Goodpasture's Syndrome and Exposure to Solvents

Beirne and Brennan 1 suggest a relationship between exposure to hydrocarbons and rapidly progressive crescentic glomerulonephritis associated with antibodies to glomerular basement membrane. Six of eight such patients interviewed had a history of prolonged heavy exposure to various hydrocarbon solvents preceding the onset of their disease. Five of the six patients also had pulmonary hemorrhage, thereby fulfilling the criteria for Goodpasture's syndrome. Three of the patients with Goodpasture's syndrome had almost identical jobs cleaning mechanical parts that required degreasing and paint-removing solvents. The authors propose that at least in some cases the disease is caused by the toxic effects of inhaled volatile hydrocarbons. Chemical interaction with lung or kidney basement membrane is thought to provoke the immunological response that in turn perpetuates and intensifies the tissue injury. While retrospective studies such as this can only suggest and never prove an etiological relationship, the theory proposed would perhaps explain why this