Table Of ContentHandbook of
Stable Strontium
Handbook of
Stable Strontium
Edited by
Stanley C. Skoryna
McGill University and
s
St. Mary Hospital Center
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Plenum Press . New York and London
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Main entry under title:
Handbook of stable strontium.
Includes index.
1. Strontium-Physiological effect. 2. Strontium in the body. I. Skoryna,
Stanley C. [DNLM: 1. Strontium. QU130 H236)
QP535.S8H36 574.19'.214 80-16090
ISBN-13: 978-1-4684-3700-3 e-ISBN-13: 978-1-4684-3698-3
DOl: 10.1007/978-1-4684-3698-3
© 1981 Plenum Press, New York
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1981
A Division of Plenum Publishing Corporation
233 Spring Street, New York, N.Y. 10013
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocoping, microfilming,
recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher
Preface
Nearly two hundred years ago Crawford and Cruickshank, surgeons and
chemists in the Royal Artillery, reported the occurrence of a "new earth" in the
mines at the Scottish village of Strontian. Humphrey Davy, following the advice
of Berzelius, isolated stable strontium in 1808 along with other alkali earth
metals. It was not until 1883 that physiological effects of stable strontium were
first recognized by none other than Sidney Ringer in his experiments on frog
heart. The medicinal use of strontium salts was first described in Squire's
Companion in 1894. Subsequently, strontium was introduced into the Pharma
copeias of Great Britain, United States, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and
Mexico and was used in treatment of a variety of disease.s, clearly without
detailed knowledge of its actions.
It is hoped that this handbook will provide a sound basis for further research
on stable strontium and the establishment of the levels of intake, necessary or
desirable, in different pathophysiological conditions. The objective of this
publication was to assemble a comprehensive collection of essays on stable
strontium which review the respective areas of research as well as present
original data. I consider myself fortunate to have been able to work with the
contributors of these essays. It is obvious that this type of book should be
interdisciplinary in nature owing to the necessity of examining each subject
from the viewpoint of different disciplines. It was thought that such an approach
will promote maximum insight into the complex biological processes affected
by stable strontium. The "cross-linkage" of data, the existence of which is
frequently not realized, may supply the missing parts of the total composite
picture.
Knowledge of stable strontium did not advance significantly until extensive
studies were undertaken on the effects of radioactive strontium. These investiga
tions have contributed greatly to the understanding of strontium metabolism
although some of the conclusions drawn were unavoidably erroneous as far as
stable strontium is concerned. The extent of biological and physiological
processes affected by stable strontium, starting with simple organisms and
progressing to application in man, will become evident to the readers of this
monograph.
v
vi Preface
Any studies on stable strontium should be interpreted in relation to calcium
because of the similarity of their chemical characteritics. Yet, the very fact that
calcium is a bulk element and strontium a trace element poses an interesting
problem from the viewpoint of biological interactions. The physiological
significance of these interactions, which is one of the main topics of this book, is
not generally realized.
The homeostatic mechanisms that exercise such an accurate control over
calcium levels seem to permit a significant increase in concentration of stable
strontium in body fluids and tissues with beneficial effects. The material
presented in this monograph suggests the need for reevaluation of some of the
earlier concepts.
Perhaps now, when the effects of stable strontium are a subject of renewed
interest and with a better understanding of the problems involved, one may turn
to a passage by Jeremy Taylor, Crawford's contemporary, who wrote in Via
Pads: "He to whom all things are one, who draweth all things to one, and seeth
all things in one, may enjoy true peace of mind and rest of spirit."
Stanley C. Skoryna
Contributors
W. H. Barry, Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston,
Massachusetts, U.S.A.
W. H. Beggs, General Medical Research Service, Veterans Administration
Hospital, Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A.
C. A. Bucholtz, Genetics Research Laboratories, Division of Animal Pro
duction, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization,
Epping, N.S.W., North Ryde, Australia
A. K. Campbell, Department of Medical Biochemistry, Welsh National
School of Medicine, Heath Park, Cardiff, Wales, U.K.
M. R. Cattell, Department of Cardiology, Welsh National School of Medicine,
Heath Park, Cardiff, U.K.
B. E. Chalker, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queens
land, Australia
M. E. J. Curzon, Department of Caries Research, Eastman Dental Center,
Rochester, New York, U.S.A.
J. S. D'Arrigo, Department of Physiology, University of Hawaii School of
Medicine, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.
A. De Hemptinne, Laboratory of Normal and Pathological Physiology,
University of Ghent, Ghent, Belgium
R. M. Denton, Department of Biochemistry, University of Bristol Medical
School, Bristol, U. K.
R. L. Dormer, Department of Medical Biochemistry, Welsh National School of
Medicine, Heath Park, Cardiff, U.K.
C. Edwards, Neurobiology Research Center, State University of New York,
Albany, New York, U.S.A.
