[Two cases of pulmonary tuberculosis with an intra-familial transmission route].

Two patients with smear-positive adult-type pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) were admitted to our hospital. The patients in case 1 and case 2 were a 33-year-old woman and a 33-year-old man, respectively. None of the patients' family members had any apparent symptom indicating TB.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition in chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

Chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) causes progressive and irreversible pulmonary fibrosis, a disease also observed in conjunction with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Previous studies have demonstrated that the myofibroblast, a cell type whose origins involve the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), may play a role in the pathogenesis of IPF. The goal of this study was to determine whether EMT has a role in the pathogenesis of chronic HP.

Tracheoesophageal fistula closed by chemoradiotherapy in lung cancer.

A 45-year-old man complaining of cough, dyspnea, and difficulty in swallowing was referred to our hospital. Chest CT scan showed a mediastinal mass compressing the trachea. He was diagnosed with poorly differentiated lung carcinoma by percutaneous needle biopsy.

Th2-biased immune responses are important in a murine model of chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

Background: Chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) can lead to irreversible pulmonary fibrosis. A good animal model is essential to elucidate the mechanisms of this disease. We previously reported that a Th2 predominance may play an important role in the fibrogenesis in chronic HP patients.

Chronic summer-type hypersensitivity pneumonitis initially misdiagnosed as idiopathic interstitial pneumonia.

The clinical features of chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) are similar to idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs) including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). We report 2 cases of chronic summer-type HP with insidious onset. They were misdiagnosed as having IIPs before referral to our hospital.