Occupational Exposure to Welding Fumes and Associated Respiratory Morbidities among arc Welders in Ikenne, Nigeria

Background

Few studies have been conducted on the respiratory morbidities of welders in Nigeria, and further research is needed to determine the extent of fume exposure and the implicated metals at workplaces. This study was done to determine whether welding gases are associated with respiratory illness among welders in Ikenne Local Government Area, Ogun State, Nigeria.

Methods

A cross-sectional study comparing 142 welders and 142 controls was carried out. Lung function testing and clinical assessments were done. The Chi-square test & the independent T-tests were used to test for the association between socio-demographic characteristics and respiratory symptoms & the association between differences in means of lung function parameters among welders and controls respectively.

Results

Chromium, nickel, manganese, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide levels were higher than the recommended values. Forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) was significantly lower in welders (2.62±0.7) than in controls (2.81±0.7) (t=2.148, p<0.05). FEV1/FVC was significantly lower among welders (75±13.7) compared to controls (80.7±8.0). (t=4.165, p<0.001).

Conclusion

The study showed that the welders presented with more respiratory morbidities than the controls, this may be a result of exposure to high levels of welding fumes beyond the recommended values for prolonged periods without using personal protective equipment, which results in significant morbidities. There should be enforcement of basic workplace safety standards by ensuring that the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is enforced and the construction of workshops that are well-ventilated through the welders' association and relevant law enforcement agencies.

A turtle in the belly: helminthoma

A helminthoma is an inflammatory tumor of the bowel wall, which results when an intestinal worm or larva penetrates the wall of the gut, usually the cecum or colon. A helminthoma can occur in any country where infestation of the intestinal tract with worms is common. It has been seen most often in West and East Africa and parts of South America. In some parts of West Africa, this disease is well known to villagers, who describe it as having 'a turtle in the belly.' We report such a case with diagnostic dilemma.

A rare cause of haematemesis: retrograde jejunogastric intussusception

Retrograde Jejunogastric intussusception is a well-recognised, rare but potentially fatal, long-term complication of gastro-jejunostomy or Billroth-II reconstruction. Only about 200 cases have been reported in literature to date. Diagnosis of this condition is difficult in most of the cases. To avoid mortality early diagnosis and prompt surgical intervention is mandatory. Since gastrojejunostomies with vagotomy are on a declining trend, it is extremely rare to come across such a complication. We report such a case that presented with haematemesis.

Kinase suppressor of Ras determines survival of intestinal epithelial cells exposed to tumor necrosis factor

The single layer of epithelial cells lining the intestine that serves as an important physical and functional barrier regulating the uptake of nutrients and the exclusion of various environmental antigens is disrupted in inflammatory bowel diseases. A central cytokine in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease is tumor necrosis factor (TNF), which increases apoptosis in a number of cell types. However, details determining the fate of intestinal cells exposed to high levels of TNF are lacking. Our laboratory reported that kinase suppressor of Ras (KSR) regulates TNF activation of the Raf/mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) kinase/ERK signaling cassette by threonine phosphorylation of Raf-1, regulating proliferation and differentiation pathways. In the present study, we expressed a dominant-negative kinase-inactive KSR and determined the survival of young adult mouse colon cells exposed to TNF. Our data show that inhibition of KSR signaling decreases survival and increases apoptosis of TNF-treated cells. Antiapoptotic pathways including nuclear factor kappa B activation and one of its transcriptional targets, cIAP2 (c inhibitor of apoptosis protein 2) gene expression, and ERK/MAP kinase activation are all inhibited in TNF-treated kinase-inactive KSR-expressing young adult mouse colon cells. These antiapoptotic pathways are also inhibited by antisense-mediated down-regulation of KSR. However, TNF activation of p38 or stress-activated protein kinase/c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase is not inhibited by disruption of KSR signaling. Furthermore, inhibitors of both ERK and nuclear factor kappa B activation synergistically enhance apoptosis of cells treated with TNF. These findings demonstrate that KSR plays a novel regulatory role in intestinal epithelial cells exposed to TNF by activating cell survival pathways.

