Immunological aspects of asbestosis: patients' neurological signs and asbestosis progression.

This study is a component of a long-term, follow-up study aimed at evaluation of immunological and neurological findings with regard to the early detection of malignancies among patients at high risk of developing cancer. One hundred fifteen patients with diagnosed asbestosis were examined neurologically and immunologically (rheumatoid factor, antinuclear antibodies, C3 and C4 and circulating immune complexes). Patients with nervous system involvement (63 cases; 55%) revealed no significant immunological differences when compared with the other patients except for a more common presence of antinuclear antibodies among patients without nervous system involvement (21% vs 6%, p less than .05). Significantly increased Wa-Ro titers (greater than 1/128) were found for 3-4% of the patients whose asbestosis was either progressive or not as to radiological fibrosis, whereas only 0.4% of the blood donors had a significantly increased Wa-Ro titer. The respective figures of latex agglutination (greater than 1/32) were found for 14-19% of the asbestosis patients whereas in 0.8% of the blood donors. The mean level of C3 was higher among progressive than nonprogressive asbestosis cases (1.48 vs 1.34, p less than .05). Patients with radiographic progression of asbestosis had higher IgG-antinuclear antibody titers than the patients without progression.