strontium

[Guest guest]

>

> Sounds good - What strengthof Strontium should I look for? What

is a good

> daily dose when on 12.5 mg of Prednisone/day?

> Jan

>

* * * * *

Calcium is an interactive with Tetracyclines that needs to be

discussed with your doctor. Since this isotope so easily substitutes

for calcium. I think it would be a good idea to discuss it with your

doctor first.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strontium

Sixteen unstable isotopes are known to exist. Of greatest importance

are 90Sr with a half-life of 28.78 years and 89Sr with a half-life of

50.5 days.

90Sr is a by-product of nuclear fission which is found in nuclear

fallout and presents a health problem since it substitutes for

calcium in bone, preventing expulsion from the body. This isotope is

one of the best long-lived high-energy beta emitters known, and is

used in SNAP (Systems for Nuclear Auxiliary Power) devices. These

devices hold promise for use in spacecraft, remote weather stations,

navigational buoys, etc, where a lightweight, long-lived, nuclear-

electric power source is required. The 1986 Chernobyl nuclear

accident contaminated a vast area with 90Sr. 90Sr confined inside a

concave silver plaque is also used for the medical treatment of a

resected pterygium.

89Sr is a short-lived artificial radioisotope which provides a health

benefit since it substitutes for calcium in bone. In circumstances

where cancer patients have widespread and painful bony metastases

(secondaries), the administration of 89Sr results in the delivery of

radioactive emissions (beta particles in this case) directly to the

area of bony problem (where calcium turnover is greatest). The 89Sr

is manufactured as the chloride salt (which is soluble), and when

dissolved in normal saline can be injected intravenously. Typically,

cancer patients will be treated with a dose of 150 MBq. The patient

needs to take precautions following this because their urine becomes

contaminated with radioactivity, so they need to sit to urinate and

double flush the toilet. The beta particles travel about 3.5mm in

bone (energy 0.583 MeV) and 6.5mm in tissue, so there is no

requirement to isolate patients who have been treated except to say

they should not have any one (especially young children) sitting in

their laps for 10-40 days. The variation in time results from the

variable clearing time for 89Sr which depends on renal function and

the number of bony metastases. With a lot of bony metastases, the

entire 89Sr dose can be taken up into bone and so the entire

radioactivity is retained to decay over a 50.5 day half-life.

However, where there are few bony metastases, the large proportion of

89Sr not taken up by the bone will be filtered by the kidney, so that

the effective half-life (a combination of the physical and biological

half-life) will be much shorter.

Precautions

In its pure form strontium is extremely reactive with air and

spontaneously combusts. It is therefore considered to be a fire

hazard.

Effect on the human body

The human body absorbs strontium as if it were calcium. Due to the

elements being sufficiently similar chemically, the stable forms of

strontium do not pose a significant health threat, but the

radioactive 90Sr can lead to various bone disorders and diseases,

including bone cancer. The strontium unit is used in measuring

radioactivity from absorbed 90Sr.

An innovative drug made by combining strontium with ranelic acid has

aided in bone growth, boosted bone density and lessened vertebral,

peripheral and hip fractures.[4][5] Women receiving the drug showed a

12.7% increase in bone density. Women receiving a placebo had a 1.6%

decrease. Half the increase in bone density (measured by x-ray

densitometry) is attributed to the higher atomic weight of Sr

compared with calcium, whereas the other half a true increase in bone

mass. It means that strontium ranelate creates new, stronger bone.

Strontium ranelate (marketed under the trade names Protelos, Osseor,

Protos, Bivalos, Protaxos, Ossum) is registered for treatment of

osteoporosis in many countries all over the world. Strontium ranelate

has been shown to strengthen bones, according presentations given the

IOF World Congress on Osteoporosis, in June of 2006. It also reduced

bone resorbtion.

Strontium ranelate is registered as a prescription drug in Europe and

many countries worldwide. It needs to be prescribed by a doctor,

delivered by a pharmacist and requires a strict medical supervision.

Currently, (early 2007) it is not available in Canada or the United

States.

Several other salts of strontium such as strontium citrate or

strontium carbonate are often presented as natural therapies and sold

at a dose that is several hundred times higher than the usual

strontium intake. Despite the lack of strontium deficit referenced in

the medical literature and the lack of information about possible

toxicity of strontium supplementation, such compounds can still be

sold in the United States under the Dietary Supplements Health and

Education Act of 1994.