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Query: UMLS:C0032273 (pneumoconiosis)
 1,578 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A series of respirable dusts from British collieries was collected and analysed for mineral content and physical characteristics. Where possible 2 samples of dust were collected from the same site at 8-month intervals. All dusts were tested for their cytotoxic potential using a permanent line of macrophage-like cells (P388D1). In addition, for some dusts, a haemolytic technique was used. With both techniques a positive overall correlation was found between cytotoxicity and the total ash content of the dusts. When the results from collieries producing high- and low-rank coals were considered separately, however, it was found that the ash content of high-rank dusts (r=0.75) showed a much closer correlation with cytotoxicity than low-rank dusts (r=0.40). With the cell test system the ash components, kaolin and mica (r=0.58) and to a lesser extent quartz (r=0.48) showed significant positive correlations with cytotoxicity for high-rank coal dusts but not for low. Using the haemolytic system, however, only the quartz content of the high-rank dusts showed a significant relationship (r=0.69) to levels of haemoglobin release. Both the results of mineralogical analysis of dust samples and cytotoxicity tests showed that the mineral content and cytotoxic potential of dusts collected from the same colliery, and even from the same underground site, at different times, varied considerably. A poor correlation was found between cytotoxicity and various measurements of pneumoconiosis risk but this may well be partly due to this great variation of dust composition with time. In general, the overall results of this study were in good agreement with those of previous work on coal dust toxicity in that both the rank and composition of colliery dusts were found to be of importance, whereas the role of quartz remained enigmatic.
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PMID:An investigation into the cytotoxicity of respirable dusts from British collieries. 51 22

Fly ash was collected from two municipal refuse incinerators. It was analyzed for heavy metals, elements, and a wide range of toxic organics. It was resuspended in air for inhalation exposure of guinea pigs. These animals were exposed at high concentrations of each ash 6 h/d for 5 d, and tissues were taken 45 d after the exposure. Following the first exposure and after each daily exposure the ventilatory response of these animals upon challenge with CO2 was found to be depressed. Recovery occurred following exposure. Heavy metals, cadmium, lead, zinc, and mercury were elevated in the lungs of these animals. Histologic evaluation of pulmonary tissue revealed multifocal pneumoconiosis. Interstitial infiltration by macrophages and smooth muscle hypertrophy of blood vessels and bronchioles were also observed. There was no evidence of a dioxinlike toxic effect following inhalation of these ashes.
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PMID:Effects of inhaled municipal refuse incinerator fly ash in the guinea pig. 250 62

Using the national health insurance bills covering the one-year period from January through December 1987, the morbidity figures for respiratory diseases, conjunctivitis and dermatitis were compared among four local districts; Ushine, Kaikata, Kunugibaru and Shinjo, in the city of Tarumizu. The former two districts are 10 km south-east of Mt. Sakurajima supposedly experience higher volcanic ash exposure compared to the latter two located 10 to 15 km from this volcano. Results obtained are as follows; 1) Age-adjusted rates of patients' consultations and existing patients were apparently higher in the Ushine and Kaikata districts than in the Kunugibaru and Shinjo districts for non-infectious or infectious respiratory diseases and the common cold. For the rates of other diagnostic categories of disease, i.e., rhinitis, other respiratory diseases, conjunctivitis and dermatitis, a difference between the district was not clearly noted. These figures are suggestive of an association of volcanic air pollution with an increased number of outpatient consultations for respiratory problems. 2) Variations of monthly clinical consultations for patients with diagnoses of non-infectious or infectious respiratory diseases and the common cold showed a seasonality, being highest in winter and lowest in summer, while another seasonality, highest in summer and lowest in winter, was proved in the variation of monthly clinical consultations for patients with dermatitis. Few or no stable seasonalities were shown in the variations of monthly clinical consultations for patients with the other diseases, studied, rhinitis, other respiratory diseases and conjunctivitis. In addition, the variations in the monthly averages of sulfur dioxide concentrations showed a stable seasonality with the highest peak in winter and the lowest in summer but there was no stable seasonality in the monthly variations of total suspended particles at the place in Arimura for which air pollution data were available. These facts suggest that in the area exposed to volcanic air pollution, the seasonal variation in the number of monthly clinical consultations for respiratory problems is partly modified by the exposure levels of sulfur dioxide rather than total suspended particles, although no adjustments were made for climatologic factors. 3) A few patients diagnosed as having "pneumoconiosis" were found in the Ushine and Kaikata districts. However, it is difficult to interpret these cases without information about occupational and other risk factors for the development of pneumoconiosis.
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PMID:[Health effects of volcanic air pollution--an analysis of the national health insurance]. 264 93

