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Aluminum is a common metal found in the earth’s crust, water, and plant and animal tissue. While the body has no biological need for it, low levels of intake are unavoidable. However, high concentrations of aluminum can be toxic and cause organ dysfunction. Aluminum toxicity is rare but can occur in people with impaired kidney function. Symptoms include anemia, muscle weakness, bone pain, memory loss, and seizures. Treatment involves eliminating aluminum from the diet and using chelation therapy. Death from aluminum toxicity is rare, but it can cause permanent brain damage.
Aluminum metal is found almost everywhere: in water, animal tissue and plant tissue, as well as the earth’s crust, where it is the most abundant metal. The body has no biological requirement for aluminum, but the metal’s ubiquity means that a small intake of dietary aluminum is unavoidable. This low-level intake of aluminum isn’t harmful, but high concentrations of the metal can be extremely toxic. Aluminum toxicity is a rare condition, but it can occur in certain specific situations. When aluminum builds up in the body, it can cause organ dysfunction and serious health problems.
Imbalance of metals in the body, through too high or too low a concentration, can cause severe toxicity. Prolonged diarrhea can cause minor imbalances that are usually easily corrected by the use of electrolyte solutions. In the case of aluminum the situation is slightly different, because the body has no biological use for this metal. There are no harmful effects associated with not enough aluminum; instead, the effects of aluminum toxicity are due only to excessive amounts of the metal.
Aluminum is toxic in high concentrations in the body because it is similar in size and chemical properties to several metal ions that the body needs. These include magnesium, calcium and iron, all of which are essential for good health. When there are high concentrations of aluminum in the body, symptoms of aluminum toxicity occur because aluminum interferes with the body making use of these essential ions.
Typically, only people with impaired kidney function are at risk for aluminum toxicity. The risk of aluminum poisoning is greatly increased because when the kidneys are not working properly, the body is unable to properly eliminate aluminum from the body. The metal builds up in the organs and prevents them from reducing their ability to function normally.
Toxic levels of aluminum can lead to a wide range of symptoms because the metal can build up in all organs of the body, including the brain. Possible symptoms include anemia, muscle weakness, bone pain, bone fractures, osteoporosis, memory loss, seizures, and dementia that can appear similar to Alzheimer’s disease.
To treat aluminum poisoning, the metal is eliminated from the patient’s diet, and all medications and personal items such as deodorant must also be free of aluminum. The patient is also treated via chelation therapy with a chemical called deferoxamine. Chelation is a type of therapy in which a patient with metal poisoning is treated with a chemical that binds the toxic metal. This helps the body eliminate the metal to reduce toxicity.
Death from aluminum toxicity is rare and occurs only when the disease goes undiagnosed. When a correct diagnosis is made, treatment improves the health of most people. However, aluminum poisoning can cause permanent brain damage and some symptoms such as memory loss and dementia may not be fully cured.
