METSOVO LUNGChrysostomi – Christina Tsianou

Vasiliki Konstantinidou

Shada Ali Hussain

What is Metsovo Lung?

= unique epidemic of domestic asbestos exposurespecifically, all inhabitants had been exposed during 1940-1950 to a tremolite asbestos-containing whitewash.

WHAT IS ASBESTOS?=Amianthus is a mineral fiber that occurs in rock and

soil.microscopic fibers

Easily inhaledRespiratory system

Lodged in the soft internal tissue

NOT EASILY EXPELLED OR

BROKEN DOWN BY THE BODY

EFFECTS

• Asbestosis• Mesothelioma• Lung Cancer

PATHOPHYSIOLOGYExposure to asbestos maybe followed by pulmonary and pleural diseases after a lengthy latent period.✔Pleural plaques ✔Acute benign asbestos pleurisy ✔Diffuse pleural thickening ✔Asbestosis✔Mesothelioma

SYMPTOMS• Shortness of breath, wheezing, or hoarseness.• A persistent cough that gets worse over time.• Blood in the sputum (fluid) coughed up from lungs.• Pain or tightening in the chest.• Difficulty swallowing.• Swelling of the neck or face.• Loss of appetite.• Weight loss.• Fatigue or Anemia.

HISTORY• Between 1981-1985, 7 patients from 3 villages (5000

inhabitants) appeared pleural mesothelioma.• The diagnosis was confirmed with diagnostic pleural

aspiration (cytology) and pleural biopsy.• After 18-24 months that the first symptoms(dyspnea and

fatigue) appeared to the patients, 6/7 lost their lives. • Which means that in patients with Metsovo Lung there is

a 300% of the death incidents from Mesothelioma.

• The disease has low progression.• Mesothelioma seems to appeared at least 30

years after asbestos exposure.• Can infiltrate local tissues and metastasize to

distal ones.• The risk remains lifelong.• Smoking is not a risk factor.

UNIVERSAL Asbestos has been banned is

52 countries, including the countries of E.U..

Utilization increased in developing countries ( Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Brazil, India).

The WHO (World Health Organization) reports that 100,000 deaths per year related to asbestos exposure.

Some specialists mention that until 2030 asbestos will be responsible for 10 million deaths worldwide.

THERE IS NO SAFE USE OF ASBESTOS.

It is not possible to determine a minimum amount of asbestos exposure that can trigger the initiation of the disease.

SOURCES• http://www.ixek.gr/images/articles/383_7.pdf• http://www.stutters.com/services/service-asbestos-abateme

nt-removal/

• http://www.mesothelioma.com/asbestos-cancer/what-is-asbestos.htm

• https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/asbestos/• http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/

substances/asbestos/asbestos-fact-sheet

• http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/39/1/217Thank you!