Serum levels of soluble mesothelin-related peptides in malignant and nonmalignant asbestos-related pleural disease: relation with past asbestos exposure.

BACKGROUND: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) results from malignant transformation of mesothelial cells. Past asbestos exposure represents a major risk factor for MPM and other benign pleural disease. Soluble mesothelin-related peptides (SMRP) have been regarded as a promising serum biomarker for MPM. The aim of this study was to investigate serum levels of SMRP in malignant and nonmalignant asbestos-related pleural disease. PATIENTS: Four groups of patients were investigated: group 1 composed of 48 healthy subjects, group 2 composed of 177 patients with previous asbestos exposure and no pleural disease, group 3 composed of 36 patients with MPM, and group 4 composed of 101 patients with previous asbestos exposure and benign pleural disease. Serum SMRP levels were determined by ELISA. RESULTS: Serum SMRP levels were significantly higher among group 3 than the other three groups. There were no differences in SMRP concentrations between groups 2 and 4. Subjects exposed to asbestos had higher SMRP concentrations than normal control subjects regardless of the presence of pleural disease. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for SMRP values was 0.75 (95% confidence interval, 0.68-0.83). The SMRP level at 0.55 nmol/L/L was determined as the most optimal cutoff value with resulting sensitivity and specificity of 72% and 72% for the diagnosis of MPM. CONCLUSIONS: These data attest to good diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of SMRP for the diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma. We have also shown that serum SMRP levels might serve as a marker of asbestos exposure.

[Health effects of exposure to oil spills]. / La exposición a las mareas negras y sus efectos en la salud.

The sinking of the oil tanker Prestige off the coast of Galicia was not only the worst ecological disaster ever to affect Spain, it also led to thousands of people who participated in the cleanup of the contaminated areas being exposed to potentially dangerous toxic substances. As the airway is one of the principal routes of entry into the body of these toxic compounds, the possible effects of exposure to such spills is of particular interest and concern to respiratory specialists. The paucity of clinical information available on the subject was the motive for this paper, which reviews the scientific studies undertaken in the aftermath of other accidents involving oil tankers and concludes with a summary of the clinical and epidemiological data published to date on the Prestige oil spill.

Respiratory disease in a cohort of 2,579 coal miners followed up over a 20-year period.

INTRODUCTION: Working in coal mines is a risk factor for pneumoconiosis and COPD. There still exist, however, doubts and debates about the risk involved in such work for tuberculosis and lung cancer. The aim of this study was to clarify some of these uncertainties through the study of a cohort group. METHODS: The cohort comprises 2,579 miners. An initial medical examination was carried out when they began to work in the mine, and three further examinations were performed over the 20 years of the study. The follow-up failure rate was 23.7%. RESULTS: Ninety-nine workers (3.8%) developed round opacities (category 1) that were significantly related to the kind of work in a crude analysis (p = 0.045), with a greater frequency (7.3%) among rock workers, who have greater exposure to silica, and were almost significantly related to tobacco use (p = 0.092). These round opacities also show a significant relation to smoking, being more frequent (4.9%) among smokers, both in the crude analysis (p = 0.028) and in the multivariable analysis (p = 0.001) controlling for rock work. In 240 workers (12.7%), accelerated FEV(1) decreases were observed with significant relations to tobacco use (p = 0.001) and rock work (p = 0.044). Pulmonary tuberculosis was diagnosed in four cases, with an incidence of eight in 10(5) person-years. This rate falls within the limits expected for the region. No case of lung cancer was observed. CONCLUSION: In summary, our results showed the following: round opacities (category 1) were related to smoking and, probably, to rock work; accelerated FEV(1) decreases were related to rock work and tobacco consumption. There was no identified increase in tuberculosis or lung cancer in this cohort.

La exposición a las mareas negras y sus efectos en la salud / Health effects of exposure to oil spills

El naufragio del petrolero Prestige frente a las costas gallegas no sólo supuso el mayor desastre ecológico en la historia de nuestro país, sino que también propició la exposición de miles de personas que participaron en la limpieza de las zonas contaminadas a compuestos potencialmente tóxicos para la salud. Teniendo en cuenta que la vía respiratoria es una de las principales puertas de entrada de estos compuestos en el organismo, los posibles efectos de estos vertidos preocupan especialmente a los profesionales que nos dedicamos a las enfermedades respiratorias. Sin embargo, la información clínica que tenemos es manifiestamente insuficiente. Por tal motivo se ha elaborado esta revisión. En ella se analizan los estudios científicos realizados a propósito de otros naufragios de petroleros. Finalmente se exponen los datos clínicos y epidemiológicos de las investigaciones publicadas hasta la fecha con ocasión del hundimiento del buque Prestige

The sinking of the oil tanker Prestige off the coast of Galicia was not only the worst ecological disaster ever to affect Spain, it also led to thousands of people who participated in the cleanup of the contaminated areas being exposed to potentially dangerous toxic substances. As the airway is one of the principal routes of entry into the body of these toxic compounds, the possible effects of exposure to such spills is of particular interest and concern to respiratory specialists. The paucity of clinical information available on the subject was the motive for this paper, which reviews the scientific studies undertaken in the aftermath of other accidents involving oil tankers and concludes with a summary of the clinical and epidemiological data published to date on the Prestige oil spill

Normativa del asma ocupacional / Guidelines for Occupational Asthma

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