Famous People With Sarcoidosis



Mahalia Jackson  - Gospel Singer

Bill Russell -  American Basketball Player

Floyd Mayweather Sr.  - Ex Boxer/Trainer

James E. Ray  - Basketball Player

Manning Marable -  Author

Bernie Mac -  Comedian

Angie Stone  - Singer

Mathew Good  - Singer

Reggie White  - American Football Player

Daisy Fuentes -  Actress/Model

Karen Duff -  Actress/Model

Darrian Chapman  - Sportscaster NBC5

Sean Le Vert -  R&B Singer

Tisha Campbell-Martin  - Actress/Model

Daryl Hawks -  Sportscaster NBC5

Travis Michael Holder -  Actor

Van Ludwig Beethoven -  Musician

Evander Hollyfield -  Boxer

Understanding Cystic Fibrosis

 

 

 

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease, meaning it is caused by a person's genes. It affects the glands that produce mucus and sweat, causing mucus to become thick and sticky.

As the mucus builds up, it can block airways in the lungs. This makes it increasingly difficult to breathe.

 

 

Mucus buildup also makes it easier for bacteria to grow. This can cause frequent infections in the lungs.

Mucus buildup can prevent necessary digestive enzymes from reaching your intestines. The body needs these enzymes to digest the nutrients in the food that you eat, including fats and carbohydrates.

People with cystic fibrosis also lose large amounts of salt when they sweat. This can cause an unhealthy imbalance of minerals in your body. It can lead to:

• Dehydration
• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Increased heart rate
• Low blood pressure
• Heat stroke
• Death in rare cases

About 30,000 Americans have cystic fibrosis. Each year about 1,000 new cases are diagnosed.

Sixty years ago, the disease killed most people who had it before they reached elementary school. Nowadays people with cystic fibrosis have an average lifespan of about 37 years.

What Causes Cystic Fibrosis?

Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease.

For someone to get cystic fibrosis, both parents must be carriers of the gene that causes it and then pass it on. That means 25% of the children of such parents will have cystic fibrosis.

Boys and girls are equally likely to get the disease. About 10 million Americans carry the gene and do not know it. More whites get the disease than do people of other races.

Early Detection of Cystic Fibrosis

Both newborns and adults can be tested for the changed (mutated) gene that causes cystic fibrosis. These tests include:

• Newborn screening. Levels of a type of digestive enzyme are measured from a blood sample. High levels of this enzyme suggest cystic fibrosis. Some newborns may also have a genetic test.
• Genetic test for adults. These tests identify the most common defects in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR) gene. Genetic testing can be done during pregnancy through chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis. The test can also be done before pregnancy, to help couples find out if either or both of them carry a defective CFTR gene.
  • If both parents carry the changed gene, there is a 25% (1-in-4) chance that their child will have no genetic problem. There is a 25% chance that their child will have cystic fibrosis. And there is a 50% (1-in-2) chance that their child will be a carrier.
  • If only one parent is a carrier of the changed gene, the child will not have cystic fibrosis. But there is a 50% chance that the child will be a carrier.

If you are interested in a genetic test for cystic fibrosis, talk with your doctor about the test. Genetic counseling can help you understand your test results. Genetic testing may involve certain ethical, legal, and religious issues.

Article Referenced from WebMD

Monitoring Cystic Fibrosis

Certain tests can help your doctor monitor your child's cystic fibrosis. These tests include:

• Lung function tests to find out how healthy the lungs are by checking how well air moves into and out of the lungs.
• A throat culture or sputum culture to see what kinds of bacteria are causing any infections your child may have.
• A chest X-ray to take a picture of the chest, including the heart and lungs.
• A CT scan to find any serious disease in the lungs, pancreas, or other organs.
• Blood tests, such as glucose (blood sugar) level and liver function. These tests are to see if there are any complications of cystic fibrosis.
• A stool analysis to see how well your child is absorbing and digesting fat and other nutrients.
• An arterial blood gas analysis to measure the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood. This test shows how well the lungs are working.

