GOODPASTURES-SYNDROME IN AGING - AN EXPERIMENTAL-STUDY ON THE RAT .1.

The following hypothesis is proposed: Experimental lung disease in old rats is different from this disease in adult rats. In order to demons trate this, we performed a morphometrical evaluation of the pulmonary state of two groups of rats at different ages and to which Goodpasture 's syndrome had been induced. 115 Wistar rats were used. They were div ided into four different groups as follows: 1) Healthy adult rats whic h had not been subjected to treatment; 2) diseased adult rats to which antipulmonary serum had been administered; 3) healthy old rats; and 4 ) diseased old rats. With the help of a computerized system, the lengt h of the alveolar chord, the thickness of the alveolar wall and the su rface of the bronchial-associated lymphoid tissue in each group was ca lculated. We also counted the number of alveolar macrophages (AM) with haemosiderin, the percentage of goblet bronchial cells and that of AM , lymphocytes and polymorphonuclear leukocytes of the broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL). The following results were obtained. When related to th e diseased adult rats, the diseased old rats showed an increase in the alveolar chord and a decrease in the thickness of the alveolar wall, as well as in the number of AM with haemosiderin, globet cells and BAL lymphocytes. These results support the proposed hypotheses, since the diseased adult animals showed signs of alveolar inflammation with int erstitial edema, while in the diseased old animals these results are c ompatible with emphysema.