenport A. – Williams P.S. – Roberts N.B. – Bone J.M.

From:   Clin Nephrol (1988 Jul) 30(1):48-51

We report six cases of patients with renal failure and exposure to aluminum
who developed septicemia. In all cases the serum aluminum increased
markedly. This may have contributed to the neurological dysfunction seen in
five, and the deaths of four of the patients. We suggest that the rise in serum
aluminum was due to the release of tissue-bound aluminum, resulting in an
increase in free, diffusable aluminum and that this jeopardized both
neurological function and immunocompetence.

Estimates of dietary exposure to aluminium.

 Pennington J.A. – Schoen S.A.

From:   Food Addit Contam (1995 Jan-Feb) 12(1):119-28

Daily intakes of aluminium were estimated for 14 age-sex groups based on the
Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Total Diet Study dietary exposure
model. Estimates of aluminium intakes ranged from 0.7 mg/day for 6-11-
month-old infants to 11.5 mg/day for 14-16-year-old males. Average intakes for
adult men and women were 8-9 and 7 mg/day, respectively. The major
contributors to daily intake of aluminium were foods with aluminium-
containing food additives, e.g. grain products and processed cheese.

Transverse fractures of the spinous process of the 7th cervical vertebra in

RDT patients: an Al related disease?

From:   Int J Artif Organs (1987 Mar) 10(2):93-6

The bone fractures had occurred suddenly while the patients were going about
their daily work. These observations indicate that Al- or iron- related bone
disease with secondary hyperparathyroidism can induce bone fracture by only
slight stress in patients maintained on hemodialysis.

Risk of aluminum accumulation in patients with burns and ways to reduce it.

Klein G.L. – Herndon D.N. – Rutan T.C. – Barnett J.R. – Miller N.L. – Alfrey A.C.

From:   J Burn Care Rehabil (1994 Jul-Aug) 15(4):354-8

Severely burned patients experience a bone lesion consisting of markedly

reduced bone formation and evidence of decreased resportion. The cause of
the lesion may be multifactorial, but aluminum loading, which also occurs in
patients with burns, has been documented to produce this type of injury in
both humans and animals.

Cutaneous exposure to aluminum is greatest from baths, which may provide

up to 8 mg aluminum. However, the dynamics of aluminum entry into the blood
via a damaged skin barrier are unclear. Enteral exposure to aluminum is no
greater than daily dietary exposure. Parenteral sources of aluminum,
especially 25% human serum albumin and calcium gluconate, provide the
most significant risk of loading because of direct introduction of aluminum
into the circulation.

Substitution with a different brand of albumin and calcium chloride can reduce
the parenteral aluminum load by as much as 95% and minimize any role
aluminum may play in the pathogenesis of this bone lesion.

Aluminum concentrations in tissues of rats: effect of soft drink packaging.

 Kandiah J. – Kies C.

From:   Biometals (1994 Jan) 7(1):57-60

Canned soft drink fed rats had significantly higher blood, liver and bone
aluminum concentration than rats that were given glass bottled soft drink.

Sources of Aluminum
Over the Counter; Deoderants, vaginal douches, baby wipes, skin creams,
suntan lotions, toothpaste, buffered asprin, some haemorrhoid and diarrhea
products.

Medical; Vaccinations, allergy testing, intervenous solutions, allergens, wound

and antacid irrigation, ulcer treatment, blood oxygenization, bone or joint
replacement and burn treatment.

Foods; Aluminum cans, foils, containers, baking powder, cake mixes, frozen
dough, pancake mixes, self-rising flour, grains, processed cheese.

Environmental Effects of Aluminum

CT Aluminum in acidic surface waters: chemistry, transport, and effects.

From:   Environ Health Perspect (1985 Nov) 63:93-104

Ecologically significant concentrations of Al have been reported in surface

waters draining "acid-sensitive" watersheds that are receiving elevated inputs
of acidic deposition. It has been hypothesized that mineral acids from
atmospheric deposition have remobilized Al previously precipitated within the
soil during soil development. This Al is then thought to be transported to
adjacent surface waters. Dissolved mononuclear Al occurs as aquo Al, as well
as OH-, F-, SO4(2-), and organic complexes.

Although past investigations have often ignored non-hydroxide complexes of

Al, it appears that organic and F complexes are the predominant forms of Al in
dilute (low ionic strength) acidic surface waters. The concentration of
inorganic forms of Al increases exponentially with decreases in solution pH.
This response is similar to the theoretical pH dependent solubility of Al
mineral phases.

