The arthritis medicine Xeljanz (tofacitinib) may be an effective therapeutic alternative to conventional medications for the treatment of multiorgan sarcoidosis. This finding was described in the study, “Treatment of Multiorgan Sarcoidosis With Tofacitinib,” published in the journal ACR Open Rheumatology. Sarcoidosis, an inflammatory condition…

In 2003, I lost my mother suddenly. I still remember the day like it was yesterday. I had just returned to work after a break following an outpatient medical procedure my mom had accompanied me to. Before I left my job…

The American Thoracic Society (ATS) Foundation Research Program and the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research (FSR) have awarded a Foundation Partner Grant to Nicholas Arger, MD, at the University of California San Francisco, to study the role of a specific population of immune cells in sarcoidosis-related…

The first month of the year has been an eventful one for me, to say the least. I spent much of January taking tests to evaluate my current health status and visiting the various doctors on my team. It has been a busy month for my wife, too,…

I miss traveling. Because of sarcoidosis, sleep difficulties, equilibrium challenges, pain, and constant fatigue must be considered. Other types of travel are no longer feasible, so I mostly stick with driving short distances by car. As I mentioned in a previous column, even visiting family during the holidays…

I stopped at a tire center this month to have one of the tires on my car checked. The small bubble on the sidewall didn’t seem like a big deal to me, but I was told it was a ticking time bomb that could blow at any moment. That was…

aTyr Pharma announced a collaboration and license agreement with Kyorin Pharmaceutical to develop and commercialize ATYR1923, its potential disease-modifying treatment for those with interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), including pulmonary sarcoidosis, in Japan. ATYR1923 is a fusion protein that contains a portion of a human antibody linked to…

Years ago, I took a young family member to acting classes for eight weeks. The class focused on improvisation, also known as improv. During that two-month period, I learned so much about the fine art of acting. Recently, I recognized how this has helped me deal with sarcoidosis. Improv is…

The transplantation program at Stanford Medicine has hit a milestone with its 1,000th procedure — performed on a 54-year-old woman with sarcoidosis. The surgery, carried under the Heart-Lung & Lung Transplantation Program at Stanford Health Care, is now part of the 750 lung transplants and 250 heart-lung…

I previously wrote about the challenge of living with sarcoidosis during the four seasons. Each season has its difficulties. Yet I can’t imagine living without the change in weather. I enjoy each season for what it has to offer. We’re well into winter in the Northeast. The cold, wind,…