Association of Sarcoidosis With Endothelial Function, Arterial Wall Properties, and Biomarkers of Inflammation

Abstract

In the present study, we have shown that sarcoidosis patients have impaired endothelial function and increased arterial stiffness. Sarcoidosis patients on cortisone treatment had no differences compared to controls on the vascular parameters. Moreover, there was a significant correlation between inflammatory process and vascular function impairment. These findings indicate that sarcoidosis patients have impaired vascular function and increased inflammatory status, which may improve with cortisone treatment.

Increased pulse wave velocity in pulmonary sarcoidosis: a preliminary study

“…In line with our results, Siaos et al 6 also revealed increased arterial stiffness in patients with sarcoidosis compared with healthy controls, evaluating the AI75. However, in contrast to our study, PWV values were not significantly different in the study groups.…”

“…However, Siasos et al 6 showed that patients on cortisone treatment have the same vascular parameters as healthy controls. Therefore, the increased PWV in our patients may result from systemic intimal and medial infiltration of the vasculature by a noncaseating granuloma.…”

“…It should be noted that Siasos et al 6 detected impaired endothelial function in sarcoidosis patients and revealed a significant correlation of AI75 values with the serum levels of intercellular adhesion molecule 1 and tumor necrosis factor α, which play the main role in the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis. 1,2 Normal pulmonary arterial pressures with normal lung function and arterial blood gases, like in our sarcoidosis patients, may also suggest the presence of an intrinsic sarcoid vasculopathy.…”

“…7,8 To the best of our knowledge, there has been 1 study that revealed increased arterial stiffness while indirectly measuring the augmentation index corrected to a heart rate of 75 bpm (AI75) in sarcoidosis. 6 Other 2 reports detected reduced aortic elasticity in sarcoidosis using transthoracic echocardiography.…”

Effects of omega-3 fatty acids on endothelial function, arterial wall properties, inflammatory and fibrinolytic status in smokers: A cross over study

“…Endothelial function was evaluated by estimating the flow mediated dilation (FMD) in the brachial artery, as previously described [13][14][15]. Endotheliumindependent dilation was defined as the %change of vessel diameter from rest to the maximum diameter post-nitrate administration.…”