View clinical trials related to Sarcoidosis.
Filter by:Sarcoidosis is a multi-systemic disorder, meaning that it can involve any organ in the body and that its clinical presentation is highly variable. In 90% of all sarcoidosis cases the lungs are affected. It is difficult to give a concise definition of sarcoidosis due to the fact that its exact cause is still unknown. Consequently, diagnosing the disease is also rather difficult. Up till now, sarcoidosis is generally diagnosed by using general clinical methods to evaluate the status of the lung including a chest X-ray, lung biopsy and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). However, some of these methods are considered to be rather invasive and, even more important, non-conclusive. Therefore, the current study has been designed to evaluate the use of a new technique, called SELDI-TOF mass spectrophotometry, for the diagnosis of sarcoidosis. This technique enables the analysis of all enzymes present in the blood of sarcoidosis patients which may hopefully lead to creating a disease-specific protein-profile that may facilitate the recognition of sarcoidosis. Moreover, these results will be compared with other currently used laboratory parameters.
The usefulness of diagnostic vitrectomy in patients with suspected sarcoidosis with posterior segment involvement (in whom a diagnosis cannot be determined by conventional methods) has not been well described. We hypothesized that diagnostic vitrectomy would help establish the diagnosis in these challenging cases. Herein, we evaluated the diagnostic yield of vitreous biopsy in patients with suspected sarcoidosis-associated uveitis that affected the posterior segment.This is a retrospective interventional case series. Cases of intermediate, posterior or panuveitis that could not be characterized by clinical examination, ancillary, and laboratory tests were considered for diagnostic pars plana vitrectomy. Retrospective chart review was conducted on consecutive eyes that underwent diagnostic, or diagnostic and therapeutic vitrectomy by a single surgeon from January 1989 to June 2006.
Patients with advanced sarcoidosis often develop pulmonary hypertension. Pulmonary hypertension is a condition where the right side of the heart has to push the blood though the lungs at a higher pressure than normal. Since this pressure is higher, it is harder for the heart to pump the blood through the lungs to the left side of the body. If the blood can not get through the lungs, it can not get pumped through the rest of the body. This leads to weakness and shortness of breath. This type of hypertension does not usually respond to regular blood pressure medicines. The purpose of this study is to determine if bosentan (Tracleer) will help sarcoidosis associated pulmonary hypertension.
Granulomatous lung diseases are diseases in which inflamed clusters of white cells, known as granulomas, form in lung tissue. Chronic beryllium disease (CBD) and sarcoidosis are two granulomatous diseases that share similar clinical symptoms, physiological changes in the lungs, and immune responses to the disease. Genetic variations may make some people more susceptible to developing CBD or sarcoidosis. This study will identify common genetic regions associated with increased risk of developing the granulomatous diseases CBD and sarcoidosis.
To determine the effect of Armodafinil (Nuvigil) on fatigue and sleep in sarcoidosis.
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are suggested to play a pivotal role in ILD. Little is known, however, about the endogenous antioxidant levels in ILD that can offer protection against ROS. It is expected that the high amount of ROS present in ILD will reduce the antioxidant levels. Therefore, antioxidant therapy to strengthen this reduced antioxidant defense might be efficacious in ILD treatment. Since ROS are capable of initiating and mediating inflammation, antioxidant therapy might also mitigate elevated inflammation. A candidate for antioxidant therapy is the flavonoid quercetin that is known for its anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory capacities. The aim of the present study is to determine the antioxidant and inflammatory status in ILD, i.e. sarcoidosis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Furthermore, to evaluate the possible anti-inflammatory effects of antioxidants, the effect of quercetin will be examined on the ex vivo LPS-induced cytokine production in ILD
A number of studies have shown that the quality of life of two common interstitial lung diseases (ild), sarcoidosis and pulmonary fibrosis patients, is impaired and that fatigue is a substantial problem for those patients. Furthermore, breathlessness is an additional major problem in pulmonary fibrosis. In the field of cardiovascular disease and breast cancer, personality factors have shown to play a role in patient's morbidity, mortality, quality of life, fatigue, depressive symptoms, and one study showed a predictive role of personality factors in health care consumption. No studies examining personality factors have been performed in sarcoidosis or pulmonary fibrosis. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to examine the role of personality factors as predictors of fatigue, quality of life, prognosis, and health care consumption in sarcoidosis and pulmonary fibrosis. In this study a number of possible moderators, such as social support, will also be examined, aiming to get a full picture of the relationship between the various factors examined. Known and new sarcoidosis and pulmonary fibrosis patients (inclusion period 1 year) of ild care team of the outpatient clinic of the department of Respiratory Medicine of the University Hospital Maastricht will be asked to participate through completing questionnaires at baseline and every six months for 18 months, and allowing the researchers access to their medical records for the purpose of this study.
This trial will study the treatment of sarcoidosis-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension with inhaled iloprost, a drug approved for primary pulmonary arterial hypertension.
The exact cause of the chronic lung disease sarcoidosis is still unknown. Consequently, a complete efficacious treatment is still not available. Earlier studies indicate an important key role for oxidative stress, i.e. an imbalance between the production of and the protection against ROS, in the etiology of sarcoidosis. Antioxidants, needed for protection against ROS, are indeed lower in sarcoidosis. Therefore, antioxidant therapy to strengthen the reduced antioxidant defense might be efficacious in sarcoidosis treatment. Since ROS are also capable of initiating and mediating inflammation, antioxidant therapy might also mitigate the elevated inflammation that occurs in sarcoidosis. The flavonoid quercetin possesses both anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory capacities and might therefore serve as a good candidate for antioxidant therapy in sarcoidosis. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to determine the effect of quercetin supplementation in sarcoidosis patients on markers of both oxidative stress and inflammation.
This study will evaluate patients with sarcoidosis to understand how the disease affects the body. Sarcoidosis is a disease that results from inflammation of body tissues. The lungs, lymph nodes in the chest, skin and eyes are most commonly affected. As the disease progresses, small lumps, or granulomas, appear in the affected tissues. In most cases, the granulomas clear up, but in cases where they do not heal and disappear, the tissues tend to remain inflamed. Eye inflammation (uveitis) associated with sarcoidosis can cause various eye diseases, sometimes leading to blindness. This study will examine the clinical, immunological and genetic features of ocular sarcoidosis. Patients 6 years of age and older with sarcoidosis may be eligible for this study. Candidates are screened with the following procedures: - Completion of a questionnaire with medical, social and demographic information - Blood draw for laboratory tests - Complete eye examination, including measurement of eye pressure and dilation of the pupils to examine the back of the eye. Fluorescein angiography may be done. This test involves injecting a dye into a vein in the arm. The dye travels to the blood vessels in the eyes. A camera flashes a blue light into the eye and takes pictures of the retina that show whether the dye has leaked from the blood vessels into the retina. Other photographs of the eye may also be taken using a special camera. Participants are followed in conjunction with their local eye doctor as required by the status of their disease. Patients whose disease is stable are seen for an initial examination and followed every 12 months for 3 years.