flint) is perhaps the oldest occupational disease, probably existing in the paleolithic period. Hippocrates and Pliny refer to the disorder. Some of the most tragic and wanton examples of occupational disease were due to silicosis, for example, how table blade grinding in Sheffield (1886) robbed workers of 25 years of life, or the Gauley Bridge disaster in West Virginia (1931). Perusing a recen...

BACKGROUND Asbestosis and silicosis are progressive pneumoconioses characterized by interstitial fibrosis following exposure to asbestos or silica dust. We evaluated the potential diagnostic biomarkers for these diseases. METHODS The serum concentrations of Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6), surfactant protein D (SP-D), and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), MMP-7, and MMP-9 were measured in 43 ...

This article is a review of the human pulmonary disorders which may result from exposure to inhaled metals. Since carbon and silicon are not metals, this review does not cover coal workers' pneumoconiosis, silicosis, asbestos-related diseases, or pneumoconioses caused by other silicates. The type of lung disease caused by metal compounds depends on the nature of the offending agent, its physico...

Epidemiological studies on interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) may be schematically subdivided into the following major types: 1) quantifications of disease, broken down into incidence, prevalence and mortality data; 2) identification of aetiological factors; and 3) clinical epidemiological studies. Epidemiological data may be obtained from different sources or population groups, using different ...

From the registry of self employed workers living in Paris, a group of 105 dental technicians was studied to evaluate occupational exposure, to determine respiratory manifestations, and to investigate immune disturbances. Seventy one dental technicians (age range 43-68: group D), 34 dental technicians younger than 43 or older than 68 (group d), and 68 control workers (age range 43-66: group C) ...

Editor-The MRC Epidemiology Unit (South Wales) officially closed at the end of September, 1995 on the retirement of the director, Professor Peter Elwood. A small team will continue at Llandough Hospital, South Wales to complete work on current projects. The Epidemiology Unit (EU) originated as an offshoot of the MRC Pneumoconioses Research Unit (PRU) which pioneered epidemiological surveys amon...

M ining has played a central role in the development of South Africa from the importation of European labour through to the migrant labour system that characterised apartheid, our mineral resources have molded our political, social, and economic paradigms over the last 140 years. The current turmoil on the mines emphasises this legacy and its centrality in our history. The mining industry not o...

Pneumoconiosis is one of the most prevalent occupational diseases in Thailand. The most common forms of the disease are silicosis and asbestosis, and other asbestos-related diseases. The aims of the study are to review the situation of these diseases and describe national strategic and action plans to prevent and control them. At least 200,000 workers in 8,000 workplaces are exposed to silica a...

W ith the reduction in the disease burden from the pneumoconioses in recent years, especially in developed countries, occupational asthma has emerged as the occupational lung disease of greatest importance. It is usually the most common respiratory condition reported in occupational disease surveillance programmes and makes a substantial contribution to the burden of asthma in the community, wi...