8 OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SOUTHERN AFRICA

Experimental and field work on silicosis, while concentrating attention on the danger of exposure to the dust from hard rock, has produced a sense of false security in regard to the coal miner. Mavrogordato (1918) stated: " It may be regarded as established that all forms of dust enter the lungs and that some, such as coal, are relatively harmless, while others, such as flint, are deadly ". Bro...

INTRODUCTION Silicosis, the most prevalent of the pneumoconioses, is caused by inhalation of crystalline silica particles. Silica-exposed workers are at increased risk for tuberculosis and other mycobacterium-related diseases. The risk of a patient with silicosis developing tuberculosis is higher (2.8 to 39 fold higher, depending on the severity of silicosis) than that found in healthy controls...

Background: Millions of workers globally are afflicted by pneumoconiosis, a disease caused by inhaling dust or particles. A particularly prevalent form is silicosis, caused by inhaling silica particles. The Chinese herbal medicine kombucha, which contains Gluconacetobacter xylinus and yeasts, can effectively clear dust from rats’ lungs. The study presented here assessed the potential effectiven...

BACKGROUND A nested case-control study for lung cancer was performed on a cohort of 2260 South African gold miners in whom an association between exposure to silica dust and risk of lung cancer was previously reported. The objective was to investigate an expanded set of risk factors and also cancer cell type. METHODS The 78 cases of lung cancer found during the follow up period from 1970 to 1...

BACKGROUND Building demolition can lead to emission of dust into the environment. Exposure to silica dust may be considered as an important hazard in these sites. The objectives of this research were to determine the amount of workers' exposure to crystalline silica dust and assess the relative risk of silicosis and the excess lifetime risk of mortality from lung cancer in demolition workers. ...

BACKGROUND Silicosis is an occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of silica dust and characterized by lung inflammation and fibrosis. Previous study showed that Tregs regulate the process of silicosis by modulating the maintenance of immune homeostasis in the lung. Th17 cells share reciprocal developmental pathway with Tregs and play a pivotal role in the immunopathogenesis of many lung...

OBJECTIVES In previous studies, a significant reduction in biological activity of quartz by the surface chemistry of aluminium was noted. Aluminium lactate inhalation one month after quartz exposure significantly suppressed silicosis. In a recent study, it was noted that aluminium inhalation failed to alter the silicosis process after disease was recognised by standard chest radiography in the ...

Clinical detection of silicosis is currently dependent on radiological and lung function abnormalities, both late manifestations of disease. Markers of prediction and early detection of pneumoconiosis are imperative for the implementation of timely intervention strategies. Understanding the underlying mechanisms of the etiology of coal workers pneumoconiosis (CWP) and silicosis was essential in...