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

A 62-year-old male, was admitted on Oct. 7, 1987 because of productive cough and dyspnea. He worked for an iron factory, where pneumoconiosis was regarded as an occupational disease, for 40 years. No abnormal finding had been noted on his mass screening chest roentgenograms. He was well until three years ago when hypertension and Parkinsonism were noted. Since then he was treated with beta blockers, L-DOPA, amantadine and bromocriptine. Two weeks before admission, he suddenly complained of dyspnea and productive cough. His chest roentgenograms showed diffuse reticulonodular infiltration in both lung fields. The partial pressure of oxygen of the arterial blood was 65.9 Torr. The first transbronchial lung biopsy obtained from right B8 on Sept. 29, 1987 (before the admission) revealed some epithelioid granulomas and the second biopsy obtained from right B10 on Oct. 14, 1987 demonstrated bronchiolar edema and infiltration of inflammatory cells. Fibrotic changes associated with carbon dust between airways and vessels were also noted. Lymphocyte stimulation index by bromocriptine was 362%, and that by amantadine, 139%, L-DOPA, 150%, respectively. After ceasing the administration of bromocriptine, productive cough, dyspnea and the reticulonodular shadows diminished gradually. These findings strongly suggest that the interstitial pulmonary lesions are bromocriptine-induced interstitial pneumonitis. His occupational exposure to inorganic dust may be a predisposing factor.
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PMID:[A case of bromocriptine-induced interstitial pneumonitis in an iron factory worker exposed to sand dust]. 261 76

Possible associations between the incidence of progressive massive fibrosis (PMF) over periods of average length 11 years during 1963-80 and a range of explanatory variables, both environmental and medical, were examined in a study group of 4772 miners and ex-miners using case-control methods. Cases were members of the study group who developed PMF during the study period; controls were men who remained free of the disease. Cases and controls were matched on cumulative dust exposure to the start of the study period, colliery of employment, and whether or not employment before and during the study period had been at a single colliery only. Of 257 cases of PMF, 142 were matched to four controls each, 39 to three controls, 33 to two controls, and 31 to a single control only. Twelve cases could not be matched. Age and category of simple pneumoconiosis were each found to be associated with the incidence of PMF, confirming the results of many previous studies. Quetelet's index of body mass (a measure of weight, normalised for height) was found to differ considerably between cases and controls, cases tending to be lighter for their height. The difference did not vary significantly between three groups of collieries, defined by coal rank. Regression analysis confirmed the high level of statistical significance of the difference (p less than 0.001), allowing for the effects of age and prior category of simple pneumoconiosis. Of the environmental factors considered, an index of residence time of dust in the lungs was found to have the most statistically significant association with the incidence of PMF. The crudeness of the measure used, however, together with unreliability in estimates of early exposure to dust for some of the men studied, means that further work is necessary to investigate the magnitude and significance of this apparent association. In low and medium rank collieries there were large differences between the proportion of cases and controls showing a range of respiratory symptoms, cases consistently displaying a higher prevalence. In the high rank collieries of south Wales, however, symptoms occurred with equal frequency in cases and controls, the prevalence at these collieries being the same as among cases generally. Regression analysis (low and medium rank collieries only) showed that the presence of breathlessness was the symptom most strongly associated with the risk of attack of PMF, allowing for the effects of age and Quetelet's index.
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PMID:Factors associated with the development of progressive massive fibrosis in British coalminers: a case-control study. 278 63

A study of the health of 78 workers in an iron and steel foundry in Vancouver, British Columbia, was carried out and the results compared with those found in 372 railway repair yard workers who were not significantly exposed to air contaminants at work. The foundry workers were exposed to PepSet, which consists of diphenyl methane diisocyanate (MDI) and phenol formaldehyde and their decomposition products as well as to silica containing particulates. A questionnaire was administered by trained interviewers, and chest radiography, allergy skin tests, pulmonary function tests, and methacholine inhalation tests were carried out as well as measurement levels of dust and MDI. Compared with the controls, the foundry workers had more respiratory symptoms and a significantly lower mean FEV1 and FEF25-75% after adjustments had been made for differences in age, height, and smoking habit. Three workers (4.8%) had radiographic evidence of pneumoconiosis and 12 (18.2%) had asthma defined as presence of bronchial hyperreactivity, cough, and additional respiratory symptoms such as wheeze, chest tightness, or breathlessness. Sensitisation to MDI is probably the cause of asthma in these workers.
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PMID:Respiratory abnormalities among workers in an iron and steel foundry. 298 92