A. Z. Eisen, Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, Washington
University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.
vii
viii Contributors
N. E/ So/h, Department of Biochemistry, Paris V University, Paris, France.
J. A. Ferrendelli, Department of Neurology and Neurological Surgery,
Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.
G. W. Fisher, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati,
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A.
J. C. Foreman, Department of Pharmacology, University College London,
Lond~n, U.K.
M. Fuskova, Medicial Research Unit, St. Mary's Hospital Center, and
Gastrointestinal Research Laboratory, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec,
Canada
A. I. Gage/'gans, Institute of Biochemistry, The Uzbek S.S.R. Academy of
Sciences, Tashkent, U.S.S.R.
A. Gunatilaka, Department of Geology, School of Mines, University of
Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
D. C. Harrison, Cardiology Division, Stanford University School of Medicine,
Stanford, California, U.S.A.
A. H. Henderson, Department of Cardiology, Welsh National School of
Medicine, Heath Park, Cardiff, Wales, U.K.
S. Inoue, Gastrointestinal Research Laboratory, McGill University, and
Medical Research Unit, St. Mary's Hospital Center, Montreal, Quebec,
Canada
K. Isermann, Institute of Plant Nutrition, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart,
Germany
J. M. Janes, Division of Orthopedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester,
Minnesota, U.S.A.
J. J. Jeffrey, Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, Washington
University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.
E. S. Kaneshiro, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati,
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A.
M. K oh/hardt, Physiological Institute, University of Freiburg, Freiburg
Germany
I. Leusen, Laboratory of Normal and Pathological Physiology, University of
Ghent, Ghent, Belgium
H. Lorkovic, Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, University of
Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, U.S.A.
M. Matsumura, Department of Physiology, Kawasaki Medical School,
Kurashiki City, Okayama, Japan
Contributors ix
F. E. McCaslin t Division of Orthopedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester,
Minnesota, U.S.A.
A. M. Mellow, Department of Pharmacology, Northwestern University
Medical School, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
E. H. Murer, Specialized Center for Thrombosis Research, Temple University
Health Sciences Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
J. R. Partington, Department of Chemistry, University of London, Queen
Mary College, London, U.K.
C. F. Peng, Department of Biochemistry, University of Arkansas School of
Medicine, Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.A.
H. Porzig, Pharmacological Institute, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
A. H. Reisner, Genetics Research Laboratories, Division of Animal Pro
duction, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization,
Epping, N.S.W., North Ryde, Australia
H. L. Rosenthal, Washington University School of Dental Medicine, St.
Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.
F. Rousselet, Department of Biochemistry, Paris V University, Paris, France
J. L. Seltzer, Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, Washington
University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.
D. L. Severson, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of
Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
K. Shikama, Biological Institute, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
S. B. Sigurdsson, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of
Lund,Lund,Sweden
E. M. Silinsky, Department of Pharmacology, Northwestern University
Medical School, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
S. C. Skoryna, Medical Research Unit, St. Mary's Hospital Center, and
Gastrointestinal Research Laboratory, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec,
Canada
P. C. Spector, Department of Caries Research, Eastman Dental Center,
Rochester, New York, U.S.A.
I. Takayanagi, Department of Chemical Pharmacology, School of Pharma
ceutical Sciences, Toho University, Miyama, Chiba, Japan
B. A. Tashmukhamedov, Institute of Biochemistry, The Uzbek S.S.R. Academy
of Sciences, Tashkent, U.S.S.R.
E. W. Troyer, Department of Neurology and Neurological Surgery, Washington
University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.
x Contributors
E. Uchida, The Cardiovascular Institute, Tokyo, Japan
B. Uvelius, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Lund,
Lund, Sweden
C. L. Wadkins, Department of Biochemistry, University of Arkansas School
of Medicine, Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.A.
J. Weyne, Laboratory of Normal and Pathological Physiology, University of
Ghent, Ghent, Belgium
Contents
Chapter I
Early History of Strontium ........... '" .................... '" . 1
J. R. Partington
Chapter 2
Chemistry of Strontium '" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 11
S. Inoue
Chapter 3
Biogeochemistry of Strontium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 19
A. Gunatilaka
Chapter 4
Skeletogenesis in Scleractinian Corals: The Transport and
Deposition of Strontium and Calcium. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 47
B. E. Chalker
Chapter 5
Uptake of Stable Strontium by Plants and Effects on
Plant Growth .................................................. 65
K.Isermann
Chapter 6
Interactions of Divalent Cations Affecting
Polyribosomal Profiles from Paramecium-With
Particular Reference to the Interactions of Strontium
with Calcium, Magnesium, and Manganese 87
A. H. Reisner and C. A. Bucholtz
Chapter 7
Divalent Cation-Dependent Deposits in Paramecium ............. 111
E. S. Kaneshiro and G. W. Fisher
xi
