Is pulmonary inflammation a valid predictor of particle induced lung pathology? The case of amorphous and crystalline silicas.

Although inflammation is a normal and beneficial response, it is also a key event in the pathology of many chronic diseases, including pulmonary and systemic particle-induced disease. In addition, inflammation is now considered as the key response in standard settings for inhaled particles and a critical endpoint in OECD-based sub-acute/ chronic animal inhalation testing protocols. In this paper, we discuss that whilst the role of inflammation in lung disease is undeniable, it is when inflammation deviates from normal parameters that adversity occurs.

[Digital guidelines of the twenty-first century : Requirements for the structured development, application and evaluation of medical knowledge].

Until now, clinical guidelines have been understood as generalized representations of clinical knowledge that, based on best available evidence, show the requirements for patient care in specific patient situations. This expert opinion article is intended to discuss how digital guidelines should be designed and which requirements must be met for the structured development, application and evaluation of such guidelines. The digitalization of guidelines must take into account the transformation of analogue text-based guideline information into formats that enable human-machine interaction via user interfaces, that show physicians the requirements for guideline-compliant patient care and that also enable machine storage, machine execution and machine processing of patient data.

Talc Inhalation in Rats and Humans: A Review and Appraisal of Available Evidence.

Background: Current information on the health effects and toxicology of talc suggests that this may lead to a specific target organ toxicity arising from repeated exposure (STOT-RE) classification.

Objective: To provide an assessment of the currently available inhalation toxicity data on talc and to put these data in the perspective of other poorly soluble low-toxicity particles.

Methods: A database of 177 articles was gathered from different sources.

Applying Existing Particle Paradigms to Inhaled Microplastic Particles.

Ambient particulate pollution originating from plastic contaminates air, including indoor and urban environments. The recent discovery of ambient microplastic (MP) particles of a size capable of depositing in the thoracic region of the airway, if inhaled, has raised concern for public exposure and health impacts following lessons learned from other particle domains. Current microplastic exposure estimates are relatively low compared to total ambient particulate matter, but optimal analytical techniques and therefore data for risk and health impact assessments are lacking.