The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center expands treatment options for patients with COPD
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is an international leader in the mission to improve the care of sarcoidosis, a systemic inflammatory disease in which granulomas form on one or more organs.
More than 90 percent of patients have lung involvement and present with coughing, shortness of breath or other unexplained symptoms. Often sarcoidosis is misdiagnosed as asthma or COPD, which can result in appropriate treatments being delayed.
“We’ve learned that sarcoidosis is more serious and affects more people than anyone realized, including a disproportionate number of African Americans,” explains Elliott Crouser, MD. “A significant number of patients are chronically ill and often can’t hold a job.”
To lay the groundwork for new drug discoveries, Dr. Crouser and his colleagues created one of the first useful laboratory models that closely replicates sarcoidosis.
“Already, this model has yielded important findings,” says Dr. Crouser, “including discovery of a new mechanism by which granulomas form.”
With support from Ohio State and as president of the Americas Association of Sarcoidosis and Other Granulomatous Disorders (AASOG), Dr. Crouser is working to bring sarcoidosis out of obscurity.
National Institutes of Health leaders and scientists from around the world now attend AASOG meetings. And Dr. Crouser is closely engaged with the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research (FSR) to leverage charitable giving to address the urgent need for new treatments.
“These patients deserve better,” says Dr. Crouser. “Our goal is to create continuous funding to sustain dedicated sarcoidosis researchers.”
Ohio State Wexner Medical Center is an FSR-recognized Center for Excellence in sarcoidosis treatment.
Learn more about innovations in care and research from the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine.
