Japan’s aging population may explain why researchers there are finding lower rates of spontaneous resolution of pulmonary sarcoidosis, according to a study published in the journal Respirology. The study is titled, “Resolution rate of pulmonary sarcoidosis and its related…

A study assessing the healthcare resources and cost of sarcoidosis care to commercial insurance payers in the U.S. found that patients selected from a privately-insured administrative claims database had higher total healthcare costs and more lost work days on average in one year compared to control subjects without the disease.

Researchers found bacteria of the type Propionibacterium acnes in a large proportion of tissue samples from patients with cardiac sarcoidosis, suggesting that the bacteria may cause the formation of granulomas (abnormal collections of inflammatory cells), a typical feature of sarcoidosis. The work, published in the journal PLOS ONE, indicated that…

A woman in Turkey with a 10-year history of sarcoidosis was given the additional diagnosis of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), a heritable disease that rarely occurs simultaneously with sarcoidosis. The case report, “Coexistence of sarcoidosis and Familial Mediterranean Fever,” was published in the journal Reumatología…

Sarcoidosis may cause anomalies in the esophagus and subsequently lead to  difficulties in swallowing, according to a new case report. The physicians who conducted the study say involvement of the esophagus in sarcoidosis is “extremely rare” — with only 24 such cases documented to date — but that patients must…

A recent epidemiological study showed a high incidence of sarcoidosis among firefighters and emergency medical service (EMS) workers who took part in recovery and rescue efforts following the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York that claimed the lives of almost 3,000 people. The study…

A new study reports that 16.5% of sarcoidosis patients experience EDS (excessive daytime sleepiness),  16.4% experience severe fatigue, and 6.3% of patients report both symptoms. The study titled, “Fatigue and Excessive Daytime Sleepiness in Sarcoidosis: Prevalence, Predictors, and Relationships between the Two Symptoms,” was published in the journal…

Researchers working in sarcoidosis may submit project proposals to the American Thoracic Society (ATS) Foundation/Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals Research Fellowship in Sarcoidosis, which will award one $80,000 grant ($40,000 a year for two years) to a principal investigator who is conducting research in this disease. The two-year grant starts in…

A new report discussing the case of a cardiac sarcoidosis patient with bidirectional ventricular tachycardia (BVT) provides additional information to help improve diagnoses in these patients. The study, “Bidirectional ventricular tachycardia in cardiac sarcoidosis,” was published in the Journal of Arrhythmia. Cardiac sarcoidosis involves myocardial inflammation and…

A new study examined the case of a 30-year-old man who developed sarcoidosis in the lungs after treatment with infliximab (sold as Remicade, Inflectra) for his Crohn’s disease, a chronic condition affecting the gastrointestinal tract. The case study, titled “Pulmonary Sarcoidosis That Developed During the Treatment of a Patient…