Neurosarcoidosis
Sarcoidosis
In sarcoidosis, there is an immune system disorder that damages the body. This is caused by an uncontrolled immune response to as yet unknown substances.
Sarcoidosis leads to inflammation and accumulations of inflammatory cells, granulomas, which can occur throughout the body.
These granulomas usually occur in the lungs, but the skin and eyes may also often be involved.
Although rare, it also occurs in the brain and nervous system.
Neurosarcoidosis
The nervous system is involved in one in twenty patients. If this is the case, it is called neurosarcoidosis.
That is approximately one in 50,000 adult Dutch people.
The granulomas are located in the nervous system, that is to say in the spinal cord, nerve pathways, muscles, or the brain.
The affected individuals experience one or more neurological disorders.
If the sarcoidosis is located in the brain, it is called cerebral sarcoidosis.
Possible consequences of neurosarcoidosis
- meningitis
- facial paralysis / facial paresis
- headache
- epileptic seizures
- balance disorders
- gait disorders
- fatigue neurofatigue
- changes in behavior or mental state
- sensitivity to light and sound
- partial blindness
- loss of smell
- deafness
- dizziness
- thirst and frequent urination / hormonal changes
Treatment for sarcoidosis consists of medications that suppress the immune system, such as prednisone, or treatment with specific powerful antibodies.
Despite these treatments neurosarcoidosis remains a serious condition with approximately one in three patients not fully recovering.
More information:
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sarcoidosis/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20350363
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9237819/
- https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/11863-sarcoidosis
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2559831/
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