Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0034067 (emphysema)
 11,506 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Elastase release from cultured, activated and nonactivated rabbit alveolar macrophages (AM) was investigated after stimulation by different environmentally related mineral dusts (50-1000 micrograms/10(6) cells). Eight different dusts were analyzed for element contents and grain size: one rural and three urban airborne dusts, a coarse and a fine fraction of a sieved waste incinerator fly ash, a sonicated coarse fly ash fraction, and the standard quartz dust DQ 12. The fine fly ash fraction, the sonicated coarse fly ash fraction, and the quartz dust DQ 12 enhanced elastase release by activated AM. Only one of the tested airborne dusts effected a comparable elastase release. The untreated coarse fraction of the fly ash did not cause a significant increase of extracellular elastase activities. Elastase release was dependent on particle numbers and chemical composition and correlated best with barium and tin contents. Nonactivated AM released higher elastase activities than activated AM at low-dose levels. The possible role of dust-induced elastase secretion in the pathogenesis of emphysema is discussed.
 ...
PMID:Effects of quartz, airborne particulates and fly ash fractions from a waste incinerator on elastase release by activated and nonactivated rabbit alveolar macrophages. 283 83

There was analysed the behaviour of the pulmonary tissue in white Wistar female rats exposed to a single effect of electroenergetic ashes from a few Polish power stations, hasting plants and electrohasting plants. The animals received a single 0.6 ml dose of the ashes in suspension of physiologic fluid intratracheally; 3 and 6 months after the experiment, the animals were decapitated and material for examinations was collected. Grains of used ashes were then assessed under the scanning electron microscope. Segments were stained with hematoxyline and cosine and by Masson's method. All the ashes caused inflammatory infiltrations, granulomas containing grains of the examined ash, fibrosis, thickening of interalveolar septa, atelectasis, and emphysema. The experiment resulted in a disturbance of biological balance of pulmonary connective tissue (stroma) due to the action of the ashes.
 ...
PMID:[Experimental comparative studies of the reactibility of lung tissue to intratracheally introduced ash produced by power plants]. 369 8

Rats were exposed by inhalation to 9.4 mg/m3 size-fractionated volcanic ash for 5 days (2 hr/day) and examined for changes in pulmonary function and histology for periods of up to 1 year. Fine-mode volcanic ash, SO2, and a combination of ash and SO2 produced no observable effects in normal rats and rats with elastase-induced emphysema. However, there was a mild irritant response to SO2 which was not influenced by the volcanic ash. Rats injected intratracheally with fine-mode volcanic ash or saline showed no evidence of pulmonary alterations after 6 months. Those injected with coarse-mode volcanic ash showed minor pulmonary functional changes, histologically detectable alveolitis, and small increases in lung weight. In contrast, quartz-injected rats showed large alterations in pulmonary function, lung weight, hydroxyproline levels, and large areas of lung consolidation and fibrosis.
 ...
PMID:Inhalation studies of Mt. St. Helens volcanic ash in animals. II. Lung function, biochemistry, and histology. 399 43

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.
 ...
PMID:Comparison of radiographic appearances with associated pathology and lung dust content in a group of coalworkers. 649 10

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.
 ...
PMID:Emphysema and dust exposure in a group of coal workers. 671 95

The CO2 laser is a precision surgical laser because of its high degree of absorption in soft tissue with limited lateral damage. The tissue, which absorbs the CO2 laser energy, and has a high water content, will be converted to vapor with a small residue of ash and a by-product of heat. The laser can only be effective if these by-products, i.e. vapors, heat, and carbon ash residue, are not injurious and are well tolerated by the joint. These by-products must be either reabsorbed by the synovium or remain as a nonviable substance in the joint. From April 1989 through April 1990, 40 patients underwent 43 operative arthroscopies of the knee using the Pfizer CO2 laser. All procedures were chondroplasties, synovectomies, and/or meniscectomies. All accessible CO2 carbon ash residue was removed from the joint after the procedures using an intraarticular shaver and hand rasp. Postoperatively there were no cases of hemorrhagic effusions, subcutaneous emphysema, or synovitis. Histologic examinations performed on 10 patients undergoing subsequent surgery showed no evidence of carbon ash residue or synovitis seen grossly or microscopically. The carbon ash residue is not noxious to the joint and is completely removed from the joint, presumably by the synovial response.
 ...
PMID:The synovial response after CO2 laser arthroscopy of the knee. 828 Mar 30

Coal fly ashes (CFA) are complex particles of a variable composition, which is mainly dependent on the combustion process, the source of coal and the precipitation technique. Toxic constituents in these particles are considered to be metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and silica. The purpose of this review was to study the in vitro and in vivo data on coal fly ash and relate the studied endpoints to the role of (crystalline) silica, considering its recent classification as a human carcinogen. For most of the effects coal mine dust was chosen as a reference, since it contains up to 10% of crystalline silica (alpha-quartz) and is well studied both in vivo and in vitro. Most studies on fly ash toxicity were not designed to elucidate the effect of its silica-content nor did they include coal mine dust as a reference. Taking this into account, both in vitro and in vivo experimental studies show lower toxicity, inflammatory potential and fibrogenicity of CFA compared to silica and coal mine dust. Although in vitro and in vivo studies suggest genotoxic effects of fly ash, the data are limited and do not clarify the role of silica. Epidemiological studies in fly ash exposed working populations have found no evidence for effects commonly seen in coal workers (pneumoconiosis, emphysema) with the exception of airway obstruction at high exposure. In conclusion, the available data suggest that the hazard of coal fly ash is not to be assessed by merely adding the hazards of individual components. A closer investigation of 'matrix' effects on silica's toxicity in general seems an obligatory step in future risk assessment on fly ashes and other particles that incorporate silica as a component.
 ...
PMID:Toxicity and occupational health hazards of coal fly ash (CFA). A review of data and comparison to coal mine dust. 937 25

In a dairy herd of 21 cows which were on pasture during the day at the end of May 2002, four eight years old cows were suddenly inappetent and showed severe diarrhoea consisting of black discolorate feces. A few days after the onset of the disease, three affected cows exhibited neurological disorders. These cows were admitted to the IInd Medical Clinic of the University for Veterinary Medicine in Vienna. Following clinical signs were observed: circulatory weakness, anorexia, atony of the rumen, diarrhoea and in accordance with acute lead poisoning typical signs of the central nervous system. One cow died and the other two animals were euthanized. Results of blood testing were anaemia, basophil spotting of erythrocytes, increase of liver enzymes and CK, hypocalcaemia, decrease of potassium and phosphate. The cerebrospinal fluid of two cows showed increased CK-, LDH- and AST-values. The lead contents of whole blood samples were between 0.486 and 0.928 mg/kg, of liver samples 13.3 to 114.4 mg/kg, of kidney samples 172.2 to 448 mg/kg and of rumen content 59 mg/kg fresh matter. At necropsy, enteritis, liver fluke disease and severe interstitial and alveolar pulmonary emphysema were found. Pathohistologically typical ischaemic necrosis of neurons predominantly at the tips of the gyri, disseminated petechial hemorrhages and moderate diffuse neovascularisation, but no acid-fast intranucleolar inclusion bodies in the renal tubules were observed. As causative agent of the acute lead poisoning a residue on combustion, taken up by the cows on the pasture, was confirmed. The ash residue was formed by combustion of three tires which contained 450 g heavy weights of 96.5% lead for wheel balance. The lead content of the ash residue was between 2.9 and 28 g/kg dry matter.
 ...
PMID:[Acute lead poisoning in cows due to feeding of lead contaminated ash residue]. 1496 24