Understanding the genetics of sarcoidosis

Sarcoidosis is a condition of unknown cause, which predominantly affects the lungs. About two thirds of cases get better without treatment but up to 20% of patients develop a long-term progressive disease. Currently there is no way of predicting which patients will get better and which won't.

Dr Ho and her team aim to study 50,000 genes in the lungs of patients with lung sarcoidosis and determine if there is any relationship between certain genes and the development of long-term sarcoidosis. The research team hope that this can be used to predict which patients will develop long-term sarcoidosis, and who will overcome it.

If the researchers are able to identifypatients who will develop long-termsarcoidosis and who will not, doctors will be able to prescribe the most appropriate treatment to individual sarcoidosis patients. This would represent a significant step forward for the treatment of sarcoidosis.

Grant: Henry Shelford Sarcoidosis Research Award
Duration: 24 months
Amount awarded: £50,082
Relevant disease area(s): sarcoidosis
Relevant age group(s): all