Sarcoidosis and other autoimmune disorders

The relation between sarcoidosis and autoimmune disorders was first suggested by Telium about half a century ago. He noted that there were certain clinical and laboratory similarities between systemic lupus erythematosus and sarcoidosis and mused that the common features were hyperglobulinemia, "hyalinosis" in the reticuloendothelial system, epithelioid cell granulomas, and periarterial hyaline zones in the spleen. Now, the inclusion of sarcoidosis into the group of disorders of autoimmunity is a discarded notion. Sarcoidosis does not meet the criteria for autoimmune disease. Nevertheless, there are ample examples of coexistence of sarcoidosis and a wider range of autoimmune disorders. (C) 2002 Lippincott Williams Wilkins, Inc.