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Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory disease characterized by the presence of noncaseating granulomas. The disease is often multisystem and requires the presence of involvement in two or more organs for a specific diagnosis. The finding of granulomas is not specific for sarcoidosis, and other conditions known to cause granulomas must be ruled out. These conditions include mycobacterial and fungal infections, malignancy, and environmental agents such as beryllium. Although sarcoidosis can affect virtually every organ of the body, the lung is most commonly affected. Other organs commonly affected are the liver, skin, and eye. The clinical outcome of sarcoidosis varies, with remission occurring in over one-half of patients within a few years of diagnosis; however, the remaining patients may develop a chronic disease that lasts for decades.
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Despite multiple investigations, the cause of sarcoidosis remains unknown. Currently, the most likely etiology is an infectious or noninfectious environmental agent that triggers an inflammatory response in a genetically susceptible host. Among the possible infectious agents, careful studies have shown a much higher incidence of Propionibacter acnes in the lymph nodes of sarcoidosis patients compared to controls. An animal model has shown that P. acnes can induce a granulomatous response in mice similar to sarcoidosis. Others have demonstrated the presence of a mycobacterial protein (Mycobacterium tuberculosis catalase-peroxidase [mKatG]) in the granulomas of some sarcoidosis patients. This protein is very resistant to degradation and may represent the persistent antigen in sarcoidosis. Immune response to this and other mycobacterial proteins has been documented by another laboratory. These studies suggest that a mycobacterium similar to M. tuberculosis could be responsible for sarcoidosis. The mechanism exposure/infection with such agents has been the focus of other studies. Environmental exposures to insecticides and mold have been associated with an increased risk for disease. In addition, health care workers appear to have an increased risk. Also, sarcoidosis in a donor organ has occurred after transplantation into a sarcoidosis patient. Some authors have suggested that sarcoidosis is not due to a single agent but represents a particular host response to multiple agents. Some studies have been able to correlate the environmental exposures to genetic markers. These studies have supported the hypothesis that a genetically susceptible host is a key factor in the disease.
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INCIDENCE, PREVALENCE, AND GLOBAL IMPACT
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Sarcoidosis is seen worldwide, with the highest prevalence reported in the Nordic population. In the United States, the disease has been reported more commonly in African Americans than whites, with the ratio of African Americans to whites ranging from 3:1 to 17:0. In the United Sates, women are more susceptible than men. The higher incidence in African Americans may have been influenced by the fact that African Americans seem to develop more extensive and chronic pulmonary disease. Because most sarcoidosis clinics are run by pulmonologists, a selection bias may have occurred. Worldwide, the prevalence of the disease varies ...