The aerosol-derived airway morphometry technique (ADAM) can be used to assess non-invasively peripheral airspace dimensions. It has been shown that this technique can identify permanent peripheral airspace enlargement in @entity1 with @entity358 , but it is yet unknown if early stages of @entity2415 can be detected. In this study, 89 @entity3775 welders were investigated. Although all (except two subjects) showed normal spirometry, in 29% of the subjects @entity227 were observed with high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) in a previous study. Using the ADAM technique, 28% of the subjects showed increased peripheral airspace dimensions. However, both groups with positive findings overlapped only in about half of the cases. Peripheral airspace dimensions correlated significantly with the mean lung density calculated from the HRCT scans, and lung density was significantly decreased in the group with increased airspace dimensions. The poor overlap of the positive findings observed with both techniques can be explained if it is considered that the @entity227 technique and ADAM focus on different aspects of emphysematous changes in the lungs. Whereas @entity227 is a powerful tool to identify focal changes in lung density but cannot detect mild @entity2415 , ADAM delivers a measure for homogeneously distributed @entity2415 but cannot detect focal @entity2415 or regions with @entity2415 which are badly ventilated. Since ADAM is easy to perform, non-invasive, and can be repeatedly applied to @entity1 subjects without radiological concerns, this technique might become a useful tool for the detection and monitoring of @entity358 in occupational medicine, epidemiology, and pharmaceutics.

Can aerosol-derived airway morphometry detect early, asymptomatical XXXX ?

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['human', 'patients'] @entity3775 :: ('MESH:D000535', 'Chemical') :: ['aluminum'] @entity227 :: ('MESH:D014786', 'Disease') :: ['visual signs of early emphysema', 'visual HRCT'] @entity2415 :: ('MESH:D004646', 'Disease') :: ['homogeneous emphysema', 'emphysema'] @entity358 :: ('MESH:D008171', 'Disease') :: ['lung emphysema']
@entity358 :: (MESH:D008171,Disease) :: ['lung emphysema']
