Everything about Sarcoidosis.

Sarcoidosis is a condition also known as Besnier-Boeck. This condition can affect many different tissues, yet in nearly all cases it is the lungs that are affected by sarcoidosis. For this reason, this article only discusses the pulmonary sarcoidosis.             

What is sarcoidosis?

When a person is suffering from pulmonary sarcoidosis, granulomas are  forming in the lungs. Granulomas are connective tissue tumors. Furthermore, there will be alveolitis (inflammations of the alveoli of the lungs) and the lungs will fibrose (connective tissue is forming).

Who can get sarcoidosis?

The condition mainly occurs in persons between 30 and 50 years of age and seems geographically determined. It may also be racially determined. Sarcoidosis may be hereditary, but that's not always the case.

Symptoms of sarcoidosis

Sarcoidosis is a condition that usually cannot be diagnosed by the symptoms. This is because the symptoms tend to be generic. Symptoms may include: a feeling of general malaise, listlessness, fatigue and fever. When the sarcoidosis spreads to the lungs, it will cause shortness of breath. This shortness of breath is usually accompanied by an innocent, but nasty cough.

How can sarcoidosis be found?

When a person goes to hospital for a chest x-ray, the doctor usually discovers by accident that the diagnosis is sarcoidosis. If the diagnosis is sarcoidosis, the x-ray of the chest (and therefore also the lungs) will show spots and lines. These spots and lines are caused by the granulomas present , the alveolitis and the fibrosis of the lungs (the forming of connective tissue). After the x-ray has shown that the patient is most likely suffering from sarcoidosis, histological research will be necessary. During the histological research a small sample of lung tissue will be examined under a microscope. This research will confirm or exclude the diagnosis. If the outcome is positive and the person has sarcoidosis, a lung-function test will determine if the flexibility of the lung tissue has decreased.

Treatment of sarcoidosis

In most cases the doctor will decide not to treat sarcoidosis. This is because the disease usually remits spontaneously. If the sarcoidosis is in an active stage,  the patient will be administered corticosteroids in order to curb tissue reactions. Treatment with corticosteroids usually lasts a couple of months.

Sources: www.todio.nl