Article Referenced from WebMD

Cystic Fibrosis - Exams and Tests

Most people who have cystic fibrosis have signs of it when they are children. Tests to diagnose cystic fibrosis can be done at any time—before pregnancy, during pregnancy, right after birth, in childhood, or in adulthood.

Diagnosis

A medical history and a physical exam are often the first steps in diagnosing cystic fibrosis, followed by screening or lab tests.
The diagnosis of cystic fibrosis requires one of the following:

• Your child has early symptoms. These may include diarrhea that does not go away; large, greasy or very smelly stools; constipation; not wanting to eat; or losing weight. To learn more, see Symptoms.

• A brother or sister who has cystic fibrosis.
• A positive newborn screening test.

Also, there must be at least one of the following:

• Two positive sweat tests on different dates. Sweat tests measure the level of salt in sweat. People with cystic fibrosis have more than the normal amount of salt in their sweat.
• A positive genetic test for the genetic defect that is known to cause cystic fibrosis. This testing can be done using blood or a sample from the mother's womb before birth (chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis).
• An abnormal nasal potential difference test. This test uses electrodes on the lining of the nose to see how well salts flow into and out of cells

Article Referenced from WebMD

How is Sarcoidosis Diagnosed?

There is no single way to diagnose sarcoidosis, since all the symptoms and laboratory results can occur in other diseases. For this reason, your doctor will carefully review your medical history and examine you to determine if you have sarcoidosis. The main tools your doctor will use to diagnose sarcoidosis include:

• Chest X-rays to look for cloudiness (pulmonary infiltrates) or swollen lymph nodes (lymphadenopathy).
• CT scan to provide an even more detailed look at the lungs and lymph nodes than provided by a chest X-ray.
• Pulmonary function (breathing) tests to measure how well the lungs are working.
• Bronchoscopy to inspect the bronchial tubes and to extract a biopsy (a small tissue sample) to look for granulomas and to obtain material to rule out infection. Bronchoscopy involves passing a small tube (bronchoscope) down the trachea (windpipe) and into the bronchial tubes (airways) of the lungs.

 

What are Granulomas?

A granuloma is a small area of inflammation in tissue. Granulomas are most often the result of an infection and most frequently occur in the lungs, but can occur in other parts of the body as well. They typically cause no signs or symptoms and are found incidentally on a chest X-ray done for some other reason.

The most common cause of lung granulomas in the United States is histoplasmosis, a fungal infection that primarily affects the lungs. People who acquire pulmonary histoplasmosis that results in a lung granuloma have almost always spent some time in the Ohio Valley or the upper Midwest. Most people with pulmonary histoplasmosis never suspect they have the disease because signs and symptoms are rare.

Although granulomas due to histoplasmosis are noncancerous (benign), they may resemble cancer on an X-ray, especially if they haven't calcified — over time, granulomas become calcified and have the same density as bone, making them more clearly visible on an X-ray.

A doctor may make a diagnosis of granuloma by chest X-ray or, if the granuloma is not apparently calcified, by computerized tomography (CT), which can detect the calcium that isn't evident on the chest X-ray. The images of affected tissue usually show scarring and calcification characteristic of a granuloma. Granulomas almost never require treatment or even follow-up chest X-rays.

Article referenced from mayoclinic.org

What is Sarcoidosis?

Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory disease that affects multiple organs in the body, but mostly the lungs and lymph glands. In people with sarcoidosis, abnormal masses or nodules (called granulomas) consisting of inflamed tissues form in certain organs of the body. These granulomas may alter the normal structure and possibly the function of the affected organ(s).

Article Referenced from WebMD

How Is Pulmonary Fibrosis Treated?

 

The treatment options for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis are very limited. There is no evidence that any medications can help this condition, because scarring is permanent once it has developed. Lung transplantation is the only therapeutic option available, but this is usually reserved for advanced cases. At times, this diagnosis can be difficult to make even with tissue biopsy reviewed by pathologists with specific experience in this field. Research trials using different drugs that may reduce fibrous scarring are ongoing. Because some types of lung fibrosis can respond to corticosteroids (such as Prednisone) and/or other medications that suppress the body's immune system, these types of drugs are sometimes prescribed in an attempt to decrease the processes that lead to fibrosis. When these fail, lung transplantation may be considered for some patients.

