Yourlawyer.com (Sarcoidosis News)

Study Links Serious Lung Illness To Work At WTC Site

Tue, 08 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700

A new study released today proves what World Trade Center rescue workers say they've known all along that working among the dust and debris at the site has caused serious damage to their lungs.

A study by doctors from the Fire Department and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine says cases of a rare type of lung disease soared in the year after the WTC collapsed.

The study published in the journal Chest found 15 firefighters and rescue workers were diagnosed with a disease called Sarcoidosis in the year after the collapse. That's compared to an average of two to four cases per year in the 15 years before September 11th.

Sarcoidosis is a disease where lungs and other organs become inflamed. The disease can be treated, but in some cases it can be deadly.

This is the first study to clearly link working in the World Trade Center debris, to serious illness.

All other studies have only cited coughing and breathing problems associated with working at the site.

Big rise in lung ailments for WTC Bravest

Tue, 08 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Cases of a lung disease rose dramatically among city firefighters and paramedics after they responded to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, and they are sicker than those affected before 9/11, according to a study published today.

There were 26 new cases of sarcoidosis in the five years after Sept. 11, 2001, FDNY doctors report in this month's issue of the journal Chest. In comparison, there were 45 cases in the 15 years before the attacks.

While just one of the firefighters who developed the inflammatory disease before 9/11 had any symptoms, 69% of those who developed it afterward have asthma, the study found.

"Asthma is a disabling disease for firefighters," said Dr. David Prezant, the FDNY's chief medical officer. "It's had an impact on people's lives, their careers."

EMS Lt. Jeffrey Halpern was recently diagnosed with sarcoidosis and suffered breathing problems stemming from his work at Ground Zero, according to statements written by his doctors.

Though Halpern, 59, said he smoked pipes and cigars in college, he's "100%" certain his disease is the result of Ground Zero.

Sarcoidosis "hasn't been seen, and all of a sudden it's being seen? I think that's a pretty good argument," said Halpern, who lives in Brooklyn.

The FDNY confirmed Halpern worked at Ground Zero but could not immediately say how many hours he spent at the site. Although Halpern is part of the department's medical monitoring program, he is not being treated by its doctors for a specific World Trade Center ailment, said FDNY spokesman Frank Gribbon.

Halpern, who said he needed a private doctor for another serious illness, is in the process of documenting his sickness for the department.

The FDNY data are the first to show a rise in sarcoidosis after an "intense environmental exposure," Prezant wrote. That "strongly" suggests that the proliferation of FDNY cases is linked to the toxic cloud at Ground Zero, he said.

Study links lung disease to WTC work

Tue, 08 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Rescue workers and firefighters contracted a serious lung-scarring disease called sarcoidosis at a much higher rate after the Sept. 11 attacks than before, said a study that is the first to link the disease to exposure to toxic dust at ground zero.

The study, published by nine doctors including the medical officer monitoring city firefighters, Dr. David Prezant, found that firefighters and rescue workers contracted sarcoidosis in the year after Sept. 11, 2001, at a rate more than five times higher than the years before the attacks.

Unlike previous studies that have linked exposure to the toxic dust cloud that enveloped lower Manhattan after the World Trade Center's collapse to many different respiratory illnesses, this study zeros in on one disease.

Sarcoidosis, which can be life-threatening, causes an inflammation in the lungs that deposits tiny cells in the organs, leaving scar tissues that damage them. Several rescue workers and others exposed to trade center dust have claimed they contracted the disease from their work at ground zero.

The study compared the rates of contracting sarcoidosis among fire department employees for 15 years before Sept. 11 and for five years after it. It said firefighters who showed symptoms of the disease on chest X-rays underwent more intensive exams.

After the trade center attack, 26 firefighters were diagnosed with sarcoidosis, the study found. Thirteen were diagnosed in the first year after the attacks, which represents a rate of 86 per 100,000. In the 15 years before the attack, the rate of sarcoidosis was 15 per 100,0000, the study found.

None of the 26 rescue workers, who are in their 30s and 40s, has died of the disease, and about 10 have improved or recovered since their diagnoses, the study found. Two of the firefighters were former smokers, the study found.

The study was published this week in the May issue of CHEST Physician, a journal published by the American College of Chest Physicians.

World Trade Center Emergency Workers Health Ailment Sarcoidosis Disease Lawyer

Tue, 08 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Legal Help for 9/11 World Trade Center Rescue Workers

On May 7, 2007, in the first clinical study to connect World Trade Center dust to serious and on occasion fatal diseases, doctors discovered that the number of New York City rescue and recovery workers with a rare type of lung-scarring condition soared in the year after the trade center collapsed. Doctors from the Fire Department and at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine found that 13 firefighters and emergency medical service workers developed sarcoidosis.

The authors of the study, which include Dr. David J. Prezant, deputy chief medical officer of the Fire Department and a member of the faculty at Albert Einstein calculated an incidence rate in the first year after the collapse of 86 cases per 100,000 workers. This finding is more than five times higher than the 15 per 100,000 rate (an average of two to four cases per year) for Firefighter Department workers in the 15 years before the trade center collapsed.

After the original rise in disease rates after 9/11, the number of cases of sarcoidosis and similar illnesses dropped, according to the study, but remained rather higher than normal for several more years, equivalent to a rate of 22 per 100,000 (with no more than four cases each year). In total, doctors found 26 cases of sarcoidosis in the five years after 9/11, an amount surpassing the combined total for the previous 15 years.

Several federal and local studies of the health impact of contact with to World Trade Center dust have shown that a high percentage of rescue and recovery workers developed persistent coughs and other respiratory problems. But until now, there has not been enough data available to say with certainty whether more serious illnesses might develop.

The new peer-reviewed study, released on May 7, 200, which can be found in the medical journal Chest, is considered to have a high degree of reliability because yearly checkups by department doctors make it possible to compare a firefighter’s condition before and after 9/11. Other clinical studies are usually based on conditions reported by rescue and recovery workers.

On average, the firefighters and emergency workers with sarcoidosis were 39 years old and had 10 years’ experience on the job. Of the 26 workers who have the illness, 24 said they never smoked tobacco, and the other two were described as ex-smokers.

What is Sarcoidosis?
Sarcoidosis is a disease that results from inflammation of tissues of the body. It can appear in almost any body organ, but most often starts in the lungs or lymph nodes. The disease can appear suddenly and disappear, or it can develop little by little and go on to produce symptoms that come and go, sometimes for a lifetime. As sarcoidosis progresses, small lumps, or granulomas, appear in the affected tissues. In the majority of cases, these granulomas clear up, either with or without treatment. In the few cases where the granulomas do not heal and disappear, the tissues tend to remain inflamed and become scarred (fibrotic).

What are symptoms of sarcoidosis?
Shortness of breath (dyspnea), chest pain, and a cough that won't go away can be among the first symptoms of sarcoidosis. But sarcoidosis can also show up suddenly with the appearance of skin rashes. Red bumps (erythema nodosum) on the face, arms, or shins, and inflammation of the eyes are also common symptoms. It is not unusual, however, for sarcoidosis symptoms to be more general. Weight loss, fatigue, night sweats, fever, or just an overall feeling of ill health can also be clues to the disease.

Legal Rights for World Trade Center Rescue Workers
On May 7, 2007 a new study linked World Trade Center dust to serious health ailments. If you or a loved one were a 9/11 World Trade Center rescue worker and you have been diagnosed with Sarcoidosis, you may be entitled to compensation. Please fill out the form at the right for a free case evaluation by a qualified attorney. Or call 1-800-LAW-INFO (1-800-529-4636) or fill out the short form to the right.