Analysis and Investigation of Inorganic Particles with Human Tissues

Dear Colleagues,

Recently, the American Thoracic Society, in coordination with the European Respiratory Society, published a statement describing the significance of workplace inhalational hazards that add to the burden of nonmalignant lung diseases, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, sarcoidosis, and pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (Blanc et al., 2019. 1312–1334 AJRCCM). It is thought that the incidence of nonmalignant lung diseases associated with environmental elemental exposure will be much higher than expected.

In addition to pulmonary disorders, autoimmune diseases have also been known to be associated with elemental exposure. Vasculitis, such as granulomatosis with polyangiitis or microscopic polyangiitis, is known to be associated with occupational silica exposure. Systemic sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis are also associated with heavy metal or silica exposure. In addition, PM 2.5 is also harmful, causing cardiovascular diseases. However, elemental analysis has not been intensely focused on nonmalignant lung and systemic vascular diseases, differentiating it from pneumoconiosis or malignant mesothelioma.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to connect recent knowledge acquired from applying elemental analysis to clinical medicine with the pathogenetic elucidation of human diseases. For this Special Issue, we encourage researchers to investigate the interaction between environmental elemental exposure and human diseases. We welcome preliminary studies, original research papers, and systematic reviews, as well as meta-analyses.

Dr. Yasuhiko Koga
Guest Editor

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