The concentration of organic forms of Al, however, is strongly correlated with

variations in organic carbon concentration of surface waters rather than pH.
Elevated concentrations of Al in dilute acidic waters are of interest because: Al
is an important pH buffer; Al may influence the cycling of important elements
like P, organic carbon, and trace metals; and Al is potentially toxic to aquatic
organisms.
Inhibition of Ca2+ uptake in freshwater carp, Cyprinus carpio, during short-term
exposure to aluminum.

Verbost P.M. – Lafeber F.P. – Spanings F.A. – Aarden E.M. – Wendelaar Bonga
S.E.

From:   J Exp Zool (1992 Jun 1) 262(3):247-54

In carp exposed to pH 5.2 in fresh water, the Ca2+ influx from the water is
reduced by 31% when compared to fish in water of neutral pH. At pH 5.2, the
Ca2+ influx but not Na+ uptake is decreased by aluminum (Al). Al reduces
Ca2+ influx dose-dependently: a maximum 55% reduction was observed after
1-2 h exposure to 200 micrograms .1(-1) (7.4 microM) Al.

A mechanism for acute aluminium toxicity in fish

Exley C. – Chappell J.S. – Birchall J.D.

From:   J Theor Biol (1991 Aug 7) 151(3):417-28

Aluminium is acutely toxic to fish in acid waters. The gill is the principal target
organ and death is due to a combination of ionoregulatory, osmoregulatory
and respiratory dysfunction. The mechanism of epithelial cell death is
proposed as a general mechanism of aluminium-induced accelerated cell
death.

Can the mechanisms of aluminum neurotoxicity be integrated into a unified

scheme?

Strong M.J. – Garruto R.M. – Joshi J.G. – Mundy W.R. – Shafer T.J.

From:   J Toxicol Environ Health (1996 Aug 30) 48(6):599-613

Regardless of the host, the route of administration, or the speciation,

aluminum is a potent neurotoxicant. In the young adult or developmentally
mature host, the neuronal response to Al exposure can be dichotomized on
morphological grounds. In one, intraneuronal neurofilamentous aggregates
are formed, whereas in the other, significant neurochemical and
neurophysiological perturbations are induced without neurofilamentous
aggregate formation.

Evidence is presented that the induction of neurofilamentous aggregates is a

consequence of alterations in the posttranslational processing of
neurofilament (NF), particularly with regard to phosphorylation state. Although
Al has been reported to impact on gene expression, this does not appear to be
critical to the induction of cytoskeletal pathology.
In hosts responding to Al exposure without the induction of cytoskeletal
pathology, impairments in glucose utilization, agonist-stimulated inositol
phosphate accumulation, free radical-mediated cytotoxicity, lipid peroxidation,
reduced cholinergic function, and altered protein phosphorylation have been
described. The extent to which these neurochemical modifications correlate
with the induction of a characteristic neurobehavioral state is unknown.

In addition to these paradigms, Al is toxic in the immediate postnatal interval.

Whether unique mechanisms of toxicity are involved during development
remains to be determined. In this article, the mechanisms of Al neurotoxicity
are reviewed and recommendations are put forth with regard to future
research.

Institutional address:

Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences

University of Western Ontario

London, Canada.

mstrong@julian.uwo.ca

Aluminum toxicity following intravesical alum irrigation for hemorrhagic

cystitis.

Kanwar V.S. – Jenkins J.J. 3rd – Mandrell B.N. – Furman W.L.

From:   Med Pediatr Oncol (1996 Jul) 27(1):64-7

Mental status changes in an immunosuppressed child can be due to a variety

of causes; aluminum toxicity is rarely considered. We report a teenage girl
with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who developed mental status changes,
speech disturbance, coarse tremor, and abnormal EEG findings following
intravesical 1% alum irrigation and administration of aluminum-containing
antacids. All abnormalities resolved after a nine-week course of intravenous
deferoxamine.

Progressing encephalomyelopathy with muscular atrophy, induced by

aluminum powder.

Bugiani O. – Ghetti B.

From:   Neurobiol Aging (1982 Fall) 3(3):209-22

The injection of aluminum powder into the cerebrospinal fluid of adult rabbits
induced a slowly progressing encephalomyelopathy characterized at first by
alteration of posture and then by myoclonic jerks and muscle weakness.
Neurofibrillary degeneration was the hallmark of the disease and involved
most of the gray areas. Neurogenic muscular atrophy appeared in animals
sacrificed in the second and third month after injection.

Aluminium foil as a wound dressing

Poole M.D. – Kalus A.M. – von Domarus H.

From:   Br J Plast Surg (1979 Apr) 32(2):145-6

ISBN: 0007-1226

Aluminium foil has been found to be an extremely useful and painless way of
dressing wounds prior to delayed skin grafting. However, it is not
recommended for use on skin-graft donor sites as it delays epithelial healing.