Concentric retinitis pigmentosa: clinicopathologic correlations

Progressive concentric (centripetal) loss of vision is one pattern of visual field loss in retinitis pigmentosa. This study provides the first clinicopathologic correlations for this form of retinitis pigmentosa. A family with autosomal dominant concentric retinitis pigmentosa was examined clinically and with visual function tests. A post-mortem eye of an affected 94 year old family member was processed for histopathology and immunocytochemistry with retinal cell specific antibodies. Unrelated simplex/multiplex patients with concentric retinitis pigmentosa were also examined. Affected family members of the eye donor and patients from the other families had prominent peripheral pigmentary retinopathy with more normal appearing central retina, good visual acuity, concentric field loss, normal or near normal rod and cone sensitivity within the preserved visual field, and reduced rod and cone electroretinograms. The eye donor, at age 90, had good acuity and function in a central island. Grossly, the central region of the donor retina appeared thinned but otherwise normal, while the far periphery contained heavy bone spicule pigment. Microscopically the central retina showed photoreceptor outer segment shortening and some photoreceptor cell loss. The mid periphery had a sharp line of demarcation where more central photoreceptors were near normal except for very short outer segments and peripheral photoreceptors were absent. Rods and cones showed abrupt loss of outer segments and cell death at this interface. It is concluded that concentric retinitis pigmentosa is a rare but recognizable phenotype with slowly progressive photoreceptor death from the far periphery toward the central retina. The disease is retina-wide but shows regional variation in severity of degeneration; photoreceptor death is severe in the peripheral retina with an abrupt edge between viable and degenerate photoreceptors. Peripheral to central gradients of unknown retinal molecule(s) may be defective or modify photoreceptor degeneration in concentric retinitis pigmentosa.

Multiple phosphorylated isoforms of NRL are expressed in rod photoreceptors

NRL, a bZIP transcription factor of the Maf subfamily, interacts with the homeodomain protein CRX and synergistically regulates rhodopsin expression. Here we report that six isoforms of NRL (29-35 kDa) are generated by phosphorylation and expressed specifically in the mammalian retina. The anti-NRL antibody also cross-reacts with a cytosolic 45-kDa protein, which is detected in neuronal tissues but is not encoded by the NRL gene. In both human retinal cell cultures and sections of fetal and adult human retina, NRL is present in the nuclei of developing and mature rods but not cones. We propose that NRL regulates rod photoreceptor-specific gene expression and is involved in rod differentiation.

Localization of pigment epithelium derived factor (PEDF) in developing and adult human ocular tissues

PURPOSE

To localize pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) in developing and adult human ocular tissues.

METHODS

PEDF was localized in fetal and adult eyes by immunofluorescence with a polyclonal antibody (pAb) against amino acids 327-343 of PEDF, or a monoclonal antibody (mAb) against the C-terminal 155 amino acids of PEDF. Specificity of the antibodies was documented by Western blotting. PEDF mRNA was localized in adult retina by in situ hybridization.

RESULTS

In developing retinas (7.4 to 21.5 fetal weeks, Fwks), pAb anti-PEDF labeled retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) granules, developing cones, some neuroblasts and many cells in the ganglion cell layer (GCL). In adult retinas, pAb anti-PEDF labeled rod and cone cytoplasm and nuclei of rods but not cones. Cells in the INL and GCL, choroid, corneal epithelium and endothelium, and ciliary body were also pAb PEDF-positive. Preadsorption of pAb anti-PEDF with the immunizing peptide blocked specific labeling in retina and other tissues, except for photoreceptor outer segments. In agreement with the immunolocalization with pAb anti-PEDF, in situ hybridization revealed PEDF mRNA in the RPE, photoreceptors, inner nuclear layer cells and ganglion cells in adult retina. In developing retinas 18 Fwks and older, and in adult retinas, mAb anti-PEDF labeled the interphotoreceptor matrix (IPM). Western blots of retina, cornea, and ciliary body/iris with pAb anti-PEDF produced several bands at about 46 kDa. With mAb anti-PEDF, retina produced one band at about 46 kDa; cornea and ciliary body/iris had several bands at about 46 kDa.

CONCLUSIONS

PEDF, originally reported as a product of RPE cells, is present in photoreceptors and inner retinal cell types in developing and adult human eyes. Photoreceptors and RPE may secrete PEDF into the IPM.

