Morphofunctional study of rat pleural mesothelial cells exposed to low frequency noise

Vibroacoustic disease (VAD) is a noise-induced pathology occurring in workers occupationally exposed to large pressure amplitude (> or =90 dB SPL) and low frequency (< or = 500 Hz) (LPALF) noise, over long periods of time (> or = 10 yr). Patient complaints frequently involve the respiratory...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAviation, space, and environmental medicine Vol. 70; no. 3 Pt 2; p. A78
Main Authors De Sousa Pereira, A, Grande, N R, Monteiro, E, Castelo Branco, M S, Castelo Branco, N A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.03.1999
Subjects
Absorption
Animals
Calcium Compounds - pharmacokinetics
Disease Models, Animal
Epithelial Cells - ultrastructure
Epithelium - physiopathology
Epithelium - ultrastructure
Humans
Male
Microvilli - ultrastructure
Noise - adverse effects
Occupational Diseases - etiology
Occupational Diseases - pathology
Pleural Diseases - etiology
Pleural Diseases - pathology
Rats
Rats, Wistar
Time Factors
Tungsten Compounds - pharmacokinetics
Vibration - adverse effects
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Summary:Vibroacoustic disease (VAD) is a noise-induced pathology occurring in workers occupationally exposed to large pressure amplitude (> or =90 dB SPL) and low frequency (< or = 500 Hz) (LPALF) noise, over long periods of time (> or = 10 yr). Patient complaints frequently involve the respiratory tract. There have been three cases of pleural effusion of unknown etiology and with unusually long recovery times. To better understand what may be occurring we studied the effects of LPALF noise on the morphological and functional characteristics of pleural mesothelial cells of Wistar rats. The animals were exposed to LPALF noise for periods ranging from 24-600 h. An intrapleural instillation of calcium tungstate was performed, and after sacrifice the pleural visceral and parietal leaflets were studied by scanning electron microscopy. Acute exposure to LPALF noise caused a temporary decrease in the number of mesothelial microvilli, and prolonged exposure resulted in a definite decrease in their number as well as an impairment of their capacity to absorb particles within in the pleural space. These results explain the pleural pathology found in human patients with VAD and confirm the deleterious effect of LPALF noise on the respiratory system.
ISSN:0095-6562