‘Mesothelioma’

Diseases caused by Asbestos

Friday, February 26th, 2010

Diseases caused by Asbestos

Asbestos mainly affects the lungs and lining of the lungs, the pleura. Asbestos causes two main types of diseases: cancer and asbestosis.

Asbestosis

Breathing high levels of asbestos fibers have long or short exposure to high levels of asbestos can cause scarring lesions that appear in the lung and pleura. This disease is called asbestosis, lung was the first disease that was associated with asbestos and can cause disability and death.

It is defined as diffuse interstitial fibrosis of the lungs resulting from exposure to asbestos dust and, therefore, commonly occurs in workers exposed to asbestos. People with asbestosis because of the scars in the lungs, difficulty breathing, often a cough, and in severe cases suffer enlarged heart.
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New Test Would Help in the Diagnosis of Mesothelioma

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

Measurement of mesothelin in pleural fluid is best for the diagnosis and exclusion of mesothelioma than cytology, according to a study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Patients with mesothelioma have concentrations of mesothelin in pleural fluid from 7 to 12 times greater than patients with metastatic cancers or benign pleural effusions. Moreover, compared with cytology, pleural fluid mesothelin had better sensitivity, similar specificity and a greater negative predictive value.
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What is Mesothelioma Cancer?

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

Mesothelioma is a rare and virulent cancer of the mesothelial surfaces, which affects the lining of the lungs (pleura), the abdominal cavity (peritoneum) or the lining around the heart (pericardium).
Mesothelioma is caused by exposure to mineral fibers (asbestos, for example).
Some have been exposed to their work and secondarily by other family members who unwittingly, have reduced fiber to the home of their work in their clothes or their hair or on their skin.

Most often mesothelioma cancer is the result of exposure from 20 to 50 years or more ago.

Malignant Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that starts in the mesothelium, a membrane that covers and protects most internal organs of the body.
The mesothelium is composed of two layers, one surrounding the body itself, and the other forms a sac around it completely. A small amount of fluid is normally produced between these two layers, lubricating the motion of bodies protected. (more…)

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Pleural Mesothelioma

Saturday, January 30th, 2010

pleural mesothelioma

Pleural Mesothelioma is the most common, its incidence being 9 times higher than the peritoneal mesothelioma. It is more common in men than in women, being the age of onset of symptoms between 50 to 70 years with a latency period of 20 to 40 years. In 80% of cases the etiology is exposure to asbestos dust. Other possible causes of mesothelioma are radiation therapy and polio vaccines contaminated with simian virus SV40. The pleural mesothelioma is about 3% of malignant neoplasms of the pleura, and when the diagnosis is made rapidly and its course is invariably fatal, usually during the next two years.

The most common clinical presentation is diffuse chest pain, which occasionally can be pleuritic or radiating to the shoulder accompanied by pleural effusions. Dyspnea, cough, weakness, malaise and fatigue are usually in advanced stages of disease. In 89% of cases, the abnormal electrocardiogram abnormalities being more frequent sinus tachycardia (42%), ventricular or atrial arrhythmias (17%) and blockage of a branch bundle (30%)

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