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Review
. 2010 Jan;7(1):115-24.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph7010115. Epub 2010 Jan 13.

Advances in identifying beryllium sensitization and disease

Dan Middleton  1 , Peter Kowalski
Affiliations
Review

Advances in identifying beryllium sensitization and disease

Dan Middleton et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2010 Jan.

Abstract

Beryllium is a lightweight metal with unique qualities related to stiffness, corrosion resistance, and conductivity. While there are many useful applications, researchers in the 1930s and 1940s linked beryllium exposure to a progressive occupational lung disease. Acute beryllium disease is a pulmonary irritant response to high exposure levels, whereas chronic beryllium disease (CBD) typically results from a hypersensitivity response to lower exposure levels. A blood test, the beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT), was an important advance in identifying individuals who are sensitized to beryllium (BeS) and thus at risk for developing CBD. While there is no true "gold standard" for BeS, basic epidemiologic concepts have been used to advance our understanding of the different screening algorithms.

Keywords: BeLPT; BeS; CBD; beryllium; beryllium sensitization; chronic beryllium disease; screening.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
One abnormal BeLPT provides sufficient evidence for beryllium sensitization.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
One abnormal and one borderline provide sufficient evidence for beryllium sensitization.
Figures 3.
Figures 3.
Two abnormal BeLPTs provide sufficient evidence for beryllium sensitization.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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