Heavy metals have been linked to disease. These include nickel, mercury, lead , arsenic and others. The diseases are different for each metal toxicity. I do heavy metal testing on patients using a provocation challenge with a chelator and a hair analysis for my Connecticut patients ( as New States does NOT allow hair testing) Recently I had a patient do a heavy metal provocative challenge. It revealed high Tungsten. This is not a common metal usually found in a patient
Both lead and uranium were replaced in military applications and replaced with tungsten through the years. Tungsten was replaced and used in munitions. We have found that tungsten alloys may have carcinogenic potential as lead and uranium so perhaps this replacement was not well thought out.
The most common use of tungsten is as a wire in a light bulb. Other than that the use is in applications for which high density material is required. However tungsten alloys have been used in military applications. Tungsten is a naturally occurring in the environment and plays a role in the microbiology of the soil. The environmental effec of tungsten in the environment is not well understood or even researched. Tungsten can enter the blood through ingestion, inhalation or injection.
The chronic diseases we face today are exposure to one’s body to the air we breathe, the fluid ( or substance we drink) and the food we eat. I need to be the doctor on the show House to solve this case and many others.
Until tomorrow….