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.

[Health effects of exposure to oil spills].

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 aggregate quarry workers related to risk factors and Pi phenotype.

Objective: To evaluate the respiratory health and its relationship with exposure to silica, smoking, alpha 1-antitrypsin, and Pi phenotype in aggregate quarries workers.

Methods: In a prevalence study, 378 subjects were studied, x-ray opacities and pulmonary function was analyzed in relation to cumulative dust exposure, smoking, alpha1- antitrypsin, and Pi phenotype.

Results: The adjusted odds ratio (OR) of round opacities (> or =0/1) was significantly related to smoking (P <0.

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.