From:   History of crime against the Food Laws (1929)

by Dr. Riley, the prime mover behind the original Pure Food Law and Director
of the FDA. He resigned in disgust in 1912 over exceptions granted to the law
and lack of enforcement.

Aluminum has been exempted from testing for safety by the FDA under a
convoluted logic wherein it is classified as GRAS. (Generally Regarded As
Safe.) It has never been tested by the FDA on its safety and there are NO
restrictions whatever on the amount or use of aluminum.

Diseases Associated with Aluminium Intoxication

H. Tomlinson, M.B., Ch.B., MRCS., LRCP

Aluminum is known to inhibit cell division during the "S Phase" at levels less
than 4 ppm.

Aluminum toxicity is a widespread problem in all forms of life, including

humans, animals, fish, plants and trees, and causes widespread degradation
of the environment and health. Over 7,000 reference articles on aluminum
toxicity existed in various data bases as of 1936, (Today, there are more than a
million.) all recognizing the toxicity.
 Second article Aluminum - Al

Properties - Health effects of aluminum -Environmental

effects of aluminum
Atomic number
Atomic mass
Electronegativity according to Pauling
Density
Melting point
Boiling point
Vanderwaals radius
Ionic radius
Isotopes
Artificial isotopes
Electronic shell
Energy of first ionization
Energy of second ionization
Energy of third ionization
Standard potential
Discovered by
Aluminum
The name aluminum is derived from the ancient name for alu
(Latin, meaning bitter salt). Aluminum was the original name
called it aluminum and that became the accepted name in Eu
aluminum and when the American Chemical Society debated

Aluminum is a soft and lightweight metal. It has a dull silvery

forms quickly when it is exposed to air. Aluminum is nontoxic

Aluminum has only one naturally occurring isotope, aluminium

Applications

A silvery and ductile member of the poor metal group of elem

and is remarkable for its resistance to oxidation (aluminum is
this form unlike most metals), its strength, and its light weigh
of different products and is very important to the world econo
vital to the aerospace industry and very important in other ar
durability, and strength are needed.
The use of aluminum exceed that of any other metal except i
elements such as copper, zinc, magnesium, manganese and s
N early all modern mirrors are made using a thin reflective co
float glass. Telescope mirrors are also coated with a thin laye
Other applications are electrical transmission lines, and packa
Because of its high conductivity and relatively low price comp
electrical wiring to a large degree in the US in the 1960s. Unf
its greater coefficient of thermal expansion and its tendency t
eventually causing loosening the connection; galvanic corrosi
The most recent development in aluminum technology is the
metal a compound (a metal hybrid), which releases hydrogen
this is done and this is achieved by adding aluminum oxide or
used in traffic tunnels and in space shuttle.

Aluminum in the environment

Aluminum is an abundant element in Earth's crust: it is believ

Aluminum is very rare in its free form. Aluminum contribute g
mainly as insoluble aluminum hydroxide.
Aluminum is a reactive metal and it is hard to extract it from
most difficult metals on earth to refine, the reason is that alu
extremely stable compound that, unlike rust on iron, does no
in many applications is why it is so hard to produce.
Several gemstones are made of the clear crystal form of alum
of other metals creates various colors: cobalt creates blues sa
are now easy and cheap to manufacture artificially. Topaz is a
Recovery of this metal from scrap (via recycling) has become
Industrial production world-wide of new metal is around 20 m
Known reserves of ores are 6 billion tones.

Health effects of aluminum

Aluminum is one of the most widely used metals and also one
crust. Due to these facts, aluminum is commonly known as a
high concentrations, it can cause health problems. The water
these particles are called ions. They are usually found in a so
instance as aluminum chlorine.

The uptake of aluminum can take place through food, throug

significant concentrations of aluminum can lead to serious he

- Damage to the central nervous system

- Dementia
- Loss of memory
- Listlessness
- Severe trembling

Aluminum is a risk in certain working environments, such as

in factories where aluminum is applied during production proc
aluminum dust. Aluminum can cause problems for kidney pat

Inhalation of finely divided aluminum and aluminum oxide po

and lung damage. This effect, know as Shaver’s Disease, is c
and oxides of iron. May also be implicated in Alzheimer’s dise

Environmental effects of aluminum

The effects of aluminum have drawn our attention, mainly du
in plants and cause health problems for animals that consum
The concentrations of aluminum appear to be highest in acidi
amphibians is declining due to reactions of aluminum ions wit
High aluminum concentrations do not only cause effects upon
consume contaminated fish and insects and upon animals tha
for birds that consume contaminated fish are eggshell thinnin
for animals that breathe in aluminum through air may be lung

Another negative environmental effect of aluminum is that its

phosphates to be less available to water organisms.

High concentrations of aluminum may not only be found in ac

acidified soils. There are strong indications that aluminum can
groundwater.

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