Sarcoidosis in Beryllium Exposed Workers: A Case-Case Study.

Background: Despite the utility of the beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT), distinguishing sarcoidosis, a disease of unknown etiology, from chronic beryllium disease (CBD), has long posed a diagnostic challenge. It is unclear if beryllium-exposed sarcoidosis cases (Be-exp-Sarc) are clinically distinct from CBD, or are misdiagnosed cases of CBD.

Methods: We performed a case-case study of 40 beryllium-exposed individuals diagnosed with Be-exp-Sarc compared to 40 frequency-matched CBD cases.

Unexplained dyspnea linked to mitochondrial myopathy following military deployment to Southwest Asia and Afghanistan.

We identified a case of probable mitochondrial myopathy (MM) in a soldier with dyspnea and reduced exercise tolerance through cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) following Southwest Asia (SWA) deployment. Muscle biopsy showed myopathic features. We compared demographic, occupational exposure, and clinical characteristics in symptomatic military deployers with and without probable MM diagnosed by CPET criteria.

Respiratory Diseases in Post-9/11 Military Personnel Following Southwest Asia Deployment.

Objective: Persistent respiratory symptoms following post-9/11 military deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan are well-recognized, but the spectrum of respiratory diseases remains poorly characterized. This study describes deployment-related respiratory diseases and the diagnostic utility of resting and exercise pulmonary function testing.

Methods: Between 2009 and 2017, 127 consecutive military workers ("deployers") with new-onset respiratory symptoms underwent clinical evaluation.

Military Occupational Specialty Codes: Utility in Predicting Inhalation Exposures in Post-9/11 Deployers.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine military occupational specialty (MOS) codes to identify those at risk from inhalation exposures during Southwest Asia deployment.

Methods: Exposure intensity to diesel exhaust, sandstorms, burn pit smoke, combat dust, and occupational vapors/dusts/gases/fumes (VDGF) were scored for all Army/Marine MOS codes by an expert panel. Based on MOS code, panel-rated exposure scores were compared with questionnaire data from military personnel with postdeployment respiratory illnesses.

Beryllium increases the CD14(dim)CD16+ subset in the lung of chronic beryllium disease.

CD14dimCD16+ and CD14brightCD16+ cells, which compose a minor population of monocytes in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), have been implicated in several inflammatory diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate whether this phenotype was present as a subset of lung infiltrative alveolar macrophages (AMs) in the granulomatous lung disease, chronic beryllium disease (CBD). The monocytes subsets was determined from PBMC cells and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cells from CBD, beryllium sensitized Non-smoker (BeS-NS) and healthy subjects (HS) using flow cytometry.