Active clinical trials for "Sarcoidosis"

The purpose of this study is to compare the diagnostic efficacy of nested and realtime polymerase chain reaction for Mycobacterium tuberculosis using EBUS-TBNA samples in patients with isolated intrathoracic lymphadenopathy.

Diagnosing cardiac sarcoidosis has always been challenging: No single imaging modality has proved effective and cardiac biopsies have a very low sensitivity. 18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET preceded by at least 12 hours of fasting has previously been demonstrated to have reasonable accuracy, however, in some patients physiological FDG uptake in the cardiac region hampers correct identification of sarcoid granulomas. Gallium Ga 68-DOTANOC is a conjugate of the somatostatin analogue Nal3-octreotide (NOC) and gallium Ga 68-labeled 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-N,N',N'',N'''-tetraacetic acid (DOTA). We aim to study whether 68Ga-DOTANOC has superior sensitivity and accuracy than 18-FDG PET in diagnosing cardiac sarcoidosis. In addition, we aim to compare 18-FDG PET preceded by 12 hours fasting with 18-FDG PET during somatostatin blockade of insulin mediated cardiac glucose uptake.

The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of influenza vaccine (antibody response) in patients with sarcoidosis.

The development of endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) and EBUS-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) has improved the safety and diagnostic accuracy of the mediastinal lymph node (MLN) sampling. Still, in some diseases routine cytological specimens are considered insufficient and histological sampling is preferred. The aim of the study is to compare the diagnostic accuracy of EBUS-TBNA and two other, more invasive procedures to obtain histological samples from MLN in patients with clinical and radiological features of sarcoidosis. Bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), EBUS-TBNA, EBUS guided transbronchial forceps biopsy (EBUS-TBFB), large bore (19G) histology TBNA as well as endobronchial forceps biopsy will be performed in 90 consecutive patients with mediastinal lymph node enlargement and clinical and radiological features of sarcoidosis. Diagnostic accuracy of each sampling technique will be calculated and compared to other techniques. Diagnostic yield of different technique combinations will also be calculated and the most efficient diagnostic approach will be defined.

The aims of the current study is to explore if different exercise training protocols affect fatigue post-exercise, and if sarcoidosis-related fatigue and maximal and sub-maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) variables change after a 4-weeks exercise training period.

Sarcoidosis is a multi-systemic inflammatory disorder of unknown cause characterized by the formation of non-caseating granulomas in involved organs. Its cardiac involvement may be potentially fatal. Although endomyocardial biopsy is required for definitive diagnosis of cardiac sarcoidosis, it is invasive and lacks sensitivity. The specific diagnostic tool for cardiac sarcoidosis is far from satisfactory. Recent studies have revealed that FDG-PET with under fasting conditions is a useful method for identification of cardiac sarcoidosis patients. However, to our knowledge, no investigations have been published with regard to FDG quantification for the diagnosis and management of cardiac sarcoidosis by PET.

The purpose of this study is to identify patients with cardiac sarcoidosis who may be at risk for sudden death.

This is an educational work. Thirty patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis will be included in the study and randomly selected into two training groups.One group will receive home inspiratory muscle training (IMT) for 15 minutes, twice a day, 7 days a week with the resh Threshold IMT 'device. In the IMT group, the initial training intensity will be determined by measuring the maximal inspiratory muscle strength (MIP) with the intraoral pressure measuring device, 30% of the measured (MIP) value will be started at the first evaluation and the new training intensity will be determined by calculating 30% of the measured value by repeating the MIP measurement every week. The other group will perform upper extremity and trunk exercises combined with respiratory exercises at home for 7 days, twice a day for 15 minutes.Patients will be evaluated before the training program and 8 weeks after the training. In the first evaluation, demographic information and clinical characteristics of the patients will be noted.In this study, upper and lower extremity exercise capacity, respiratory functions, peripheral muscle strength, dyspnea, fatigue, sleep quality, cognitive function, daily living activities, physical activity level, anxiety, depression, upper extremity and trunk exercises combined with inspiratory muscle training in patients with sarcoidosis and the impact on quality of life.

Sarcoidosis is a multisystemic granulomatous disease of unknown origin. Fatigue is a common problem in sarcoidosis affecting between 50% and 80% of patients, and thus represents a major impairment of their quality of life. The findings of recent studies suggest a high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) in patients with sarcoidosis, estimating a range from 17% to 67%. Pathomechanisms leading to this increased OSA prevalence are still unclear, yet likely to be multifactorial including sarcoid myopathy and neuropathy leading to impaired integrity of the upper airways as well as corticosteroid induced obesity. While both diseases, Sarcoidosis and OSA, could lead to fatigue and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) the current managing strategies differ significantly. OSA patients are mostly treated with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) whereas sarcoidosis associated fatigue may require increased immunosuppressive therapy. Little is known about treatment of fatigue and sleepiness in patients suffering from both conditions.This study aims to close this knowledge gap and define prevalence of OSA in a swiss cohort with sarcoidosis patients. Therefore, we plan a prospective, observational, controlled study to investigate the prevalence of sleepiness, fatigue, life quality and obstructive sleep apnoea in patients with Sarcoidosis. Patients treated in the University Hospital Zurich due to sarcoidosis will be invited by letter to take part in this study. After confirmed consent and baseline assessments at the University Hospital Zurich, these patients will undergo a single night, in-home sleep study to assess possible OSA. Sleepiness and fatigue specific questionnaires and in-home respiratory polygraphy (oRP) are obtained in all subjects. To assess inflammation status and other conditions connected to sleepiness like hypothyroidism and anaemia, sarcoidosis patients will undergo blood sampling.

There is currently no experimental model that accurately represents sarcoidosis. The lack of a useful research model significantly slows progress towards developing new treatments for sarcoidosis. The investigators plan to develop a new model for sarcoidosis research and will test the model to see if it helps us understand how sarcoidosis develops and if it is useful for testing new treatments.