The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) complex is a series of genes located on chromosome 6 that are important in normal immune function. Susceptibility to chronic beryllium disease, a granulomatous lung disease that appears in workers exposed to beryllium, is modified by genetic variants of the HLA-DP subregion. Evaluation of HLA-DPB1 sequence motifs in current and former beryllium workers implicat...

The blood beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test is used in medical surveillance to identify both beryllium sensitization and chronic beryllium disease. Approximately 50% of individuals with beryllium sensitization have chronic beryllium disease at the time of their initial clinical evaluation; however, the rate of progression from beryllium sensitization to chronic beryllium disease is unknow...

Screening for disease-associated genetic markers may provide new tools for prevention of occupational diseases (22). So far in CBD, blood and lung lymphocyte testing for Be-specific proliferation have been used to identify individuals with Be allergy and disease (23). However, because lymphocyte tests do not predict disease or risk, genetic testing may have a role, in association with lymphocyt...

The involvement of macrophages in chronic inflammatory conditions has been the subject of considerable experimental investigation in recent years. Macrophages are able to secrete a wide range of biologically active compounds. They are important in the control of infection and, through their immunological and non-immunological receptors, macrophages interact with other cell types and a wide vari...

In contrast to naive T cells, reactivation of memory cells is less dependent on CD28-mediated costimulation. We have shown that circulating beryllium-specific CD4(+) T cells from chronic beryllium disease patients remain CD28-dependent, while those present in the lung no longer require CD28 for T cell activation. In the present study, we analyzed whether other costimulatory molecules are essent...

OBJECTIVE To study the prevalence of beryllium sensitization (BeS) and chronic beryllium disease (CBD) in a cohort of workers from a nuclear weapons research and development facility. METHODS We evaluated 50 workers with BeS with medical and occupational histories, physical examination, chest imaging with high-resolution computed tomography (N = 49), and pulmonary function testing. Forty of t...

Despite its high toxicity, beryllium is widely used because of its unique properties. Beryllium is toxic both as a carcinogen and as the agent that initiates chronic beryllium disease (CBD). CBD, a granulomatous lung disease, is a cellmediated immune response to inhaled beryllium in 6–20% of exposed individuals. Considerable invesitagations into the nature and effects of CBD have been conducted...

Toxic pulmonary disease from beryllium exposure first came to light in the 1930s, soon after the emergence of industrial uses of beryllium alloys. An early manufacturing application for beryllium compounds, as phosphors in fluorescent tubes, was the cause of some of the first known cases of chronic beryllium disease (CBD) (first termed “pulmonary granulomatosis of beryllium workers”). However, ...

REFERENCES 1 Global Initiative for Asthma. Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention. Updated 2011. www.ginasthma.org/ uploads/users/files/GINA_Report2011_May4.pdf 2 Juniper EF, O’Byrne PM, Guyatt GH, et al. Development and validation of a questionnaire to measure asthma control. Eur Respir J 1999; 14: 902–907. 3 Schatz M, Sorkness CA, Li JT, et al. Asthma Control Test: reliability, ...

Beryllium is a lightweight metal with unique qualities related to stiffness, corrosion resistance, and conductivity. While there are many useful applications, researchers in the 1930s and 1940s linked beryllium exposure to a progressive occupational lung disease. Acute beryllium disease is a pulmonary irritant response to high exposure levels, whereas chronic beryllium disease (CBD) typically r...