ABSTRACT
Early detection of lupus pneumonitis is difficult because it requires lung biopsy. The authors describe here in detail the age-related histologic changes in pulmonary inflammation, the age-related changes in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), and the effect of cyclophosphamide (8 mg/kg) on pulmonary inflammation and bronchoalveolar lavage in MRL/Mp-lpr/lpr mouse, an animal model of systemic lupus erythematosus. To assess the evolution of pulmonary inflammation and response to cyclophosphamide therapy, they compared the age-related progression of pulmonary inflammation with sequential changes in BAL cell populations in this autoimmune mouse model. A striking similarity was noted between age-related changes in pulmonary inflammation and lymphocyte counts in BAL. A trend to reduction in histologic evidence of inflammation was reflected by lymphocytes in BAL in cyclophosphamide-treated (8 mg/kg/day) males but not in females. There was a striking sex-related difference in that the histologic evidence of pulmonary inflammation and bronchoalveolar lavage lymphocyte count in cyclophosphamide-treated males was significantly lower than cyclophosphamide-treated females of the same age.
Subject(s)
Autoimmune Diseases/pathology , Disease Models, Animal , Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic/pathology , Pneumonia/pathology , Aging , Animals , Autoimmune Diseases/drug therapy , Cyclophosphamide/therapeutic use , Female , Lung/pathology , Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic/drug therapy , Male , Mice , Pneumonia/drug therapy , Therapeutic IrrigationABSTRACT
Carcinoid tumors of the thymus gland have occasionally been associated with endocrine hyperfunction. A case of thymic carcinoid was initially observed as Cushing's syndrome and was also associated with marked hyperpigmentation. While the hyperpigmentation may be related to the excessively high levels of corticotropin, it is also possible that thymic carcinoids could produce melanocyte-stimulating hormone-like (or beta-lipotropin) material.
Subject(s)
Carcinoid Tumor/complications , Pigmentation Disorders/complications , Thymus Neoplasms/complications , Carcinoid Tumor/diagnosis , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Pigmentation Disorders/diagnosis , Thymus Neoplasms/diagnosisABSTRACT
A patient with chronic eosinophilic pneumonia was evaluated using bronchoalveolar lavage, technetium-99m glucoheptonate, and transbronchial lung biopsy. Bronchoalveolar lavage revealed 43 percent eosinophils and correlated well with results of transbronchial lung biopsy. Technetium-99m glucoheptonate lung imaging demonstrated intense parenchymal uptake. After eight weeks of corticosteroid therapy, the bronchoalveolar lavage eosinophil population and the technetium-99m glucoheptonate uptake had returned to normal. We suggest that bronchoalveolar lavage, with transbronchial lung biopsy, is a less invasive way than open lung biopsy to diagnose chronic eosinophilic pneumonia. The mechanism of uptake of technetium-99m glucoheptonate in this disorder remains to be defined.
