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The European Respiratory Journal Feb 1997It has been suggested by some studies of human and animal lungs that the products of pulmonary endocrine cells, particularly gastrin-releasing peptide, might play a role...
It has been suggested by some studies of human and animal lungs that the products of pulmonary endocrine cells, particularly gastrin-releasing peptide, might play a role in fibrogenesis, but more recent detailed studies of fibrotic human lungs have failed to confirm this. We have made a detailed quantitative examination of a series of fibrotic human lungs to see if we could determine whether there was any relationship between endocrine cells and fibrosis. Using immunocytochemistry, we investigated the morphology, content, distribution and number of pulmonary endocrine cells in 15 pairs of fibrotic lungs from coal miners, and compared their features with those of equivalent cells in age-matched controls. Proliferation of endocrine cells was seen in the lungs of just two miners, in which it was focal and associated with acute bronchitis and bronchopneumonia. There was no difference between the miners and controls in the appearance (mostly solitary cells), content (predominantly gastrin-releasing peptide and calcitonin), distribution (mainly in small bronchi and bronchioles), or number (4.5 vs 4.1 cells per 10,000 epithelial cells, respectively) of endocrine cells. It seems unlikely that the substances secreted by these cells play any role in stimulating fibrosis in human lungs, but rather that they have a function in the inflammatory response to pulmonary injury.
Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Anthracosilicosis; Calcitonin; Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide; Cell Count; Gastrin-Releasing Peptide; Gastrointestinal Hormones; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Lung; Male; Middle Aged; Neurosecretory Systems; Peptides
PubMed: 9042637
DOI: 10.1183/09031936.97.10020388 -
The Journal of Investigative Dermatology Dec 1958
Topics: Humans; Intradermal Tests; Metals; Sarcoidosis; Silicosis
PubMed: 13611354
DOI: No ID Found -
Gastroenterologie Clinique Et Biologique Jan 2002
Topics: Aged; Anthracosilicosis; Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal; Female; Humans; Pancreatic Neoplasms
PubMed: 11938051
DOI: No ID Found -
The American Journal of Pathology Jul 1971
Topics: Anthracosilicosis; Asbestosis; Coal Mining; Dust; Environmental Exposure; Environmental Health; Female; Humans; Lung; Lung Neoplasms; Male; Mesothelioma; Microscopy, Electron; Pneumoconiosis; Silicosis; United States
PubMed: 5556633
DOI: No ID Found -
Canadian Medical Association Journal Jan 1968
Topics: Anthracosilicosis; Asbestosis; Carbon; Cytoplasmic Granules; Diagnosis, Differential; Humans; Lung; Male; Middle Aged; Occupational Diseases; Pneumoconiosis; Pulmonary Veins; Radiography
PubMed: 5635020
DOI: No ID Found -
British Medical Journal Feb 1978Transtracheal punctures were performed in 193 miners of anthracosilicotic coal who presented with an acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis. The transtracheal...
Transtracheal punctures were performed in 193 miners of anthracosilicotic coal who presented with an acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis. The transtracheal aspirates were bacteriologically positive in 104 patients. Branhamella catarrhalis was isolated in 15 patients; 10 of these responded to chemotherapy, as shown by the resolution of all symptoms and the disappearance of the organism on a repeat transtracheal puncture performed 48 hours after the end of treatment. One ampicillin-treated patient, whose bronchial secretions yielded a beta-lactamase-producing B catarrhalis, showed no improvement. But subsequent treatment with cefuroxime was followed by clinical and bacteriological recovery. B catarrhalis probably acted as an opportunistic respiratory pathogen in these patients, who were probably compromised hosts in view of their clinical history. B catarrhalis normally responds to the penicillins commonly used for respiratory infections, but if treatment fails a transtracheal puncture is essential to identify the strain and determine an appropriate antibiotic.
Topics: Ampicillin; Anthracosilicosis; Cephalosporins; Coal Mining; Humans; Male; Neisseriaceae; Punctures; Respiratory Tract Infections; Sulfamethoxazole; Trachea; Trimethoprim
PubMed: 620304
DOI: 10.1136/bmj.1.6108.276 -
Gut Feb 1970The present necropsy study shows an oriental pattern of gallstone disease in Singapore, namely, a relatively low overall frequency, an equal involvement of both sexes, a...
The present necropsy study shows an oriental pattern of gallstone disease in Singapore, namely, a relatively low overall frequency, an equal involvement of both sexes, a high proportion of pigment stones, and the common occurrence of choledocholithiasis associated with pyogenic cholangitis. There is a close association between opium addiction and cholelithiasis in the adult male Chinese in Singapore, and the long-term abuse of opium may be an important aetiological factor in the pathogenesis of oriental cholelithiasis.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Anthracosilicosis; Autopsy; Cholangitis; Cholelithiasis; Female; Humans; Liver; Lung; Male; Middle Aged; Opium; Singapore; Substance-Related Disorders
PubMed: 5441883
DOI: 10.1136/gut.11.2.141