Concern about the health hazards associated with asbestos are not something new. As early as 1906, a Parliamentary Commission in the United Kingdom confirmed the first cases of asbestos related deaths in factories in Great Britain and recommended better ventilation in the factories.

In the United States there was a study produced in 1918 showing premature deaths in the asbestos industry and as early as 1926 there was the first successful claim for compensation by a sick asbestos worker.

The problem with asbestos is that when it is inhaled, which is easy as the fibers are so fine, it is carcinogenic. This can then lead to several respiratory problems including a potentially serious lung condition called asbestosis. In addition it can lead to one of the most severe cancers known as mesothelioma which not only occurs in the chest but also the abdominal cavity. Mesothelioma is not usually referred to as a cancer of the lung, as the cells which become malignant come from the mesothelium which is a tissue found on the inside walls of the chest and abdominal cavities and on the outer surface of the lungs rather than actually in the lung itself.

It is estimated that ten thousand people in the United States die every year of asbestos-related diseases, including mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, and gastrointestinal cancer.

If you have been diagnosed with any an asbestos related disease, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. To find out how we can help you recover for your asbestos related claim, contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP  at  (800) 598-0314 immediately, or contact us online for a free consultation.

Doctors specializing in cancer research, working at Nara Medical University in Japan, have identified chromosomal abnormalities which seem to affect exactly where mesothelioma develops in the body.

Lead investigator Doctor Maiko Takeda, who is with the University’s Department of Diagnostic Pathology, says that the report shows that there is a genetic difference between those patients with pleural mesothelioma, which affects the lining of the lungs and those with peritoneal mesothelioma, which is located in the lining of the abdomen.

The study, which is published in the Journal of Clinical Pathology, was based on tissue samples from 54 mesothelioma patients and could signal a breakthrough in the study of potential gene based treatments for the disease.

The majority of mesothelioma patients suffer from pleural mesothelioma with only around 30 percent having the peritoneal type of the disease.

If you have been diagnosed with any an asbestos related disease, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. To find out how we can help you recover for your asbestos related claim, contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP  at  (800) 598-0314 immediately, or contact us online for a free consultation.

The family of a Tyler man, who died after contracting mesothelioma, after years of exposure working at the Kelly Springfield/Goodyear plant, was awarded $18.6 million by a Dallas County jury last week, and according to their lawyers, Goodyear plainly ignored standards set in place in 1972 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Jurors found Goodyear grossly negligent for allowing Mr. Rogers’ continued exposure to asbestos.

Carl Rogers worked at the plant for 30 years as a tire builder before being diagnosed with mesothelioma, a deadly cancer caused by exposure to asbestos fibers. He was diagnosed with the disease in August 2008 and died in September 2009.

He worked with Goodyear machines that exposed him to asbestos on a constant basis. He was further exposed to asbestos-wrapped piping while maintenance work was being carried out at the plant. The verdict includes $2.7 million in non-economic damages, $900,000 in economic damages and $15 million in punitive damages.

Goodyear admitted during the trial that the levels of asbestos were 10 to 100 times greater than the average person would breathe outside of the plant.

Three other former workers at the plant have been diagnosed with mesothelioma which is a significantly higher rate, some 900%, more that the national average of one case per million people.

Mesothelioma, a cancer usually caused by asbestos, which affects the lining of the lung or abdomen, is extremely aggressive and the cancer cells multiply and grow as blood vessels bring more food and oxygen to them. Now, researchers from the University of Leeds in England, think that they have found the key to blood vessel formation which might lead to a new treatment for the disease.

They say that they have discovered a gene that plays a vital role in the formation of the blood vessel s. and research leader, Professor David Beech of the Leeds University School of Medicine, says that blood vessels emerge, like a river system and are created depending on how much blood is flowing.

The researchers found that the gene Piezo1, which is present in the lungs, bladder and skin, as well as in red blood cells, alerts sensors that blood is flowing, and therefore, new vessels should be formed.

The team is now working to understand the effects of manipulating the gene on cancers and heart diseases as both of these diseases rely on blood vessels and blood flow to form and grow.

Beech says that the findings are promising although they are in the early stages.

Three thousand Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year and almost the same number die from it each year. In the UK, someone dies every five hours from mesothelioma.

If you have been diagnosed with any an asbestos related disease, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. To find out how we can help you recover for your asbestos related claim, contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP  at  (800) 598-0314 immediately, or contact us online for a free consultation.

