Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0032273 (pneumoconiosis)
 1,578 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Induced sputum by inhalation of hypertonic saline solution is a noninvasive technique used to collect cellular and soluble material from lung airways. During the past decade, this method has been widely used to assess airway inflammation in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, since it produces reliable results and compares favorably to other invasive techniques, such as biopsy and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). Induced sputum has been recently used to study interstitial lung disease (ILD), more specifically pneumoconiosis, sarcoidosis, and nongranulomatous ILD. Moreover, results from induced sputum supplied information comparable to BAL findings for occupational lung disease and were able to distinguish sarcoidosis patients from healthy subjects and from patients with nongranulomatous ILD. Although induced sputum had previously provided promising results in assessing patients with ILD, its diagnostic role has not yet been well defined. Further studies of the evaluation by induced sputum of grading of severity, follow-up of disease, and effects of treatment are needed. Additionally, to date no specific studies have been undertaken to evaluate the safety and functional effects of sputum induction on patients with ILD. In conclusion, we think that induced sputum can be used as a complementary tool to BAL both in research and in clinical monitoring of patients with ILD.
 ...
PMID:Induced sputum: diagnostic value in interstitial lung disease. 1095 31

We present a case of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) diagnosed at autopsy, in which JC virus infection of the central nervous system was confirmed by means of electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry. The patient had been receiving steroid hormones due to suspected sarcoidosis or pneumoconiosis. Diffuse silicosis in lungs and in hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes was diagnosed at autopsy. Intranuclear inclusions, ultrastructurally typical of JC virus were found in some oligodendrocytes in the white matter. However the strongest immunopositive viral deposits were found in the cerebellar cortex, also within Purkinje cells. Numerous apparently apoptotic cells seen in white matter suggest that this mechanism of cell elimination plays an important role in PML pathogenesis and hence anti-apoptotic treatment may alleviate the symptoms and prolong survival.
 ...
PMID:Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in a patient with silicosis treated previously with steroids. A report of a case with JC virus infection confirmed immunohistochemically and by electron microscopy. 1097 34

The interest in sputum assessment as a non-invasive technique to retrieve cells and soluble material from the lung has increased and gained momentum during the last decade. As a marker of inflammation in airway diseases, induced sputum (IS) is a particularly promising procedure since it provides specific information on both the cellular and molecular constituents in inflammation. From 1950-1970, sputum cells had been examined on stained smears, with the procedure having been applied in both research and clinical settings. After having been recovered by spontaneous coughing, the cells were used to study lung cancer and respiratory infections and, later on, to diagnose Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in patients infected with human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV). The method was widely improved upon by the induction of sputum with aerosol of hypertonic saline and then extended to become part of the assessment of airway inflammation in bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It was recently shown that IS can be used to study interstitial lung diseases (ILD) and, more specifically, pneumoconiosis, sarcoidosis, non-granulomatous ILD and occupational lung diseases. In light of the fact that immunologic and functional bronchopulmonary abnormalities may be present in up to two-thirds of patients with Crohn's disease, we studied the use of IS in this condition as well. This review analyzes the value of IS and its present applications in pulmonary medicine.
Sarcoidosis Vasc Diffuse Lung Dis 2001 Oct
PMID:Induced sputum: opening a new window to the lung. 1158 97

Chronic exposure to high concentrations of fumes during aluminum arc welding causes a severe pneumoconiosis characterized by diffuse pulmonary accumulation of aluminum metal and a corresponding reduction in lung function. Aluminum fume-induced pneumoconiosis is a rarely reported entity, of which the true incidence is unknown. We report the clinical, radiographic, microscopic, and microanalytic results of 2 coworkers, employed by the same aluminum shipbuilding facility, who died of complications from this disease. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray analysis of the exogenous particle content in the lung tissue of these cases revealed the highest concentrations of aluminum particles (average of 9.26 billion aluminum particles per cm(3) of lung tissue) among the 812 similar analyses in our pneumoconiosis database. One patient had an original clinical diagnosis of sarcoidosis but no evidence of granulomatous inflammation.
 ...
PMID:Aluminum welding fume-induced pneumoconiosis. 1220 15

Exposures in the workplace result in a diverse set of diseases ranging from the pneumoconiosis to other interstitial lung diseases to acute lung injury. Physician awareness of the potential disease manifestations associated with specific exposures is important in defining these diseases and in preventing additional disease. Most occupational diseases mimic other forms of lung disease, including pulmonary fibrosis, sarcoidosis, adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and bronchiolitis. A "sarcoidosis"-like syndrome, usually limited to the lungs, may result from exposure to bioaerosols and a number of metals. Exposure to beryllium in the workplace produces a granulomatous lung disease clinically indistinguishable from sarcoidosis, chronic beryllium disease (CBD). Beryllium's ability to produce a beryllium-specific immune response is used in the beryllium lymphocyte proliferation tests to confirm a diagnosis of CBD and exclude sarcoidosis. Exposure to other metals must also be considered in the differential diagnosis of sarcoidosis. When an individual presents acutely with ARDS or acute lung injury, an acute inhalational exposure must be considered. Exposure to a number of irritant substances at high levels may cause a "chemical pneumonitis" or acute lung injury, depending on the solubility and physicochemical properties of the substance. Some of the most notable agents include nitrogen and sulfur oxides, phosgene, and smoke breakdown products. Ingestion of paraquat may also result in an ARDS syndrome, with pulmonary fibrosis eventually resulting. Bronchiolitis is a rare manifestation of inhalational exposures but must also be considered in the clinical evaluation of inhalational exposure.
 ...
PMID:Clinical approach to chronic beryllium disease and other nonpneumoconiotic interstitial lung diseases. 1236 66