 

 

Article Referenced From WebMD.

How Is Pulmonary Fibrosis Diagnosed?

 

Pulmonary fibrosis is suggested by a history of progressive shortness of breath with exertion. Sometimes, during examination of the lungs with a stethoscope, the doctor can hear crackling sounds in the chest. The chest X-ray may or may not be abnormal, but a special X-ray test called a high-resolution CAT scan will frequently demonstrate abnormalities. Lung function testing is distinctly abnormal.

Continue reading below...

The diagnosis can be confirmed by lung biopsy. An open surgical biopsy, meaning that the chest wall must be surgically opened under general anesthesia to remove a portion of lung tissue, may be necessary to obtain enough tissue to make an accurate diagnosis. The removed tissue is examined microscopically by a pathologist to confirm the presence of fibrosis.

 

Article Referenced From WebMD.

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What Are Pulmonary Fibrosis Symptoms?

 

Symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis include shortness of breath, cough, and diminished exercise tolerance. The severity of symptoms and the worsening of symptoms over time can vary and are at least partially dependent upon the cause of the fibrosis.

 

 

Article Referenced From WebMD

 

What is Pulmonary Fibrosis?

 

In a condition known as hypersensitivity pneumonitis, fibrosis of the lungs can develop following a heightened immune reaction to inhaled organic dusts or occupational chemicals. This condition most often results from inhaling dust contaminated with bacterial, fungal, or animal products. Examples include silo fillers disease and pigeon breeders lung disease.

In some people, in fact in most cases, chronic pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis develop without an identifiable cause. Most of these people have a condition called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) that does not respond to medical therapy, while some of the other types of fibrosis, such as nonspecific interstitial pneumonitis (NSIP), may respond to immune suppressive therapy.

Other names for various types of pulmonary fibrosis that have been used in the past include chronic interstitial pneumonitis, Hamman-Rich Syndrome, usual interstitial pneumonitis (UIP) and diffuse fibrosing alveolitis.

 

 

Article Referenced From WebMD.

The Purple Ribbon

The Purple Ribbon Represents The Awareness and Fight Against More Than "SARCOIDOSIS".

Alzheimer's Disease awareness

Arnold Chiari Malformation awareness

Childhood Hemiplegia and stroke awareness

Crohn's and Colitis Awareness Campaign

Cystic Fibrosis awareness

Domestic Violence Awareness Campaign

Fibromyalgia awareness

Hidradenitis Suppurativa Awareness Ribbon

Lupus awareness

March of Dimes

Meningitis Survivors

Pancreatic cancer awareness

Rett Syndrome

Spirit Day and victims of homophobia

Workers' Memorial Day

Going on the Lung Transplant List

After testing and interviews have been completed and it’s concluded the patient is a good candidate for a lung transplant, he or she will be listed on regional and national organ recipient lists. A person’s place on the list is determined by the Lung Allocation Score, a complicated calculation that tries to predict two things:

• How long a patient is likely to live without a lung transplant
• How long a patient would be expected to live after receiving a lung transplant

People with higher scores are considered first when organ donors’ lungs become available.

 

Article Referenced from WebMD.com

Preparing for a Lung Transplant

The evaluation process for a lung transplant is usually long and complicated. First, a doctor refers a patient to a regional transplant center. At the transplant center, doctors, psychologists, social workers, and other staff meet with the person to gather information. This may take place on several visits occurring over many weeks or months.

Besides the patient’s lung condition, the team considers the person’s family and social support, financial situation, psychological makeup, and any other medical conditions. Numerous tests are performed during a lung transplant evaluation, which can include:

• Pulmonary function tests
• Cardiac stress test
• Coronary artery catheterization
• Bone mineral density test
• Chest X-ray
• Computed tomography (CT scan) of the chest
• Blood tests for kidney function and liver function, and a complete blood count (CBC)
• Blood type and antibodies present in the blood, for matching against potential organ donors

Doctors usually won't recommend a lung transplant if these conditions are present: significant heart, liver, or kidney disease; alcohol or drug abuse; ongoing infections; or cancer. Also, anyone who continues to smoke cannot receive a lung transplant.