We conducted a double-blind, randomized crossover trial to evaluate whether oral terbutaline (2.5 mg orally three times daily for a week) increased the force of diaphragmatic contraction in normocapnic patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Ten patients with moderate to severe airway obstruction completed the trail. Compared with placebo, terbutaline produced a mean increase of 5.8 cmH2O in peak inspiratory mouth pressure and a mean increase of 5.0 cmH2O in transdiaphragmatic pressure during a maximal inspiratory manoeuvre. These small changes with terbutaline failed to achieve statistical significance. Also, terbutaline failed to alter flow rates (FEV1, Vmax50) or patients' dyspnoea ratings using two separate clinical scales (Pneumoconiosis Research Unit Score and the Modified Dyspnoea Index). Because all observed changes in respiratory muscle strength were small and because the trial had power to detect small changes in inspiratory mouth pressures, we suggest that oral terbutaline at the dose administered in this study has little noteworthy effect on respiratory muscle strength in normocapnic patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
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PMID:Terbutaline and diaphragm function in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a double-blind randomized clinical trial. 307 4

The predominant shapes of small opacities on the chest radiographs of 895 British coalminers have been studied. The aims were to determine whether irregular (as distinct from rounded) small opacities can be identified reproducibly, whether their occurrence is related to dust exposure, and whether they are associated with excess prevalence of respiratory symptoms or impairments of lung function. Six of the doctors responsible for regular radiological surveys of all British coalminers each classified all 895 radiographs twice and independently, using the International Labour Organisation's 1980 classification system. The majority view was that 39 films showed predominantly irregular small opacities, 131 showed predominantly small rounded opacities, and 587 showed no small opacities. Readers' opinions varied about the presence and shapes of shadows on the other 138 films. In general, consistency between readers (and within readers on repeated viewings) was satisfactory. The occurrence and profusion of irregular shadows were related significantly both to the men's ages and additionally to their cumulative exposure to respirable coalmine dust as determined from 15 years' dust monitoring close to where the miners had worked. For any given level of exposure, the average level of profusion of the small irregular opacities was less than the corresponding profusion of small rounded opacities. The prevalence rates of chronic cough and phlegm, and of breathlessness, were higher in those with small irregular opacities than in those with no small opacities (category 0/0), but the differences were not statistically significant after adjustment for other factors including smoking habits. The presence of irregular (but not rounded) small shadows was associated with an impairment in respiratory function averaging about 190 ml deficits in both FEV1 and FVC. These deficits were not explicable in terms of the men's ages, body sizes, and smoking habits and they were in addition to the lung function losses attributable to the miners' dust exposure as such. It is concluded that the presence and profusion of small irregular opacities should be taken into consideration when assessing the severity of coalworkers' simple pneumoconiosis.
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PMID:Irregularly shaped small shadows on chest radiographs, dust exposure, and lung function in coalworkers' pneumoconiosis. 334 87

After a case of advanced pneumoconiosis occurred in a dental laboratory technician, 31 other dental technicians and 30 control subjects controlled for smoking habits, sex, and age were investigated. More technicians (55%) than controls (30%) had at least grade 1 dyspnoea (p greater than 0.05). Multiple regression analysis showed that 13 technicians who had produced dental prostheses for at least 15 years had consistently lower lung function (FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, MEF50, and DCO single breath), although the differences were not statistically significant. All mean lung function values for technicians and controls were within normal limits. Increases in MEF50 after breathing 80% helium and 20% O2 failed to show small airways dysfunction among the technicians. Of the six with radiological pneumoconiosis (5 simple, 1 advanced) four had symptoms. All three biopsy specimens showed varying degrees of pulmonary fibrosis. DCO single breath was diminished in four of the six. One male dental technician had scleroderma and possibly Erasmus syndrome. Blind readings showed an increased number of suspicious chest x rays films (greater than or equal to category 0/1) among older smokers and ex-smokers (p = 0.013) regardless of occupation. Our results support other evidence that dental technicians are at risk of developing pneumoconiosis. Therefore, adequate hygienic control of dental laboratories is indicated.
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PMID:Small opacities among dental laboratory technicians in Copenhagen. 337 11

