Abstract
In the late 1970’s idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (formerly cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis) appeared as a new clinical entity alongside fibrotic radiographs of known occupational lung diseases. Since then its incidence and mortality has continued to rise without an established cause. Epidemiologists believe an environmental factor to be responsible and suggest biomass fuels, smoking and exposure to air pollution as possible candidates.
At the same time, the veterinary world also recognised an acute fatal lung injury and a slower progressive fibrosis in farm animal’s especially healthy older males. They identified the pneumotoxicant to be linked to forage Brassica ingestion and reproduced both conditions in the field by varying exposure level. They described many other features in the farm animals that are also present in IPF, and successfully ended the disease by reducing the dietary intake of forage Brassica to <10% of the total feed. Their findings show a striking resemblance to IPF, from the male predominance and selective alveolar cell injury along with liver, thyroid, pulmonary hypertension and other disturbances that also arose in the Toxic Oil Syndrome.
Overall, the intake of Brassica vegetables is unchanged in our diet apart from seasonal variations; but Brassica exposure has greatly increased in some countries through the progressive replacement of previously used cooking oils by the newer Brassica derived canola oil especially in commercially produced food products.
We have reviewed the Veterinary data regarding the lung injury in farm animals and its other associated features relevant to IPF, including an outline of our previous findings in medical staff taking Brassica derived oilseed rape along with more recent IPF data. Finally, we have taken a preliminary look at the annual Brassica oil use for cooking and the reported incidence of IPF in 13 different countries where the disease incidence is either stable or changing with time and discuss the findings.