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Biomedical subjects

R E Albert

Publications and source records attributed to R E Albert.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1975

Tracheobronchial particle deposition and clearance. A study of the effects of cigarette smoking in monozygotic twins.

Particle deposition and tracheobronchial clearance were measured in six pairs of male monozygotic twins, four of which were discordant for cigarette smoking. The fraction of an inhaled aerosol that deposited on the ciliated airways showed variations within twin pairs comparable with variations in repeated tests on a single subject, and significantly smaller (P less than .001) than among tests on different subjects. Variations that did occur were consistent with differences in forced expiratory volume (FEV1.0) values. The proximal shift of aerosol deposition and reduced FEV1.0 values in smokers indicated that they had some degree of bronchoconstriction. Mucociliary clearance characteristics are qualitatively and quantitatively similar for nonsmoking and smoking concordant monozygotic twins, ie, comparable with repeated tests on a single individual, reflecting their constitutional similarity. With one exception, clearance curves for twin pairs discordant with respect to smoking were also qualitatively indistinguishable. Nonsmokers, however, had greater upper bronchial clearance rates than their smoking twins.

Aerosols↗
PubMed1975

Mortality patterns among workers exposed to chloromethyl ethers--a preliminary report.

Chloromethyl methyl ether (CMME) has been used extensively as a crosslinking agent for ion-exchange resins. Commercial grades of CMME are contaminated to the extent of 2-8% with bischloromethyl ether, an alkylating agent which has been shown to be a very potent lung carcinogen in animals. Reports by other investigators in this and other countries have implicated CMME as a lung carcinogen in chemical workers. The purpose of the study reported here was to examine the lung cancer mortality experience with respect to intensity and duration of exposure in six of the seven chemical companies that account for virtually all of the CMME use in the United States. The study included about 1800 workers who were exposed in the period 1948 to 1972 and about 8000 workers not exposed to CMME from the same plants who served as controls. Exposed workers were characterized according to job description and duration of exposure. In several plants the intensity of exposure was numerically graded for each job category with adjustment for temporal changes in the plant processes. Social Security records were used to identify deaths among workers who had left the companies and death certificates have been obtained for virtually all known deaths. The age-adjusted death rate for respiratory cancer in the CMME exposed group as a whole was 2.5 times that in the control group, whereas death rates due to other causes were comparable. There was also a gradation of lung cancer risk according to intensity and duration of exposure and the time elapsed since the onset of exposure.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Factors affecting tracheobronchial mucociliary transport.

In vivo mucus transport rates were studied in humans and donkeys by external measurement of the rate of clearance of insoluble monodisperse gamma-tagged aerosols. The influence of temperature, environmental toxicants and drugs which affect the autonomic nervous system were studied by determining the changes in clearance produced by them in individual subjects. In donkeys, increased pretest ambient temperature accelerated clearance by greater than 1.7%/ degrees C. Smoking 2-7 cigarettes reduced the duration of bronchial clearance by approximately 50% in both humans and donkeys. Donkeys were exposed to higher doses; with progressive slowing of tracheal and bronchial clearance for greater than 10 cigarettes. HCN, at concentrations up to 1230 ppm, produced only a mild transient slowing of clearance. In man, atropine slowed clearance, while the adrenergic stimulating drugs, isoproterenol and epinephrine, both accelerated it by greater than or equal to 4 times, as did isoproterenol when given subsequent to atropine. The cholinergic stimulating drug methacholine increased mucociliary transport in the the donkey. Administration of a tap water aerosol for 10-15 min in humans increased bronchial clearance rates by approximately 25%.

Aerosols↗
PubMed1974

Follow-up of children overexposed to lead.

The purpose of this study is to assess the nature and magnitude of the deleterious health effects of subclinical over-exposure to lead in children. The study stems from concerns about the impact on the health of children in city slums who ingest leaded paint without overt evidence of poisoning and the health implication of rising levels of lead in the environment from automotive emissions. The study sample was derived mainly from a registry of children on whom blood lead determinations had been made by the New York City Department of Health and was supplemented by siblings of the registry cases and children from a lead belt area who had extractions of deciduous teeth in dental clinics. Information was obtained through parental interview, medical records, and psychometric evaluation. The data show that deleterious health effects occur in children who were treated for severe lead poisoning and in children without diagnosed lead poisoning who had elevated blood leads (>/=0.06 mg-%). In the absence of diagnosed lead poisoning or elevated blood leads, excess lead exposure, measured in terms of high levels of lead in teeth, was not associated with deleterious health effects.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1971

X-ray fluorescence: detection of lead in wall paint.

An instrument has been developed for the in situ determination of lead on painted surfaces. It utilizes, as a source of gamma rays, radioactive cadmium-109 and its daughter silver-109 (metastable) to excite the K series x-rays of lead, and a solid-state, lithium-drifted germanium detector. The device, which is capable of detecting 0.26 milligram of lead per square centimeter of paint [approximately 3 percent (by weight) of lead in a single coat] beneath ten layers of lead-free paint, has been tested in a preliminary survey of several tenement apartments in New York City.

Cadmium↗