autoimmune disease blog

Sarcoidosis causes overreact in immunity, which means that a person’s immune system, which normally protects the body from infection and disease, causing in healthy tissue damage. Sarcoidosis affects almost any organ in the body. The common features of sarcoidosis are the formation of granulomas, microscopic clumps of inflammatory cells that group together. When too many of these clumps form in an organ they can interfere with how that organ functions.

Then what are the symptoms of sarcoidosis?  Well, the disease is a multi-system disorder.  The symptoms commonly depend on what organ the disease affects.  Most often the disease will affect the lungs.

1. General: About one third of patients will experience non-specific symptoms of fatigue, fever, night sweats, weight loss, and an overall feeling of malaise.
2. Lymph Nodes:  Up to 90% of people with sarcoidosis have enlarged lymph nodes. Most often they are in the neck, but those under the chin, in the arm pits and in the groin can be affected.  The spleen, which is part of the lymphatic system, can also be affected.
3. Lungs:  A cough that does not go away, particularly with exertion, shortness of breath, and chest pain are the most frequently sarcoidosis symptoms with the pulmonary form of the disease.
4. Heart: Researchers estimate that cardiac sarcoidosis, affects more than 10 percent of people with sarcoidosis in the United States, and perhaps as many as 25 percent.  Sarcoidosis can cause the heart to beat weakly resulting in shortness of breath and swelling in the legs.  It can also cause palpitations (irregular heartbeat).
5. Liver:  Although between 50-80% of patients with sarcoidosis will have granulomas in their liver, most are without symptoms and do not require treatment.
6. Brain & Nervous System: From 5% to 13% of patients have neurologic disease.  Symptoms can include headaches, visual problems, weakness or numbness of an arm or leg and facial palsy.
7. Bones, Joints & Muscles:  Joint pain occurs in about one-third of patients.  Other symptoms include a mass in the muscle, muscle weakness and arthritis in the joints of the ankles, knees, elbows, wrists, hands and feet.
8. Skin:  One in four (25%) of patients will have skin involvement.  Painful or red, raised  bumps on the legs or arms (called erythema nodosum), discoloration of the nose, cheeks, lips and ears (called lupus pernio) or small brownish and painless skin patches are symptoms of the cutaneous form of the disease.
9. Eyes:  Any part of the eye can be affected by sarcoidosis and about 25% of patients have ocular involvement.  Common sarcoidosis symptoms include: burning, itching, tearing, pain, sensitivity to light, seeing black spots and blurred vision.  Chronic inflammation of the membranes or uvea of the eye and can lead to cataracts, glaucoma, and blindness.