A cross sectional study of 297 white male workers employed in a large beryllium plant was conducted to test the hypothesis that long term exposure to beryllium is associated with decrements in pulmonary function. Spirometric measurement of pulmonary function, chest radiographs, and arterial blood gas measurements were collected. After controlling for age, height, and smoking in multivariate reg...

BACKGROUND The ACE gene contains a polymorphism consisting of either the presence (insertion, I) or absence (deletion, D) of a 287 bp alu repeat in intron 16. The D allele is associated with increased ACE activity in both tissue and plasma. The DD genotype is associated with risk of developing ARDS and mortality. The frequency of the D allele is higher in patients with pulmonary fibrosis, sarco...

Sarcoidosis is a chronic, systemic granulomatous reticulosis of unknown origin, characterized by formation of hard tubercles and noncaseatinggranulomas. Since other infectious diseases such as berylliosis, mycobacterium and fungal infections may present with a noncaseating granulomas, histological diagnosis of sarcoidosis is made using the elimination method. Central nervous system manifestatio...

India is a country richly endowed with mineral deposits. In India, the mining sector is a core industrial sector and is crucial for the economic growth of the country. Since almost all the mineral rich districts lie in the backward areas and are inhabited by tribals, tribal labour constitutes a large proportion of the workforce involved in the mining sector. Tribals are mostly illiterate and ar...

Chronic beryllium disease (CBD) is an exposure-related granulomatous disease mimicking sarcoidosis. Beryllium exposure-associated disease occurs mainly via inhalation, but skin may also be a source of sensitization. A 65-year-old male with a history of war-related shrapnel wounds was initially diagnosed with pulmonary sarcoidosis. Twenty years later, the possibility of a metal-related etiology ...

Beryllium is a lightweight metal which causes a chronic granulomatous lung disease among workers who become sensitized to it. Recent research has shown a persistence of the disease despite efforts at control with mean exposures below the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) occupational exposure limit of 2 microg/m3. Results of our current research confirm a previous finding in ...

Chronic beryllium disease results from beryllium exposure in the workplace and is characterized by CD4(+) T cell-mediated inflammation in the lung. Susceptibility to this disease is associated with particular HLA-DP alleles. We isolated beryllium-specific T cell lines from the lungs of affected patients. These CD4(+) T cell lines specifically responded to beryllium in culture in the presence of...

Definition T HE term cor pulmonale is genierally used to define the cardiac complications of certain forms of lung disease. From knowledge gathered in the recent past, it is apparent that a number of disease processes that attack pulmonary funetioni in a variety of ways can produce circulatory embarrassment. The mechanisms by which they do so may be fundamentally different and indeed the lungs ...

T he belief that a genetic susceptibility to the development of sarcoidosis exists is supported by several lines of evidence: 1) monozygotic twins are more often concordant for the disease than dizygotic twins; 2) sarcoidosis patients are more likely than healthy subjects to report a sibling or parent affected with the disease; 3) prevalence, incidence and severity of sarcoidosis vary widely am...

With the advent of in vitro immunologic testing, we can now detect exposed individuals who are sensitized to beryllium and those who have chronic beryllium disease (CBD) with lung pathology and impairment. Earlier detection and more accurate diagnostic tools raise new questions about the natural history of sensitization and granulomatous disease. Preliminary data suggest that early detection id...