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Measuring the levels of the blood marker soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) in patients with suspected sarcoidosis offers more sensitive diagnostic guidance than other commonly used markers, and allows physicians to identify patients with multiple organ involvement, according to a recent study. The marker also was seen to correspond to disease…

Closely monitoring the effect of steroid treatment in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis can help detect any resistance that may develop against the treatment and help doctors identify patients who might need increased doses of immunosuppressive therapy. Cardiac sarcoidosis, or sarcoidosis of the heart, is a medical…

A large U.S. study found that bone sarcoidosis is more prevalent in white women and is linked to a number of affected organs. According to the authors, these findings can improve the knowledge of bone involvement in sarcoidosis and the methods of detection, as well as help define treatment strategies. The…

A new study investigating the frequency and characteristics of sarcoid arthropathy, in which sarcoidosis is accompanied by joint disease, revealed that a majority of patients with sarcoidosis also have sarcoid arthritis. The study “The clinical characteristics of sarcoid arthropathy based on a prospective cohort study” was published in the…

Infliximab effectively treats neurosarcoidosis, but patients may see their disease return (relapse) over time, according to results of a new study. The study, “Long-Term Outcomes Of Refractory Neurosarcoidosis Treated With Infliximab,” was published in the Journal of Neurology. Neurosarcoidosis (sarcoidosis affecting the nervous system) may be resistant to…

While the protein osteopontin is elevated in the blood of people with sarcoidosis, the increased levels are not determined by known genetic factors, according to a recent study. Nevertheless, several DNA variants in the osteopontin gene were linked to specific disease characteristics, such as lung tissue involvement, fever, or significant weight…

MicroRNAs encased in small vesicles (exosomes) present in blood circulation may help identify sarcoidosis patients at risk of developing cardiac sarcoidosis (CS). The study “Exosomal MicroRNA for Detection of Cardiac Sarcoidosis” was published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (AJRCCM). “CS is…

Patients with sarcoidosis have more than twice the risk of bone fractures compared to healthy people, a finding most likely linked to the inflammatory nature of the disease. While glucocorticoids — the main treatment option for sarcoidosis — are known to cause osteoporosis, researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester,…

Three patients developed subcutaneous sarcoidosis in their arm after receiving an injection, but symptoms disappeared after treatment with minocycline, a broad-spectrum antibiotic, according to a research report. James Abbott and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine wrote the report, “Isolated Subcutaneous Sarcoid-Like Granulomatous Inflammation Occurring At Injection…

Understanding which molecules, genes and proteins are active or inactive in sarcoidosis patients may help explain differences in the disease’s severity from patient to patient, a study reported. The variations in these actions and inactions — which scientists call molecular differences — may also explain which organs sarcoidosis will impact.