American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Nov 2014
ReviewAn official american thoracic society statement: diagnosis and management of beryllium sensitivity and chronic beryllium disease.
Beryllium continues to have a wide range of industrial applications. Exposure to beryllium can lead to sensitization (BeS) and chronic beryllium disease (CBD). ⋯ Medical surveillance in workplaces that use beryllium-containing materials can identify individuals with BeS and at-risk groups of workers, which can help prioritize efforts to reduce inhalational and dermal exposures.
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Asthma is a major chronic disease ranging from mild to severe refractory disease and is classified into various clinical phenotypes. Severe asthma is difficult to treat and frequently requires high doses of systemic steroids. In some cases, severe asthma even responds poorly to steroids. ⋯ In addition, IL-17A has been described in multiple aspects of asthma pathogenesis, including structural alterations of epithelial cells and smooth muscle contraction. In this perspective article, we frame the topic of IL-17A effects in severe asthma by reviewing updated information from human studies. We summarize and discuss the implications of IL-17 in the induction of neutrophilic airway inflammation, steroid insensitivity, the epithelial cell profile, and airway remodeling.