Evaluation of retinal photoreceptors and pigment epithelium in a female carrier of choroideremia

PURPOSE

To clarify the pathogenesis of choroideremia.

STUDY DESIGN

Human tissue study. TISSUES: Eyes of an 88-year-old symptomatic female carrier of choroideremia (CHM) and six normal, age-matched donors.

METHODS

The eyes were processed for histopathologic examination, including immunocytochemistry with an antibody against the CHM gene product, REP-1, and retinal cell-specific markers.

RESULTS

The CHM carrier retina showed patchy degeneration, but the photoreceptor and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) loss appeared to be independent. The choriocapillaris was normal except where retinal areas were severely degenerate. The CHM gene product, REP-1, was localized to the cytoplasm of rods but not cones.

CONCLUSIONS

It has generally been considered that photoreceptor degeneration in CHM is secondary to loss of the choriocapillaris or RPE. This study suggests that the rod photoreceptors are a primary site of disease in CHM.

Dominant late-onset retinal degeneration with regional variation of sub-retinal pigment epithelium deposits, retinal function, and photoreceptor degeneration

PURPOSE

To clarify the pathogenesis of late-onset retinal degeneration (L-ORD), an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by thick deposits of lipid-rich material between the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and Bruch's membrane.

STUDY DESIGN

Comparative clinicopathologic case report and case series. TISSUES: Eyes of an 82-year-old L-ORD eye donor and an age-matched control.

SUBJECTS

Five descendants of the eye donor and his affected sister.

METHODS

The eyes were processed for histopathologic examination, including electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry. Family members were examined clinically and with retinal function tests.

RESULTS

The L-ORD eye had sub-RPE deposits that were positive for lipid, including esterified and unesterified cholesterol. The deposits were thinnest in the macula, which retained the highest percentage of photoreceptors. In the periphery, RPE thinning and photoreceptor loss correlated with thickness of the sub-RPE deposits. The eye donor was asymptomatic until his late 50s, when he developed problems with adapting to darkness. At age 68, the eye donor had normal acuity but a midperipheral scotoma and subnormal electroretinograms (ERGs); visual loss was progressive. The five descendants (at the time of examination ages 44-58) of the eye donor and his affected sister, who were at 50/50 risk of inheriting L-ORD, had normal ERGs, but four showed defects in dark adaptation. The dark adaptation abnormalities had a distribution similar to the thickness of the sub-RPE deposits in the eye donor, with slow kinetics in the midperiphery and normal kinetics centrally.

CONCLUSIONS

The L-ORD donor eye differed from a previous case in the regional distribution of sub-RPE deposits and photoreceptors. In the next generation of this L-ORD family, the first expression of disease, abnormal dark adaptation, mirrored the regional distribution of the deposits in the donor eye. The fine structure and staining characteristics of the sub-RPE deposits in L-ORD resemble those in age-related macular degeneration and Sorsby fundus dystrophy.

Loss of cone molecular markers in rhodopsin-mutant human retinas with retinitis pigmentosa

PURPOSE

To examine the effect of rhodopsin mutations on cone photoreceptors in human retinas with retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

METHODS

Four RP retinas with rhodopsin mutations and four normal retinas were examined by immunofluorescence with a battery of cell-specific antibodies against cone and rod cytoplasmic and outer segment membrane proteins. Areas of the retinas were studied that showed maximal preservation of photoreceptor structure.

RESULTS

All four RP retinas showed loss of rods, ranging from mild (T-17-M), to more severe (P-23-H), to advanced degeneration (Q-64-ter and G-106-R). The majority of cones in the T-17-M and P-23-H retinas were cytologically normal but showed loss of immunoreactivity for the cytoplasmic proteins 7G6, calbindin, and X-arrestin. The cone outer segments (OS) remained positive for cone opsins and peripherin-2 (rds/peripherin). All remaining cones in the Q-64-ter and G-106-R retinas were degenerate, with short to absent OS, but had strong reactivity for these cytoplasmic and OS membrane markers. Cones in the maculas of the RP retinas were degenerate, with short to absent OS, but retained strong labeling for the cytoplasmic and OS proteins.