Asbestos exposure is the most commonly known cause for mesothelioma but it has now been discovered that a mineral known as erionite can also cause the disease

Erionite is a naturally occurring, white, mineral found in some volcanic ash. It was first discovered in Oregon in 1898 and given its name, and geologists now classify it as a type of zeolite mineral. When it shatters or breaks, it has very small sharp fibers which can be disseminated into the air.

The United Sates has several eronite deposits in Nevada, California, Oregon, Arizona, Wyoming and New Mexico and well as Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah and North and South Dakota.

It has now been discovered that some villages in Turkey where there is a high exposure to erionite also have a high rate of mesothelioma, with between 25 and 50 percent of inhabitants of some of the villages dying due to the disease.

To compare, the United States has approximately 2700 deaths a year from mesothelioma which is 14 per million, and a rate of 0.0014%.

If you have been diagnosed with any an asbestos related disease, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. To find out how we can help you recover for your asbestos related claim, contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP  at  (800) 598-0314 immediately, or contact us online for a free consultation.

Mesothelioma is a daunting illness for both patients and their families and a challenging disease for physicians, researchers and scientists who are constantly striving to find a cure and new methods of treating the disease.

Although the new treatments are still in the early stages, some have now reached the time for human clinical trials which offers hope to mesothelioma patients and their families, together with the knowledge that they may be helping to find a possible cure for this disease.

One of the most effective forms of treatment appears to be the combination of available treatments to maximize their overall impact. It is true that surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy have all proven to be effective on their own, but using them together has delivered promising results.

One brand new type of scientific approach is gene therapy, in which new genes are added to mesothelioma cells in the hope that they will weaken the cells to such a degree, that they die. One study actually used viruses to seek out the mesothelioma cells. One discovered, they inject them with an infection that causes the cells to shrink or die.

For those who have been exposed to asbestos, there is a risk they will go on to develop Mesothelioma, which is a particularly aggressive cancer which is resistant to usual cancer therapies and claims the lives of around 2,500 American citizens each year.

Now, a National Cancer Institute research team, think that they have discovered a way to increase the success of chemotherapy on patients who are suffering from mesothelioma.

The breakthrough is the discovery of an immunotoxin known as SS1P which targets the mesothelioma cancer cells. It can do this as it is looking especially for a protein known as mesothelin, and there is much more of this in the mesothelioma cells.

This is not the first time they have looked at SS1P treatment, but this time it was not tested on its own, but in combination with the standard mesothelioma chemotherapy drugs.

The researched used different levels of the drugs on the patients taking part in the trial and the results showed that there were few side effects and of those patients who received the maximum dose, 77% experienced some reduction in the size of their tumors.

The next stage is for the study to be extended to a larger group of patients with mesothelioma, using the most successful dosing protocol.

How to Safely Remove Asbestos Tile

Asbestos was traditionally used for insulation and is found in roofing tiles, ceiling tiles and other forms of insulation.

It is labeled as a hazardous material, or hazmat, and in order to remove it you need to call upon the services of a licensed asbestos removal expert.

Those who are qualified in its removal have had to attend classes and courses to ensure that they know how to remove asbestos with no risk to either themselves or anyone else in the area.

The main problem with removing asbestos is the dust that is created and so the whole house has either to be wrapped or, if you are removing asbestos inside, a filtration system has to be used. In addition, in order to prevent the dust from entering lungs or eyes, the removal expert must use a respiration system.

If you are considering buying an older house it is essential that you have the house checked to see if there is any asbestos before spending your money on it.

To find out how we can help you recover for your asbestos related claim, contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP  at  (800) 598-0314 immediately, or contact us online for a free consultation.

Due to the fact that asbestos has been proven to be extremely deadly to humans many people would likely assume that the substance has probably banned at a federal level. For well over a century both manufacturers and governments in the Western world have known that asbestos exposure can cause such deadly diseases as asbestos related lung cancer and mesothelioma. However, as will be seen in the following video, asbestos is not illegal in the United States.

http://youtu.be/RZm7u6z6tLI

This video shows that, despite the dangers, there are nevertheless those who would continue to have asbestos used in industrial and manufacturing processes. The argument goes that there are several kinds of asbestos – which can be broken down into two categories: asbestos which is safe for humans and asbestos which is unsafe for humans. But, as the doctor at the end of the video duly notes, even those kinds of asbestos which some claim are safe have been linked to asbestos related diseases in the past.

It could be argued that the faulty opinions of many experts continues to contribute to the dangers faced by those who continue to work with asbestos. If you have been diagnosed with any of these conditions, you may be entitled to monetary compensation. To find out how we can help you recover for your asbestos related claim, contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP  at  (800) 598-0314 immediately, or contact us online for a free consultation.