OCCURRENCE OF AUTOIMMUNE-DISEASES AFTER LONG-TERM OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE TO UNUSUAL SOURCES OF SILICA OR SILICONE - 3 OBSERVATIONS

A woman, who had intensively used an abrasive cleansing powder rich in silica for 12 years, developed a connective tissue disease consisting of destructive inflammatory oligoarthritis, Gougerot-Sjogren's syn. drome, Raynaud's syndrome, anti-nuclear antibodies and hypocomplementemia. Another woman, who had sprayed silicone-glaze on cables for 15 years, suffered from aedematous scleroderma. A man, who had sprayed the same silicone-glaze on cables over a 20 year period, had 2 subluxing arthropathy. These autoimmune syndromes were compared with diseases classically induced by exposure to silica and silicone. To the best of our knowledge, these means of exposure have not been reported previously and merit being known in the aim of prevention.