Nodular pulmonary amyloidosis associated with asbestos exposure

Our plain-English summary of Nodular pulmonary amyloidosis associated with asbestos exposure, by K. Hiroshima, H. Ohwada, M. Ishibashi, et al (Pathology International, 1996).

The study

• Authors: K. Hiroshima, H. Ohwada, M. Ishibashi, N. Yamamoto, N. Tamiya, Y. Yamaguchi
• Journal: Pathology International
• Published: 1996;46(1):66-70
• Type of article: Case report
• Cited by: 9 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

A 71 year old man was admitted for the purpose of diagnosis of a right solitary pulmonary nodule. The size of the nodule was 18 x 18 mm in diameter 2 years ago, but it has become large, 25 x 25 mm in diameter. The nodule was resected by thoracotomy. Microscopically, eosinophilic amorphous, acellular substances were surrounded by inflammatory infiltrates. It stained with Congo red stain and showed green birefringence with polarizing microscopy. Amyloid fibrils were observed electron microscopically. Asbestos bodies were observed in the lung parenchyma around the nodule. This case shows that a nodule in nodular pulmonary amyloidosis can grow gradually and suggests the possibility of asbestos fibers as one of the etiologic factors in nodular pulmonary amyloidosis.

In plain English

This was a case report from Chiba University in Japan about one patient, a 71-year-old man with nodular pulmonary amyloidosis. In this condition a substance called amyloid is deposited in the lung and forms a lump. In his thirties he had worked for 10 years in an asbestos manufacturing company, and he had smoked 20 cigarettes a day for 50 years. The article did not say which type of asbestos was involved. A nodule in his right lower lung measured 18 x 18 mm in November 1992 and had grown to 25 x 25 mm by January 1995. It was removed surgically in February 1995. Congo red staining with apple green birefringence and electron microscopy showed that the nodule was made of amyloid. No evidence was found that the amyloid was systemic or secondary, so the diagnosis was nodular pulmonary amyloidosis. At least ten asbestos bodies were seen in the lung tissue around the nodule. The authors called this the first such case after asbestos inhalation. They concluded that asbestos may be one of the causes of the amyloid deposit in this patient.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: case report
• Who was studied: One 71-year-old man in Chiba, Japan. He was first investigated for a lung nodule in November 1992, and the nodule was removed in February 1995.
• Exposure: He worked for 10 years in an asbestos manufacturing company in his thirties. The fiber type was not stated. He also smoked 20 cigarettes per day for 50 years.
• Main results:
  • In November 1992 the nodule in the right lower lobe measured 18 x 18 mm.
  • By January 1995 the nodule had grown to 25 x 25 mm in diameter.
  • The removed nodule measured 22 x 21 x 18 mm.
  • At least ten asbestos bodies were seen in the lung tissue surrounding the nodule.
  • The nodule material stained positive with Congo red and showed apple green birefringence under polarizing microscopy, which are findings of amyloid.
  • Electron microscopy showed non-branching fibrils about 10 nm in diameter.
  • No clinical or laboratory evidence of systemic or secondary amyloidosis was found, so nodular pulmonary amyloidosis was diagnosed.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors stated that this was the first case of nodular pulmonary amyloidosis after asbestos inhalation. Because many asbestos bodies were seen around the nodule, they concluded that asbestos may be one of the causes of the amyloid deposit in this case.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Asbestosis.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestos Exposure, Thoracotomy, Eosinophilic, birefringence, Fibril, Asbestos Bodies, Parenchyma.

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