His death on 9 August 2008 was caused by complications from pneumonia, though Macs agent states the sarcoidosis was not related to his fatal pneumonia.Karen "Duff" Duffy, MTV personality and actress, was diagnosed with neurosarcoidosis in 1995.American football player Reggie White died in 2004, with pulmonary and cardiac sarcoidosis being contributing factors to his fatal heart arrhythmia.Singer Sean Levert died in 2008 of sarcoidosis complications.Joseph Rago, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer known for his work at The Wall Street Journal, died of sarcoidosis complications in 2017.Several historical figures are suspected of having sarcoidosis. In a 2014 letter to the British medical journal The Lancet, it was suggested that the French Revolution leader Maximilien Robespierre may have had sarcoidosis, causing him impairment during his time as head of the Reign of Terror. The symptoms associated with Ludwig van Beethovens 1827 death have been described as possibly consistent with sarcoidosis. Author Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) had a history of chronic coughs and chest complaints, and sarcoidosis has been suggested as a diagnosis. Pregnancy
Sarcoidosis generally does not prevent successful pregnancy and delivery; the increase in estrogen levels during pregnancy may even have a slightly beneficial immunomodulatory effect. In most cases, the course of the disease is unaffected by pregnancy, with improvement in a few cases and worsening of symptoms in very few cases, although it is worth noting that a number of the immunosuppressants (such as methotrexate, cyclophosphamide) used in corticosteroid-refractory sarcoidosis are known teratogens.
Serum ACE levels have been found to usually correlate with total granuloma load.Cases of sarcoidosis have also been reported as part of the immune reconstitution syndrome of HIV, that is, when people receive treatment for HIV, their immune system rebounds and the result is that it starts to attack the antigens of opportunistic infections caught prior to said rebound and the resulting immune response starts to damage healthy tissue. Histopathology
Sarcoidosis is characterized by the formation of non-necrotizing ("non-caseating") granulomas in various organs and tissues. Giant cells, specifically Langhans giant cells, are often seen in sarcoidosis. Schaumann bodies seen in sarcoidosis are calcium and protein inclusions inside of giant cells as part of a granuloma. Asteroid bodies can be seen in sarcoidosis. Hamazaki–Wesenberg bodies can be seen in lymph nodes and more rarely in lung biopsies with sarcoidosis and are inclusion bodies of lysosomes with protein, glycoprotein and iron. Diagnosis
Diagnosis of sarcoidosis is a matter of exclusion, as there is no specific test for the condition. To exclude sarcoidosis in a case presenting with pulmonary symptoms might involve a chest radiograph, CT scan of chest, PET scan, CT-guided biopsy, mediastinoscopy, open lung biopsy, bronchoscopy with biopsy, endobronchial ultrasound, and endoscopic ultrasound with fine-needle aspiration of mediastinal lymph nodes (EBUS FNA).