What is Sarcoidosis?

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What Is Sarcoidosis?

From:

http://www.health-reports.com/sarcoidosis.html

In the following reports you are going to learn about sarcoidosis.

Including many things your doctor never told you probably because he

didn't know them. You'll learn what may be happening to your body when

you have sarcoidosis. What the underlying causes of it may be. And

what may need to be considered in attempting to deal with it. You will

have a better understanding of sarcoidosis after reading these reports.

Sarcoidosis shares much in common with other autoimmune diseases.

Research on any particular one usually, but not always, applies to the

other autoimmune diseases. They have similar underlying causes and

conditions, and consequently similar ways of dealing with them.

The main symptom that labels an autoimmune disease as sarcoidosis is a

type of inflammation with granulomas. Most commonly they are found in

the lungs, skin, lymph nodes, liver or spleen. Often they go away

after a few years but even if they do that, they can come back later

with a vengeance.

Some of the latest research has shown that it is bacteria in the

granulomas that initiate and cause sarcoidosis. So this is definitely

one autoimmune disease where antibiotics or supplements that kill

bacteria or help the body to better kill bacteria can play a vital role.

These bacteria produce vitamin D. So people with sarcoidosis may

suffer from vitamin D toxicity. Especially if they are out in the sun

a lot, drink vitamin D fortified milk, or take supplements with

vitamin D. This is completely different than an autoimmune disease

like MS where there is usually not enough vitamin D. It may be

advisable to test your vitamin D levels. If they are high drastically

limit exposure to the sun and refrain from taking anything with added

vitamin D. After several months elevated vitamin D levels would then

start to level out.

You may experience Sarcoidosis in almost any part of your body,

although it usually affects some organs more than others. It usually

starts in one of two places:

* Lungs

* Lymph nodes, especially the lymph nodes in your chest cavity.

Sarcoidosis also often affects your:

* Skin

* Eyes

* Liver.

Less often, sarcoidosis affects your:

* Spleen

* Brain

* Nerves

* Heart

* Tear glands

* Salivary glands

* Bones and joints.

Rarely, sarcoidosis affects other organs, including your:

* Thyroid gland

* Breasts

* Kidneys

* Reproductive organs.

Sarcoidosis almost always occurs in more than one organ at a time.

Sarcoidosis has an active and a nonactive phase:

* In the active phase, the granulomas form and grow. In this

phase, symptoms can develop, and scar tissue can form in the organs

where the granulomas occur.

* In the nonactive phase, the inflammation goes down, and the

granulomas stay the same size or shrink. But the scars may remain and

cause symptoms.

The course of the disease varies greatly among people.

* In many people, sarcoidosis is mild. The inflammation that

causes the granulomas may get better on its own. The granulomas may

stop growing or shrink. Symptoms may go away within a few years.

* In some people, the inflammation remains but doesn't get worse.

You may also have symptoms or flare-ups and need treatment every now

and then.

* In other people, sarcoidosis slowly gets worse over the years

and can cause permanent organ damage. Although treatment can help,

sarcoidosis may leave scar tissue in the lungs, skin, eyes, or other

organs. The scar tissue can affect how the organs work. Treatment

usually does not affect scar tissue.

Changes in sarcoidosis usually occur slowly (e.g., over months).

Sarcoidosis does not usually cause sudden illness. However, some

symptoms may occur suddenly. They include:

* Disturbed heart rhythms

* Arthritis in the ankles

* Eye symptoms.

In some serious cases in which vital organs are affected, sarcoidosis

can result in death.

Sarcoidosis is not a form of cancer.

There is no known way to prevent sarcoidosis.

Sarcoidosis was once thought to be a rare condition. It's now known to

affect tens of thousands of people throughout the United States.

Because many people who have sarcoidosis have no symptoms, it's hard

to know how many people have the condition.

Sarcoidosis was identified in the late 1860s. Since then, scientists

have developed better tests to diagnose it and made advances in

treating it.

What Causes Sarcoidosis?

The cause of sarcoidosis is not known. And, there may be more than one

thing that causes it.

Scientists think that sarcoidosis develops when your immune system

responds to something in the environment (e.g., bacteria, viruses,

dust, chemicals) or perhaps to your own body tissue (autoimmunity).

Normally, your immune system defends your body against things that it

sees as foreign and harmful. It does this by sending special cells to

the organs that are being affected by these things. These cells

release chemicals that produce inflammation around the foreign

substance or substances to isolate and destroy them.

In sarcoidosis, this inflammation remains and leads to the development

of granulomas or lumps.

Scientists have not yet identified the specific substance or

substances that trigger the immune system response in the first place.

They also think that sarcoidosis develops only if you have inherited a

certain combination of genes.

You can't catch sarcoidosis from someone who has it.

More research is needed to discover what causes sarcoidosis.