knudsen@ihwpt.UUCP (mike knudsen) (11/08/86)
After months of coughing up phlegm, my mother was diagnosed as having sarcoidosis, an inflammation of tissues around the trachea, or thereabouts. Can anybody give me an explanation for this condition? What sort of prognosis to expect? Is it hereditary? Thanks, mike k -- Mike J Knudsen ...ihnp4!ihwpt!knudsen Bell Labs (AT&T) (312)-979-4132 (work) You think AT&T thinks about CoCos, music, or Star Trek? No? Then, these opinions must be all mine!
dyer@spdcc.UUCP (Steve Dyer) (11/10/86)
In article <1217@ihwpt.UUCP>, knudsen@ihwpt.UUCP (mike knudsen) writes: > After months of coughing up phlegm, my mother was diagnosed > as having sarcoidosis, an inflammation of tissues around > the trachea, or thereabouts. > Can anybody give me an explanation for this condition? > What sort of prognosis to expect? Is it hereditary? Sarcoidosis is a granulomatous disease caused by the accumulation of helper T-cells and mononuclear phagocytes at a variety of organ systems, but the lungs are often the focus of measurable clinical impairment. Its etiology is unknown. I don't believe it's hereditary, although its incidence is much higher in certain groups than others: in America, blacks outnumber whites with the disease by a ratio of roughly 10/1. This ratio isn't maintained elsewhere, however, so it's hard to come to any conclusions. Treatment is conservative, depending on the severity of symptoms. The disease usually is self-limiting in about 50% of patients, though it can also be chronic or recurring. The prognosis is generally good, with either uneventful recovery or mild clinical impairment which can be managed. Your mileage may very, however. Corticosteroids are used, if necessary, although if used injudiciously, their side-effects can be much worse than the underlying disease. -- Steve Dyer dyer@harvard.HARVARD.EDU {linus,wanginst,bbnccv,harvard,ima,ihnp4}!spdcc!dyer
emigh@ecsvax.UUCP (Ted Emigh) (11/11/86)
As of 1983, there was no proven genetic component to sarcoidosis, although there is a suggestion of multigenic inheritance (see Ann. NY Acad Sci 278:377- 385 and 386-400, 1976). The family pattern does not fit a simple Mendelian mode of inheritance. -- Ted H. Emigh Genetics and Statistics, North Carolina State U, Raleigh NC USENET: emigh@ecsvax.uucp ARPA: mcnc!ecsvax!emigh@BERKELEY BITNET: NEMIGH@TUCC