A cross-sectional study to assess prevalence of respiratory abnormality was conducted among 107 South African foundry workers. The prevalence of pneumoconiosis was 10.3% overall, increasing to 38% for workers with more than 15 years of service. Dyspnea was present in 38% of workers, chronic simple bronchitis in 15.9%, and asthmatic symptoms in 27%. Pneumoconiosis was not associated with higher prevalence rates of other respiratory abnormalities. The high overall prevalence of respiratory symptoms might be explained by exposure to environmental pollutants other than dust.
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PMID:A respiratory epidemiological survey of workers in a small South African foundry. 349 78

When breathlessness is described in conventional clinical indexes-such as the Pneumoconiosis Research Unit score or the Medical Research Council index-the ratings depend only on the magnitude of the most taxing task that the patient can perform. No attention is given to the patient's effort in performing tasks or to the functional impairment produced by dyspnea in everyday activities. To improve the effectiveness and scope of the assessment, the patient's magnitude of effort and task, as well as functional impairment, were combined in a recently developed new index of dyspnea. In the current research, this new index has been further improved and tested. The ratings have been cited with more precise criteria, and the results of the Modified Dyspnea Index created by the new criteria have been compared with results of the conventional Pneumoconiosis Research Unit score, and with physiologic measurements of pulmonary function. For 32 patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the Modified Dyspnea Index had a moderate correlation with the Pneumoconiosis Research Unit score (Spearman rho = -0.62) and with the FEV1 (Pearson r = 0.71) and FVC (Pearson r = 0.69). Among patients with the same Pneumoconiosis Research Unit score, however, the Modified Dyspnea Index scores showed a substantial gradient. Ratings with both the previous and the modified new dyspnea indexes correlated most strongly with respiratory muscle strength, supporting the idea that dyspnea is mediated by alteration of respiratory muscle function.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Further specification and evaluation of a new clinical index for dyspnea. 378 15

The respiratory health of 259 white males working at 5 salt (NaCl) mines was assessed by questionnaire, chest radiographs, and air and He-O2 spirometry. Response variables were symptoms, pneumoconiosis, and spirometry. Predictor variables included age, height, smoking, mine, and tenure in diesel-exposed jobs. The purpose was to assess the association of response measures of respiratory health with exposure to diesel exhaust. There were only 2 cases of Grade 1 pneumoconiosis, so no further analysis was done. Comparisons within the study population showed a statistically significant dose-related association of phlegm and diesel exposure. There was a nonsignificant trend for cough and dyspnea, and no association with spirometry. Age- and smoking-adjusted rates of cough, phlegm, and dyspnea were 145, 159, and 93% of an external comparison population. Percent predicted flow rates showed statistically significant reductions, but the reductions were small and there were no dose-response relations. Percent predicted FEV1 and FVC were about 96% of predicted.
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PMID:Respiratory effects of diesel exhaust in salt miners. 619 46

Pneumoconiosis was diagnosed in 10 patients working in a silicon factory. The exposure time varied between seven and thirty-five years. All patients had only slight or no symptoms, except one presenting an important dyspnea. The radiologic study showed an interstitial syndrome. The functional lung test revealed a restrictive syndrome. Seven patients underwent fibroscopy with alveolar washing and transbronchial biopsy. A surgical biopsy was performed in two patients. The histological lesions showed an accumulation of alveolar and interstitial macrophages and the existence of fibrous interstitial micronodules. The ultrastructural study revealed an interstitial fibrosis. The macrophages contained numerous dense, homogenous small spheres of amorphous structure, composed of silicon and oxygen. These spheres represent amorphous silica smoke particles. Less than 1% of the particles are crystalline silica. Thus, the amorphous silica particles seem to be responsible for the histological and radiological lesions observed.
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PMID:[Pneumoconiosis due to amorphous silica smoke. Mineralogical and ultrastructural study of 6 cases (author's transl)]. 626 15


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