Maintenance of tissue-specific organ lipid compositions characterizes mammalian lipid homeostasis. The lungs and liver synthesize mixed phosphatidylcholine (PC) molecular species that are subsequently tailored for function. The lungs progressively enrich disaturated PC directed to lamellar body surfactant stores before secretion. The liver accumulates polyunsaturated PC directed to very-low-den...

miliary mottling on chest radiography is seen in miliary tuberculosis, certain fungal infections, sarcoidosis, coal miner’s pneumoconiosis, silicosis, hemosiderosis, fibrosing alveolitis, acute extrinsic allergic alveolitis, pulmonary eosinophilic syndrome, pulmonary alveolar proteinosis, and rarely in hematogenous metastases from the primary cancers of the thyroid, kidney, trophoblasts, and so...

Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) is a rarely seen disease of the alveoli, characterized by accumulation of proteinous material, which stains positive with periodic acid Schiff, in the alveoli. Secondary PAP may develop as a result of occupational exposure to materials such as silica and indium. In the paper, together with a review of the relevant literature, we present an uncommon case of a...

Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP), characterized by deposition of intra-alveolar PAS positive protein and lipid rich material, is a rare cause of progressive respiratory failure first described by Rosen et al. in 1958. The intra-alveolar lipoproteinaceous material was subsequently proven to have been derived from pulmonary surfactant in 1980 by Singh et al. Levinson et al. also reported in 1...

CMAJ • OCTOBER 5, 2010 • 182(14) © 2010 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors 1545 An otherwise healthy 46-year-old man presented with a six-month history of exercise-related shortness of breath and dry cough. His oxygen saturation was 86% on room air. Testing of pulmonary function showed a moderately restrictive ventilatory defect, with diffusion capacity of 45% of the predicted values...