This article reviews the high-resolution computed tomography imaging features of miliary pattern, a characteristic radiologic manifestation of diffuse micronodular lung disease. The most common entities with this pattern are miliary tuberculosis, pneumoconiosis, sarcoidosis, metastases, and hypersensitivity pneumonia. According to the distribution of the nodules in relation to the secondary lobule, high-resolution computed tomography findings divide miliary patterns into 3 groups: centrilobular, perilymphatic, and random presentation. The radiologic features that help in the differential diagnosis are discussed.
 ...
PMID:Miliary lung disease revisited. 1241 99

The role of the fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) technique positron emission tomography (PET) is well established in the management of patients with lung cancer. Increasingly, it is becoming evident that FDG-PET can be effectively employed to diagnose a variety of benign pulmonary disorders. Knowledge of such applications further expands the domain of this powerful modality and further improves the ability to differentiate benign from malignant diseases of the chest. We describe pertinent technical factors that substantially contribute to optimal imaging of the thoracic structures. Particularly, the complementary role of attenuation correction (AC) to that of non-AC images is emphasized. We further outline the need for and the state of the art for co-registration of PET and anatomic images for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. We then review patterns of physiologic uptake of FDG in thoracic structures, including the lung, the heart, the aorta and large arteries, esophagus, thymus, trachea, thoracic muscles, bone marrow, and joints and alterations following radiation therapy to the thorax. A great deal of information is provided with regard to differentiating benign from malignant nodules and in particular, we emphasize the role of dual time point imaging and partial volume correction for accurate assessment of such lesions. Following a brief review of the diagnostic issues related to the assessment of mediastinal adenopathies, the role of FDG-PET imaging in environment-induced lung diseases, including pneumoconiosis, smoking, and asthma are described. A large body of information is provided about the role of this technology in the management of patients with suspected infection and inflammation of the lungs such as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, fever of unknown origin, sarcoidosis, chronic granulomatous disease and monitoring the disease process and response to therapy. Finally, the value of FDG-PET in differentiating benign from malignant diseases of the pleura including asbestosis-related disorders is described at the conclusion of this comprehensive review.
 ...
PMID:Positron emission tomography imaging in nonmalignant thoracic disorders. 1252 53

Diffuse interstitial lung diseases caused by exogenous factors can be divided into those that arise as a result of a progressive accumulation of (mainly) mineral particles in the lung parenchyma, and those that essentially result from a particular susceptibility of the host for specific agents. The former category consists mainly of silicosis, coal worker's pneumoconiosis and asbestosis, as well as other mineral pneumoconioses. The latter category contains extrinsic allergic alveolitis, which is mainly caused by the inhalation of bio-aerosols, chronic beryllium disease and other sarcoid-like diseases, and hard-metal or cobalt lung. Individual susceptibility is based on a genetic tendency for becoming immunologically sensitized (demonstrated for beryllium) and/or possibly on a poor defense against oxidative stress (probably relevant for cobalt). Recent outbreaks of interstitial lung disease resulting from inhalatory exposure to some polymers ("Ardystil syndrome" and "flock worker's lung") show that one should remain vigilant for the occurrence of novel occupational causes of pulmonary disease.
 ...
PMID:[Diffuse interstitial lung disorders caused by the environment and occupation]. 1496 37

High resolution computed tomography (HRCT) enables imaging of morphological changes invisible on plain chest radiograms or conventional CT. This is related to thin collimations of the scans and sharp (bone) algorithm of image reconstruction. In HRCT the lung interstitium may be evaluated at the level of the smallest functional unit, namely pulmonary lobule. Nodular changes are among the most frequent morphological changes in interstitial lung diseases. The aim of the study is evaluation of frequency and character of nodular changes in HRCT in interstitial lung diseases. HRCT enables imaging of nodular changes in miliary tuberculosis, before they are visible on radiograms. Perilymphatic nodules are typical in sarcoidosis, lymphangitic spread of carcinoma and pneumoconiosis. In sarcoidosis nodules predominate along the peribronchovascular cuffs and in subpleural regions, in lymphangitic spread of carcinoma they are septal and peribronchovascular. In pneumoconiosis nodules are centrilobular and subpleural. The assessment of character and localization of nodules in interstitial lung disease is not sufficient in reliable differentiation, but may be helpful in differential diagnosis in association in other HRCT findings.
 ...
PMID:Differentiation of etiology of nodular changes in high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) in interstitial lung diseases. 1532 21

A large and diverse group of pathologic conditions manifests clinically and radiologically as diffuse parenchymal lung disease. Diffuse interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) encompass mainly inflammatory processes that involve the structural elements of this organ. Some ILDs are caused by infections, but most are the result of immunologic, environmental, or toxic mechanisms. Currently, less morbid sampling techniques have increased dramatically the probability that pulmonologists will be faced with establishing a specific and clinically relevant diagnosis using surgical lung biopsy material. Most of the concepts presented in this article have been established using this type of specimen. In the early years of surgical lung biopsy, a small number of diffuse inflammatory conditions came to light that exclusively involved the lungs and did not seem to be caused by infection, toxin, sarcoidosis, pneumoconiosis, or neoplasm. In this article, these idiopathic disorders are discussed in the context of their dominant pathologic findings rather than presented as a separate group of entities.
 ...
PMID:Pathology of interstitial lung disease. 1556 15


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next >>