Chronic beryllium disease (CBD) is caused by beryllium exposure and is characterized by granulomatous inflammation with accumulation of CD4+ T cells in the lung. We analyzed TCR beta-chain and alpha-chain genes expressed by these CD4+ T cells. In the lungs of individual patients, as well as among four of five CBD patients studied, different oligoclonal expansions within the Vbeta3 subset were f...

Occupational lung diseases (OLDs) are related to the exposure and inhalation of organic, inorganic, and synthetic particles, fumes, gases, or infectious agents. From the long list of OLDs this article focuses the discussion on bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) in parenchymal immunoinflammatory conditions, such as hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) and pneumoconiosis. Several antigens may cause HP, in...

Chronic beryllium disease (CBD) is characterized by granulomatous inflammation and the accumulation of CD4(+) T cells in the lung. Patch testing of CBD patients with beryllium sulfate results in granulomatous inflammation in the skin. We investigated whether the T cell clonal populations present in the lung of CBD patients would also be present in the involved skin of a positive beryllium patch...

"Sarcoidosis is a systemic granulomatous disease of undetermined aetiology and pathogenesis. Mediastinal and peripheral lymph nodes, lungs, liver, spleen, skin, eyes, phalangeal bones, and parotid glands are most often involved, but other organs or tissues may be affected. The Kveim reaction is frequently positive, and tuberculin-type hypersensitivities are frequently depressed. Other important...

BACKGROUND Exposure to beryllium may lead to granuloma formation and fibrosis in those who develop chronic beryllium disease (CBD). Although disease presentation varies from mild to severe, little is known about CBD phenotypes. This study characterized CBD disease phenotypes using longitudinal measures of lung function. METHODS Using a case-only study of 207 CBD subjects, subject-specific tra...

Chronic beryllium disease is an occupational lung disease that begins as a cell-mediated immune response to beryllium. Although respiratory and engineering controls have significantly decreased occupational beryllium exposures over the last decade, the rate of beryllium sensitization has not declined. We hypothesized that skin exposure to beryllium particles would provide an alternative route f...

(1) Although Dr David Michaels currently serves as the Assistant Secretary for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), US Department of Labor, this article was written while he served on the faculty of The George Washington University. It reflects the personal views of the authors, and does not purport to reflect the official views or positions of OSHA or the Department of Lab...

Chronic beryllium disease (CBD) is a rare disease characterized by diffuse interstitial pulmonary granulomatosis. We report a case of CBD which exhibited marked improvement both subjectively and objectively following pulse therapy. The patient was a 36-year-old man whose chief complaint was dyspnea and a dry cough. Since July 1990, the patient had been working in the development of an automatic...

Alterations in cellular and fibrous tissue reaction due to cortisone and A.C.T.H. have been demonstrated in human beings by several workers such as Freeman, Fershing, Wang, and Smith (1950), and by Cavallero, Sala, Amira, and Borasi (1951) in the carbon tetrachloride necrosis of rats' livers. The influence of cortisone on the phagocytic action of the reticulo-endothelial system on carbon partic...

CONTEXT Although chronic beryllium disease (CBD) is clearly an immune-mediated granulomatous reaction to beryllium, acute beryllium disease (ABD) is commonly considered an irritative chemical phenomenon related to high exposures. Given reported new cases of ABD and projected increased demand for beryllium, we aimed to reevaluate the patho physiologic associations between ABD and CBD using two c...