Byssinosis: airway responses in textile dust exposure

The inhalation of textile dusts causes bronchoconstriction in textile workers and in healthy experimental subjects. The airway responses to these dusts are potentiated by propranolol and inhibited by an antihistamine drug and by ascorbic acid. Administration of 20 mg disodium cromoglycate by spinhaler 30 minutes prior to challenge with hemp dust or hemp dust extract protected a small number of subjects against the airway constrictor effect, mostly those with a large acute reduction in flow rates. Textile dust extracts contain a histamine-releasing agent, which explains their airway constrictor effect. This agent is a highly water-soluble, heat-stable, low-molecular-weight compound which has not yet been chemically identified. In the prevention and control of byssinosis, the administration of drugs such as ascorbic acid or disodium cromoglycate should be considered in addition to engineering methods.