The relation between dust exposure, retained lung dust, and pneumoconiosis have been examined in 430 dead coalminers who had participated in a large scale epidemiological survey of respiratory health. The men were divided into three groups depending on the presence of particular lesions in their lungs. Lungs containing no fibrotic lesions in excess of 1 mm were included in the "M" group, those with fibrotic lesions of between 1 mm and 9 mm in diameter were included in the "F" group, and those with any lesion 10 mm or more were categorised as having progressive massive fibrosis (PMF). The men were further divided into four groups according to the rank of coal mined at the colliery of employment. The mean weight of lung dust increased over the pathological range (M----F----PMF) regardless of the rank of coal mined. The men with PMF had not received unusually high exposures to dust in life but were found to have accumulated more dust in their lungs per unit of dust exposure than men without PMF, providing further evidence for differences in the patterns of deposition or clearance, or both, of dust in these men compared with those who do not develop PMF. For men who had mined the higher rank coals there was no difference in the composition of the lung dust between the pathological groups. Lungs from men mining low rank coal, however, showed a striking increase in the proportion of ash over the pathological groups (M, F, and PMF). In men who had mined low rank coal the proportion of ash in the airborne dust to which they had been exposed and in the dust retained in their lungs was, as expected, greater than in men who had worked with higher rank coals. For the same men, and particularly associated with the presence of some dust related fibrosis, the proportion of ash in retained dust was higher than that in the dust to which the men were exposed suggesting the occurrence of selective deposition or retention of the mineral components of dust in this group.
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PMID:Dust exposure, dust recovered from the lung, and associated pathology in a group of British coalminers. 380 30

The pulmonary response to a sedimented sample of Mount St. Helens' volcanic ash from the first eruption was studied at 1, 7, 28, 90, and 180 days postintratracheal administration of 1 or 10 mg of ash in specific-pathogen-free rats. One day administration of volcanic ash all animals exhibited a marked inflammatory cell response centered on respiratory bronchioles in which polymorphonuclear leukocytes predominated. At 7 days the reaction was characterized by mononuclear cellular infiltrates. The macrophages within the respiratory bronchioles and alveoli contained intracytoplasmic ash particles. At 28 days the intraalveolar aggregates of mononuclear cells had condensed to form granulomas. Most of the granulomas contained foreign body-type giant cells and some showed central necrosis. The granulomas enlarged in size from 28 days until the termination of the experiment at 180 days with progressive increase in the amount of collagenous tissue. The results of these studies suggest that the volcanic ash may pose a risk for pneumoconiosis in heavily exposed human populations.
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PMID:Pulmonary response to Mount St. Helens' volcanic ash. 621 72

Air dustiness and mineralogical composition of dust in 9 building ceramics plants producing red brick were tested. Also analysed were occupational diseases diagnosed in Poland during 1979-1980 in workers of this industry. Concentrations of total dust and respirable fraction at all workstations exceeded the present mandatory allowable values for dusts containing free crystalline silica. By X-ray diffraction, alpha-quartz and illite were found in raw materials (clays) and intermediate products (green brick). In burnt brick alpha-quartz and mullite were found. The content of free crystalline silica was: in clay--over 30%, in total dust--5.8-18.4%, in respirable fraction 3.7-6.1%. Analysis of occupational diseases diagnosed in Poland during 1979-1980 revealed not a single case of pneumoconiosis or any dust--induced respiratory tract disease in those producing red brick. Instead, two pneumoconiosis cases were found among workers of the plant producing thermallite firebrick of biologically aggressive siliceous earth from Piotrowice--as one of its component. Most frequently, workers of the building ceramics plant were afflicted with occupational dermatoses, mostly this relates to bricklayers exposed to cement mortar. Two cases of occupational dermatosis were those of workers exposed to ash.
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PMID:[Dust and occupational diseases in brickyards]. 630 86

Mice were injected intratracheally with silica or Mt. St. Helens volcanic ash (0.2 mg/g body weight) and examined 6 mo later for changes in pulmonary function, histology, and hydroxyproline content. Results were compared with a similar study using rats. Mice injected with volcanic ash showed significant changes only in wet lung weights. Those injected with silica showed an approximate doubling of lung wet weight and dry weight and hydroxyproline content. Larger increases in lung weight were seen if lymph nodes were left attached. Lung compliance, total lung capacity, and the shape of the pressure-volume curve of the lung were changed as much as 22% in the silica-treated mice. A mild degree of fibrosis with no dense lung consolidation was noted microscopically in silica-treated mice. In contrast, silica-treated rats showed dense lung consolidation, threefold to fivefold increases in both wet and dry lung weights and hydroxyproline content, and up to 40% reductions in pulmonary function measurements. It is concluded that Swiss albino mice develop a milder degree of fibrosis than similarly treated Sprague-Dawley rats and that both biochemical and functional indicators are effective in detecting pneumoconiosis in these species.
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PMID:Functional and biochemical indicators of pneumoconiosis in mice: comparison with rats. 649 83