Article Referenced from WebMD.com

What is a Lung Transplant?

A lung transplant is an effective treatment for disease that has destroyed most of the lungs’ function. For people with severe lung disease, a transplant can bring back easier breathing and provide years of life. However, lung transplant surgery has major risks and complications are common.

Who May Need a Lung Transplant?

Most people with severe, end-stage lung disease can be considered for a lung transplant. The procedure should be considered when someone seems likely to die without the surgery and no other options are available. A lung transplant can also be considered in people whose lung disease is so severe that they can no longer enjoy life.

The most common lung diseases for which people undergo lung transplant are:

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (emphysema and chronic bronchitis)
• Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
• Cystic fibrosis
• Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension

Among people with these conditions, lung transplant reasons can vary. For example, in emphysema, lung tissue is destroyed by smoking; in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, scar tissue replaces healthy lung.

Lung transplant centers may hesitate when considering people over age 60 or 65 for lung transplant.

 

 

Article Referenced from WebMD.com

What Are the Symptoms of Sarcoidosis?

What Are the Symptoms of Sarcoidosis?

The symptoms of sarcoidosis can vary greatly, depending on which organs are involved. Most patients initially complain of a persistent dry cough, fatigue, and shortness of breath. Other symptoms may include:

• Tender reddish bumps or patches on the skin.
• Red and teary eyes or blurred vision.
• Swollen and painful joints.
• Enlarged and tender lymph glands in the neck, armpits, and groin.
• Enlarged lymph glands in the chest and around the lungs.
• Nasal stiffness and hoarse voice.
• Pain in the hands, feet, or other bony areas due to the formation of cysts (an abnormal sac-like growth) in bones.
• Kidney stone formation.
• Enlarged liver.
• Development of abnormal or missed heart beats (arrhythmias), inflammation of the covering of the heart (pericarditis), or heart failure.
• Nervous system effects, including hearing loss, meningitis, seizures, or psychiatric disorders (for example, dementia, depression, psychosis).

In some people, symptoms may begin suddenly and/or severely and subside in a short period of time. Others may have no outward symptoms at all even though organs are affected. Still others may have symptoms that appear slowly and subtly, but which last or recur over a long time span.

 

Info Taken From Med Web Site

What is a Auto Immune Disease?

 

Our bodies have an immune system, which is a complex network of special cells and organs that defends the body from germs and other foreign invaders. At the core of the immune system is the ability to tell the difference between self and nonself: what's you and what's foreign. A flaw can make the body unable to tell the difference between self and nonself. When this happens, the body makes autoantibodies (AW-toh-AN-teye-bah-deez) that attack normal cells by mistake. At the same time special cells called regulatory T cells fail to do their job of keeping the immune system in line. The result is a misguided attack on your own body. This causes the damage we know as autoimmune disease. The body parts that are affected depend on the type of autoimmune disease. There are more than 80 known types.

What is sarcoidosis?

What is sarcoidosis?

    
Sarcoidosis is a disease that results from a specific type of inflammation of tissues of the body. It can appear in almost any body organ, but it starts most often in the lungs or lymph nodes.
The cause of sarcoidosis is unknown. The disease can appear suddenly and disappear. Or it can develop gradually and go on to produce symptoms that come and go, sometimes for a lifetime.
As sarcoidosis progresses, microscopic lumps of a specific form of inflammation, called granulomas, appear in the affected tissues. In the majority of cases, these granulomas clear up, either with or without treatment. In the few cases where the granulomas do not heal and disappear, the tissues tend to remain inflamed and become scarred (fibrotic).

Sarcoidosis was first identified over 100 years ago by two dermatologists working independently, Dr. Jonathan Hutchinson in England and Dr. Caesar Boeck in Norway. Sarcoidosis was originally called Hutchinson's disease or Boeck's disease. Dr. Boeck went on to fashion today's name for the disease from the Greek words "sark" and "oid," meaning flesh-like. The term describes the skin eruptions that are frequently caused by the illness.

Article taken from medicine.net