• Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory disease in which the immune system overreacts, causing groups of cells to form clusters of inflamed tissue called “granulomas” in one or more organs of the body.
• Sarcoidosis most commonly affects the lungs and lymph nodes, but it can affect any organ including the eyes, skin, heart and nervous system.
• Sarcoidosis is a rare disease with 150,000-200,000 cases in the United States per year and approximately 27,000 new cases per year.
• Lofgren’s syndrome is an acute, milder form of sarcoidosis that usually goes away within six months to two years after diagnosis.
• Black women are three times more likely to be diagnosed with sarcoidosis than White women, tend to have more severe disease, are more likely to be hospitalized and have a higher mortality rate.
• In severe cases, sarcoidosis can be life-threatening if it progresses to heart or severe lung disease.
• Severe fatigue can impact up to 70% of patients with sarcoidosis even when inflammation is controlled with medication. Fatigue can be disabling, and lead to loss of work.

Sarcoidosis in the lungs is often separated into the “Scadding stages” based on the chest X-ray. There are five Scadding stages, Stage 0 through Stage 4. The stages use the location of the granulomas in the lungs and lymph nodes, to predict the chance of the disease resolving on its own, with lower stages being more likely to resolve or not need treatment. At each stage you can have serious symptoms. You also can move between the stages of sarcoidosis. Patients of any Scadding stage can have involvement of other organs from sarcoidosis.”