Focus on Sarcoidosis
Cardiac sarcoidosis outcome differences: A comparison of patients with de novo cardiac versus known extracardiac sarcoidosis at presentation
Sarcoidosis is a systemic disease characterized by granulomatous inflammation. Cardiac involvement is associated with increased morbidity. However, differences in clinical characteristics and outcomes based on initial sarcoidosis organ manifestation in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) have not been described.The association of baseline sarcoidosis measurements with 6-month outcomes that are of interest to patients: Results from the On-line Sarcoidosis Assessment Platform Study (OSAP)
Cutoffs for most of the phenotypic measures used to assess sarcoidosis distinguished groups of sarcoidosis patients with differing OIPs over the subsequent 6 months. The patients’ global assessment of their disease was the most accurate of these measures.Patterns of medication use and imaging following initial diagnosis of sarcoidosis
Sarcoidosis is a rare inflammatory disease with unclear natural history. Using a large, retrospective, longitudinal, population-based cohort, we sought to define its natural history in order to guide future clinical studies.Risk of acute myocardial infarction in sarcoidosis: A population-based cohort study from Sweden
Due to conflicting findings in previous studies, it remains unclear whether individuals with sarcoidosis are at a higher relative risk of acute myocardial infarction. In this cohort study, individuals with sarcoidosis and matched general population comparators were followed for acute myocardial infarction in Swedish nationwide registers. A small (20%) risk increase associated with sarcoidosis was identified, which did not markedly vary by age at diagnosis, sex, treatment status around diagnosis, and time since diagnosis.Abnormal FeV1 and body mass index are associated with impaired cough-related quality of life in sarcoidosis patients
Sarcoidosis is a granulomatous disease that mainly manifests within the lungs and may thereby impair lung function. Beyond and independently from organ impairment, sarcoidosis may affect quality of life which can be quantified by questionnaires. The Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ) has been developed to assess cough-related quality of life. We analysed data from a prospectively collected cohort of sarcoidosis patients for validation of the German LCQ version. Our analyses demonstrated that LCQ values add additional information beyond routinely monitored parameters (e.g.Ophthalmologic assessments in patients with newly diagnosed sarcoidosis: An observational study from a universal healthcare system
Consensus guidelines for the management of sarcoidosis recommend screening eye examinations for all patients, even in those without ocular symptoms. We aimed to determine the proportion of sarcoidosis patients that complete ophthalmologic evaluations and factors associated with their performance.The impact of demographic disparities in the presentation of sarcoidosis: A multicenter prospective study
To study how demographic differences impact disease manifestation of sarcoidosis using the WASOG tool in a large multicentric study.Sarcoidosis: A nationwide registry-based study of incidence, prevalence and diagnostic work-up
The primary objective was to evaluate the prevalence and incidence of sarcoidosis, and secondly, to evaluate differences in incidence by age at diagnosis, gender, region, calendar year and treatment and to evaluate sarcoidosis-related diagnostic work-up.HLA-DRB1 alleles associate with hypercalcemia in sarcoidosis
The mechanisms behind and which patients are at risk of developing sarcoidosis associated hypercalcemia (SAHC) have not been addressed. Different human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles associate with disease phenotypes in sarcoidosis. Insights into associations between HLA alleles, clinical phenotype and calcium levels may provide clues to mechanisms behind SAHC and help monitoring patients at risk for SAHC.Outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis: A multicenter retrospective research network study
Crude COVID-19 mortality and other clinical outcome measures are poor in pulmonary sarcoidosis cohort; however, propensity-matched analyses revealed no difference in outcomes, showing that higher mortality is driven by higher burden of comorbidities.Genomic biomarkers in chronic beryllium disease and sarcoidosis
Background Previous gene expression studies have identified genes IFNγ, TNFα, RNase 3, CXCL9, and CD55 as potential biomarkers for sarcoidosis and/or chronic beryllium disease (CBD). We hypothesized that differential expression of these genes could function as diagnostic biomarkers for sarcoidosis and CBD, and prognostic biomarkers for sarcoidosis. Study Design/Methods We performed RT-qPCR on whole blood samples from CBD (n = 132), beryllium sensitized (BeS) (n = 109), and sarcoidosis (n = 99) cases and non-diseased controls (n = 97) to determine differential expression of target genes.Antifibrotic drugs for pulmonary sarcoidosis: A treatment in search of an indication
The most common causes of disability and death from sarcoidosis are directly or indirectly related to complications of fibrotic lung disease [1]. Fibrosis develops in up to 20% of pulmonary sarcoidosis patients [2,3] and may result in end-stage parenchymal lung disease [4]. Fibrotic pulmonary sarcoidosis is associated with distortion of airways leading to airflow obstruction, bronchiectasis, and increased episodes of clinical worsening that are often related to pulmonary infections [4–7]. Sarcoidosis associated pulmonary hypertension is caused by a variety of mechanisms, but the most common of these is distortion of the pulmonary vasculature from fibrosis [8,9].
