About Sarcoidosis:
Sarcoidosis refers to an inflammatory condition in which clumps of inflammatory cells are formed in various organs of the body. This cluster of cells results in inflammation of the affected organ system. Sarcoidosis sometimes is triggered by the immune system of the body when it is invaded by a virus or bacteria.
Organs most commonly affected by Sarcoidosis are the lungs, eyes, brain, heart, liver, lymph nodes, and skin. The reason as to what causes Sarcoidosis is not clear, although African Americans are more vulnerable to get this condition. Also, it is more common in females than males.
An individual with a family history of Sarcoidosis is more likely to get this condition than normal population. The symptoms of Sarcoidosis usually appear after the second decade of life and thus children very rarely develop this condition.
How Serious is Sarcoidosis?
The commonality of Sarcoidosis is extremely difficult to estimate since its symptoms are very similar to many other medical conditions. On an average, around 1 in every 20,000 individual suffers from Sarcoidosis in the United States, although this number is just an approximation and the rate gets higher in the African-American population.
Sarcoidosis very rarely causes any fatality. It is not a disabling condition and people with Sarcoidosis lead a normal life. In most of the cases, Sarcoidosis resolves by itself and does not require any active or aggressive treatment.
Lungs are most vulnerable to damage from Sarcoidosis and this occurs in around 35% of people with this condition. Only approximately 20% of people have a chronic form of Sarcoidosis.
Thus, Sarcoidosis is not a serious disease and it is extremely rare that an individual suffers permanent damage to any organ system due to this condition.
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