Bardoxolone methyl, an investigational therapy developed by Reata Pharmaceuticals, was shown to significantly improve the exercise capacity of patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) associated with sarcoidosis in a Phase 2 clinical trial. Bardoxolone is an experimental, oral molecule that promotes the resolution of inflammation by targeting an important mediator…

A project studying the possible link between sarcoidosis and lung microbes received a four-year, $2.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The research will be conducted at the University of Illinois at Chicago and may help predict disease prognosis. Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory disorder that…

Infection from the bacteria Propionibacterium acnes is found frequently and at high rates in the lymph nodes of sarcoidosis patients and may contribute to the formation of granulomas, a small study suggests. These results also provide another piece of evidence linking P. acnes bacteria to sarcoidosis. The study, “Propionibacterium acnes-derived insoluble immune…

Several mutations found in 37 genes were reported to be possible genetic risk factors for pediatric sarcoidosis, according to researchers. The report, “Whole exome sequencing in three families segregating a pediatric case of sarcoidosis,” was published in the journal…

Hospitalization due to sarcoidosis has increased in the U.S., but in-hospital mortality has declined, according to a study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The data also showed that more than 30 percent of the hospitalized sarcoidosis patients had one or more cardiovascular complications. The research, “…

Experts recently reviewed the latest advances in pulmonary sarcoidosis research, highlighting possible causes of the disease, as well as potential treatment candidates. The article, “The Pathogenesis of Pulmonary Sarcoidosis and Implications for Treatment,” was published in CHEST Journal. Sarcoidosis is common in the lungs, characterized…

A small study of a group of patients in Canada who were showing the first signs of sarcoidosis suggests that isolated cardiac sarcoidosis, which refers to cardiac involvement without the disease clinically apparent elsewhere, may be rarer than previously reported. The study, “How common is isolated cardiac sarcoidosis? Extra-cardiac and…

A recent study has reported on a multiple sclerosis (MS) patient who developed pulmonary sarcoidosis after receiving the relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) therapy daclizumab. The report “Pulmonary Sarcoidosis in a patient with Multiple Sclerosis on daclizumab monotherapy,” was published in Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders. Daclizumab is a…

Blood levels of a soluble protein can be used as a diagnostic test to confirm sarcoidosis in cases of acute uveitis, a test that is superior to the standard biomarker used, called angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). The results were reported in “Diagnostic…

The number of hospitalizations of sarcoidosis’ patients in the U.S. has increased over the past decade with more than one-third showing heart-related disorders, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.  Moreover, sarcoidosis hospitalizations are more frequent in urban as compared with rural hospitals, blacks…