News

The European Commission (EC) has granted orphan drug designation to aTyr Pharma’s lead therapeutic candidate efzofitimod for treating sarcoidosis. Orphan drug status is granted to investigational therapies that show significant potential for treating chronic or life-threatening disease that affect no more than five in 10,000 people in the…

The pulmonary microbiota — the collection of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms that live inside the lung in people — is less diverse in individuals with stable sarcoidosis than in their healthy peers, a new study suggests. Notably, this imbalance was more pronounced for fungi than for bacteria. In…

Off-label use of TNF-alpha inhibitors may help some people with hard-to-treat sarcoidosis ease their symptoms or prevent them from getting worse, according to a meta-analysis study. Data also showed that these inhibitors, particularly Remicade (infliximab), may work slightly better for patients who have symptoms of sarcoidosis…

Sarcoidosis led to thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA), a rare blood disorder, and associated severe kidney damage and blood-related abnormalities in a 31-year-old man, a case study reported. This rare case emphasizes the importance of considering sarcoidosis in uncommon cases of multiple organ dysfunction, as well as early intervention by a…

Adalimumab — a medication that blocks the pro-inflammatory TNF-alpha protein — safely and effectively eased symptoms of cardiac sarcoidosis in seven adults, allowing them to reduce or discontinue their use of corticosteroids, a study reports. The therapy also promoted a rise in the number of lymphocytes, a type of…

People with sarcoidosis who live in neighborhoods lacking economic and social resources have lower lung function and faster lung function decline, a study in the U.S. and Canada revealed. Non-white patients were overrepresented in the group with greater disadvantage, suggesting how race and differences in socioeconomic status can lead…

Tampa General Hospital (TGH) and the collaborative pulmonology program of USF Health  have joined the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research (FSR) Global Sarcoidosis Clinic Alliance to advance care and research in sarcoidosis. The Alliance is a hub of clinics and hospitals around the world, that through education,…

The first participant has been dosed in a Phase 2 clinical trial testing the experimental therapy namilumab in people with pulmonary sarcoidosis, the therapy’s developer Kinevant Sciences announced. “We are excited to advance namilumab as a promising new treatment for pulmonary sarcoidosis since it has a mechanism of…

The Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research (FSR) has awarded pulmonologist Nabeel Hamzeh, MD, at the University of Iowa, a $50,000 grant to develop blood biomarkers of cardiac sarcoidosis. His project, titled “Cardiac-Specific Cell Free DNA Biomarkers for Cardiac Sarcoidosis,” will focus on the biomarker potential of heart cell-specific circulating cell-free…

Among sarcoidosis patients referred for lung transplant, the risk of death while on the waitlist is higher for women and those who have severe pulmonary hypertension (PH), or high blood pressure in the lungs, a new study reports. “Clinicians should be mindful of the increased mortality in [advanced…