CONCLUSIONS

Even before cones show cytologic changes in response to rod cell degeneration, they lose immunoreactivity for certain cytoplasmic proteins. These cones later show shortening and loss of OS, although their OS membrane proteins remain well labeled. Cones may down regulate expression of both cytoplasmic and outer segment membrane proteins in response to mutant rod cell dysfunction and/or cell death in human RP retinas. Such cytologic and immunocytochemical changes in the cones may presage death of these critical cells in the later stages of RP.

Histopathologic and immunocytochemical analysis of the retina and ocular tissues in Batten disease

PURPOSE

To describe the pathophysiologic features of retinal degeneration in Batten disease (juvenile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis [JNCL]) caused by mutations in the CLN3 gene.

STUDY DESIGN

Comparative human tissue study.

MATERIALS

The retina and other ocular tissues of a 22-year-old man with JNCL were compared with the same tissues of a healthy 30-year-old man. DNA from whole blood and RNA from retina were used for genotype analysis.

METHODS

The retinas, corneas, conjunctiva, and ciliary body were processed for histopathologic and immunofluorescence analysis. Genomic DNA was subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and nucleotide sequence analyses. Reverse transcriptase/PCR and sequence analysis were performed on retinal RNA.

RESULTS

The JNCL donor was heterozygous for a approximately 1 kb deletion in CLN3, as found in most JNCL patients. The other allele had a single base pair deletion in exon 6 that resulted in a frame shift. Gross pathology of the JNCL retina resembled that in retinitis pigmentosa, including deposits of bone spicule pigment. Histopathologic studies revealed loss of neurons from all retinal layers. Immunofluorescence labeling with antibodies to rhodopsin, recoverin, and cone opsin demonstrated degenerate rods and cones with short outer segments in the far periphery. Autofluorescent lipopigment granules were prominent in ganglion cells and some cells of the inner nuclear layer, but not in the photoreceptors. The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) had fewer lipofuscin granules than the control specimen. Increased numbers of lipofuscin granules were found in the epithelia of the ciliary body and conjunctiva, but not in the cornea of the JNCL eye.

CONCLUSIONS

Immunofluorescence studies revealed degenerate rods and cones in the far periphery. Lipofuscin granules were decreased in the RPE, consistent with loss of photoreceptor outer segments. The novel finding that degenerate photoreceptors did not contain autofluorescent inclusions suggests that granule accumulation may not precede photoreceptor degeneration in JNCL. The presence of normal photoreceptor proteins in the degenerate rods and cones suggests that these cells may be capable of functional regeneration if a therapy for Batten disease is developed.

Localization of tubby-like protein 1 in developing and adult human retinas

PURPOSE

To localize tubby-like protein 1 (TULP1) in developing and adult human retinas.

METHODS

TULP1 was localized by immunofluorescence microscopy in human retinas, aged 8.4 fetal weeks to adult. TULP1-positive cells were identified by double labeling with antibodies specific for cones, rods, and astrocytes.

RESULTS

In adult retinas, anti-TULP1 labels cone and rod inner segments, somata, and synapses; outer segments are TULP1-negative. A few inner nuclear and ganglion cells are weakly TULP1-positive. In fetal retinas, cells at the outer retinal border are TULP1-positive at 8.4 weeks. At 11 weeks, the differentiating central cones are strongly TULP1-reactive and some are positive for blue cone opsin. At 15.4 weeks, all central cones are strongly positive for TULP1 and many are reactive for red/green cone opsin. At 17.4 weeks, central rods are weakly TULP-reactive. In peripheral retina at 15.4 weeks to 1 month after birth, displaced cones in the nerve fiber layer are positive for TULP1, recoverin, and blue cone opsin. Some ganglion cells are weakly reactive for TULP1 at 11 weeks and later, but astrocytes and the optic nerve are TULP1-negative at all ages examined.

CONCLUSIONS

The finding of TULP1 labeling of cones before they are reactive for blue or red/green cone opsin suggests an important role for TULP1 in development. TULP1 expression in both developing and mature cones and rods is consistent with a primary photoreceptor defect in retinitis pigmentosa (RP) caused by TULP1 mutations. Weak TULP1-immunolabeling of some inner retinal neurons in developing and adult retinas suggests that optic disc changes in patients with RP who have TULP1 mutations may be primary as well as secondary to photoreceptor degeneration.