A primary care team approach to secondary prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders: Physical therapy perspectives.

Background: Among work-related conditions in the United States, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) account for about thirty-four percent of work absences. Primary care physicians (PCPs) play an essential role in the management of work-related MSDs. For conditions diagnosed as work-related, up to seventeen percent of cases are PCP managed; within these conditions, up to fifty-nine percent are diagnosed as musculoskeletal.

Association of low FVC spirometric pattern with WTC occupational exposures.

Background: A reduced forced vital capacity without obstruction (low FVC) is the predominant spirometric abnormality reported in workers and volunteers exposed to dust, gases, and fumes at the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster site in 2001-2002. While low FVC has been associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome, its association with WTC occupational exposures has not been demonstrated. We estimated the prevalence of this abnormality and examined its association with WTC exposure level.

Libby Amphibole Disease: Pulmonary Function and CT Abnormalities in Vermiculite Miners.

Objective: This article describes radiologic and pulmonary function findings among miners exposed to Libby amphibole. Computed tomography (CT) permits the detection of the characteristic thin, lamellar pleural thickening (LPT).

Methods: Individuals who worked at the mine for a minimum of 6 months had chest CT and pulmonary function tests.

Pulmonary abnormalities as a result of exposure to Libby amphibole during childhood and adolescence-The Pre-Adult Latency Study (PALS).

Background: The purpose of Pre-Adult Latency Study was to evaluate lung findings among adults who had been environmentally exposed to Libby Amphibole only during childhood and adolescence.

Methods: Recruitment was restricted to volunteers who attended primary and/or secondary school, lived in Libby, MT, prior to age 23 years for males and 21 years for females and subsequently left the area. Subjects completed exposure and respiratory questionnaires, underwent pulmonary function tests (PFTs), and chest CT scans.

Rapid progression of pleural disease due to exposure to Libby amphibole: "Not your grandfather's asbestos related disease".

Background: Residents and mine employees from Libby, Montana, have been exposed to asbestiform amphiboles from the vermiculite mine that operated in this location from the mid-1920s until 1990. Clinical observations show a different form of asbestos-related toxicity than other forms of asbestos.

Methods: Five illustrative cases from the Center for Asbestos-Related Diseases in Libby were selected.

Multiple pathway asbestos exposure assessment for a Superfund community.

Libby, MT, USA, was the home to workers at a historical vermiculite mining facility and served as the processing and distribution center for this industrial product that was contaminated with amphibole asbestos. Several pathways of environmental asbestos exposure to the general population have been identified. The local clinic and health screening program collects data from participants on past occupational and environmental exposures to vermiculite and asbestos.

Asbestos-associated mesothelial cell autoantibodies promote collagen deposition in vitro.

Fibrosis, characterized by excessive collagen protein deposition, is a progressive disease that can fatally inhibit organ function. Prolonged exposure to pathogens or environmental toxicants such as asbestos can lead to chronic inflammatory responses associated with fibrosis. Significant exposure to amphibole asbestos has been reported in and around Libby, Montana due to local mining of asbestos-contaminated vermiculite.

Potential for diffuse parenchymal lung disease after exposures at World Trade Center Disaster site.

Objective: The diffuse parenchymal lung diseases (DPLDs) are a heterogeneous group of disorders that result from damage to the lung parenchyma. While the cause of most DPLDs remains unknown, extensive epidemiological and experimental evidence has linked exposure to environmental toxins to the pathogenesis of some of those diseases. The purpose of this review is to examine the potential relation between exposure to toxins released from the World Trade Center (WTC) collapse on September 11th, 2001 and the development of DPLD based on published evidence up to date.

Case report: silicatosis in a carpet installer.

Context: Chronic exposure to talc in the course of carpet installation can result in pneumoconiosis.

Case Presentation: We present a case of a young carpet installer who was diagnosed with silicatosis of the lung. Review of occupational history revealed that the patient had been working as a carpet installer for approximately 15 years, since he was 15 years of age.