Asbestos and tuberculosis in Trieste, Italy

The distribution of counts of asbestos bodies in lung specimens from 25 persons dying of fibrocaseous tuberculosis was essentially identical to that in age- and sex-matched control subjects. Although tuberculosis mortality has been elevated in the past in cohorts of asbestos workers, asbestos exposure at environmental levels found in a region with a history of heavy asbestos use appears to be unassociated with risk of tuberculosis. Potentiation of the risk of death from tuberculosis may require both a high risk of tuberculosis in the general community and intense personal exposure to asbestos

Renal echography in diabetes mellitus

The US findings in the kidneys of diabetic patients were studied. Diabetic subjects without clinical or laboratory signs of nephropathy were investigated by means of US in order to detect early anatomical lesions predictive of renal injury. The kidneys of cadaver diabetics were also studied to correlate US and histologic patterns. US alterations were observed in half of the cases: they were diffuse in 9% of cases and focal in 39%--hyperechoic spots and hyperechoic juxta-medulla. Focal spots are more common in juvenile-onset diabetics and they are correlated with the age of diabetes. At histology the above US patterns were correlated with the vascular wall alterations typical of diabetic nephropathy. Diffuse alterations are not specific. The authors conclude by suggesting US as a prognostic test for diabetic nephropathy