Year: 2002
Type: article
Abstract: To the Editor: Pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis is a rare disease of unknown pathogenesis, characterized by widespread laminated calcispherites in alveolar spaces in the absence of any known disorder of calcium metabolism.1 It usually occurs in a sporadic form, but an autosomal recessive form has been described, especially in patients from the Mediterranean countries.2–5 We report on two initially asymptomatic, nonsmoking siblings: a 38-year-old woman and her 41-year-old brother, both of whom were given a diagnosis of pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis. In both patients, chest x-ray films and a computed tomographic scan (Figure 1) showed diffusely scattered, bilateral, micronodular areas of . . .
Source: New England Journal of Medicine
Language: English
Subfield: Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2010722276