The pathology and dust content of lungs from 261 coalminers in relation to the appearances of their chest radiographs taken within four years of death were examined. Radiological opacities of coalworkers' pneumoconiosis were more profuse the more dust was retained in lungs. Among the men who had mined low rank coal--that is, with a relatively high proportion of ash--the increase in profusion was most closely related to the ash component of the dust, whereas in men who had mined high rank coal both coal and ash increased in the lungs in relation to radiological profusion. The fine p type of opacity was found to be associated with more dust and a higher proportion of coal and less ash than the nodular r opacity, and was also more likely to be associated with emphysema. The pathological basis of the different types of opacity found on the radiographs of coalminers related to the number, size, and nodularity of the dust lesions. Larger fibrotic lesions were likely to appear as r opacities, whereas fine reticular dust deposition was most likely to present as p opacities, q opacities showing a mixture of appearances. The study has shown that the composition of dust retained in the lung, as well as its amount, makes an important contribution to the radiographic appearances of pneumoconiosis. In particular, the r type of lesion on the radiograph of a low rank coalminer indicates the possibility of a silicotic like lesion.
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PMID:Comparison of radiographic appearances with associated pathology and lung dust content in a group of coalworkers. 649 10

To investigate the pathogenicity of nickel oxide (NiO), hamsters received life-span exposures to that compound (approximately 55 mg/m3) seven hours per day, five days per week. Heavy pulmonary nickel oxide burdens resulted in pneumoconiosis but in no significant carcinogenicity, specific toxicity, or mortality. Two-month exposures of hamsters to nickel-enriched fly ash (NEFA) or fly ash (FA) aerosols (approximately 185 mg/m3) resulted in a deep lung burden of about 5.7 mg, dark discoloration of lungs, heavily dust-laden macrophages, and significantly higher lung weights than in controls, but only minimal inflammatory reaction and no deaths. The NEFA contained 9% nickel; FA contained 0.03% nickel. Exposure to aerosols of NEFA (70 or 15 mg/m3; 6% nickel) or FA (70 mg/m3; 0.3% nickel) for 20 months had no effect on body weight or life-span of the animals. Lung weights and volumes of the high-NEFA- and FA-exposed animals were higher than those of the low-NEFA group and controls. The incidence and severity of interstitial reaction and bronchiolization were significantly higher in the dust-exposed groups than in the controls. The severity of dust deposition, interstitial reaction, and bronchiolization was significantly lower in the low-NEFA group than in the high-NEFA and FA groups. Our findings revealed no significant nickel-specific toxicity/carcinogenicity in hamsters exposed to aerosols of nickel oxide or NEFA, but exposure to high concentrations of the oxide resulted in nonspecific dust pneumoconiosis.
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PMID:Pathogenicity of inhaled nickel compounds in hamsters. 653 79

The lungs of 450 coal miners who had been studied previously in a long-term epidemiologic project at 24 British mines have been examined post-mortem for signs of dust-related fibrosis and emphysema. Reliable estimates of cumulative (working-life) exposures to respirable mine dust were available for 342 of the men. The relative frequency of emphysema increased with age at death, and both panacinar and centriacinar emphysema occurred more frequently in smokers than in nonsmokers. The proportion of subjects with any emphysema was 47% in 92 men with no palpable dust lesions, 65% in 183 with small, simple pneumoconiotic lesions, and 83% in 175 miners with massive fibrosis (PMF). The chance of finding centriacinar emphysema in those with PMF increased significantly with increasing exposure to coal dust in life (p less than 0.025). A similar but less convincing relationship was found in those with simple pneumoconiosis (p less than 0.11), but in both groups, increasing amounts of ash with a given exposure to coal reduced the probability of finding centriacinar emphysema. The occurrence of centriacinar emphysema was associated also with increasing amounts of dust retained in the lungs. A preliminary exploration of this association did not support the hypothesis that emphysematous lungs clear dust less efficiently. We conclude that the association observed between exposure to respirable coal dust and emphysema in coal miners indicates a causal relationship. However, because it can be demonstrated only for men whose lungs show some dust-related fibrosis, it is suggested that the extent and nature of such fibrosis may be a crucial factor in determining the presence of centriacinar emphysema.
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PMID:Emphysema and dust exposure in a group of coal workers. 671 95


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