TY - JOUR T1 - Bronchoalveolar lavage findings in a young adult with idiopathic pulmonary haemosiderosis and coeliac disease JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J SP - 1009 LP - 1012 DO - 10.1183/09031936.94.07051009 VL - 7 IS - 5 AU - D Bouros AU - P Panagou AU - T Rokkas AU - NM Siafakas Y1 - 1994/05/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/7/5/1009.abstract N2 - Idiopathic pulmonary haemosiderosis is a rare disease of unknown autoimmune aetiology, mainly affecting children and adolescents. A variety of coexisting autoimmune diseases have been described, including coeliac disease. We describe the case of a man, aged 19 yrs, presenting with a one year history of recurrent haemoptysis. Gluten and gliadin antibodies were positive, and the jejunal biopsy revealed villous atrophy consistent with the diagnosis of coeliac disease. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid analysis showed a mean haemosiderin score (Golde index) of 240, and a local suppressor/cytotoxic profile on immunocytology. Both clinical and immunological improvement was obtained after a month of gluten-free diet. These immunological findings provide new insight into the pathogenesis of this disease. ER -