Sarcoidosis Information
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Visitor FeedbackThis sites tracks articles relating to the treatment and etiology of sarcoidosis.
Recent News:
Cleveland Clinic
The Cleveland Clinic has established a Centre of Excellence for Sarcoidosis and is a good place to get up to speed on all aspects of the illness.
Medline Plus - (National Institutes of Health)
An interactive tutorial that teaches about sarcoidosis.
Treatments at Clinical Trial Stage
A Case Controlled Etiologic Study of Sarcoidosis
The above study (ACCESS for short) ran between 1996 and 1999 in the US and has provided a very useful data reference for researchers. Below are the titles with links to simple abstracts of papers based on ACCESS .Introduction & Major Conclusions
Environmental or Occupational Risk Studies
- Environmental & Occupational Risk Factors
- Job and Industry Classifications associated with Sarcoidosis
- Relationship of Environmental Exposures to the Clinical Phenotype of Sarcoidosis
Genetic Risks
- A Significant Risk Factor for Sarcoidosis in Blacks and Whites
- Familial Aggregation of Sarcoidosis
- TNF-alpha, IL1-beta and Immunoglobulin (GM & KM) Gene Polymorphisms in Sarcoidosis
Clinical Studies
- Clinical Characteristics of Patients in a Case Control Study of Sarcoidosis
- Pulmonary & Psychosocial Findings at Enrollment in ACCESS
- The Spectrum of Biopsy Sites for the Diagnosis of Sarcoidosis
- Diagnostic Pathways to Sarcoidosis
- Sarcoidosis: Social Predictors of Severity at Presentation
Followup Studies
National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
The following is an overview of the conclusions of a working group setup to consider the future of sarcoidosis research.
Last Updated 30 th October 2008
Reading
Small Fiber Neuropathy - Elske Hoitsma
One of the frustrations of Sarcoidosis suffers is that their doctor invariably
focuses on the lungs with scant regard for headaches, fatigue, muscular
pain, rheumatism etc. This paper isolates a lot of these pain related
issues under the heading of Small Fiber Neuropathy; a condition that
frequently occurs with sarcoidosis.
Rehabilitation
National Jewish have a rehabilitation program for people with serious lung diseases that helps patients get the most out of life.
Etiology
Johns Hopkins University scientists have discovered that the exaggerated immune response in sarcoidosis patients is triggered by the catalase-peroxidase protein from Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
In tuberculosis the particular drug used to fight the above is Isoniazid. I haven't seen any references though to Sarcoidosis treatment using this drug.
Genetic Susceptibility
There is a lot of research focusing on the Human Leucocytes Antigen (HLA) Class II Allele and Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Allele (ref: Major histocompatibility locus genetic markers of beryllium sensitization and disease ). In the thesis on Small Fiber Neuropathy above the HLA is cited as been implicated in susceptibility and Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha as the main cytokine at work. These observations are relevant in the context that the Cleveland Clinic (see treatments) have indicated that formal trials are ongoing using Infliximab, a Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha inhibitor, for the treatment of sarcoidosis. As the treatment is expensive and risky (risk of contracting Tuberculosis) it is too early to be optimistic.
German researchers discover one significant gene (BTNL2) in the etiology of sarcoidosis.
Discovery of protein Orai 1: "The impact is going to be huge," says Michael Xie, director of ion-channel research at Synta Pharmaceuticals
in Lexington, Mass., which is developing drugs that interact with this
calcium channel. "Inhibition of this immune channel could provide one of the most direct means
of manipulating the immune response."
See Scientific American July 06
Overview of the genetics of sarcoidoisis from the American Thoracic Society - (2007).
Medscape Articles
(free but need to register)
- Overview of treatments - 2006
- Pros and Cons of Corticosteroids
- Epidemiology of Sarocoidosis
- Relationship of Environmental Exposures to the Clinical Phenotype of Sarcoidosis
American Academy of Family Physicians
The following article on Sarcoidosis is the best synopsis I've seen of where 'things are at' in terms of diagnosis and treatment of the illness. Sarcoidosis