What is sarcoidosis?
Sarcoidosis is a disease that results from a specific type of inflammation of tissues of the body. It can appear in almost any body organ, but it starts most often in the lungs or lymph nodes. The cause of sarcoidosis is unknown. The disease can appear suddenly and disappear. Or it can develop gradually and go on to produce symptoms that come and go, sometimes for a lifetime. As sarcoidosis progresses, microscopic lumps of a specific form of inflammation, called granulomas, appear in the affected tissues. In the majority of cases, these granulomas clear up, either with or without treatment. In the few cases where the granulomas do not heal and disappear, the tissues tend to remain inflamed and become scarred (fibrotic). Sarcoidosis was first identified over 100 years ago by two dermatologists working independently, Dr. Jonathan Hutchinson in England and Dr. Caesar Boeck in Norway. Sarcoidosis was originally called Hutchinson’s disease or Boeck’s disease. Dr. Boeck went on to fashion to
Sarcoidosis is a chronic disease of unknown cause which affects mainly the lungs, liver, lymph glands and salivary glands. Small nodules or granulomas form in these areas, often damaging them. It is not cancerous or malignant. It belongs to a group of conditions which cause chronic inflammation, called “granulomatous diseases”. Granuloma comes from a Latin word meaning little grain or granule. How do these granulomas form? The blood is made up of red and white cells; the white cells act mainly fighting infection. When certain substances or bacteria get into the body, special white cells, surround bacteria and stay there until they are killed. In sarcoidosis, immune cells in the tissues group together for form granulomas. So far no bacteria or substances have been isolated (rather like a rugby scrum with all the players grouped around the ball; only with sarcoidosis the ball is invisible). Scientists are still unable to say exactly why sarcoid granulomas form, despite extensive research
