Neuropsychiatric manifestations of sarcoidosis

Abstract

Background: There has been significant progress in understanding neurosarcoidosis (NS) as a distinct disorder, which encompasses a heterogeneous group of clinical and radiological alterations which can affect patients with systemic sarcoidosis or manifest isolated.

Rationale and aim of the study: The healthcare challenges posed by NS and sarcoidosis in general extend beyond their physical symptoms and can include a variety of psychosocial factors, therefore the recognition of main neuropsychiatric symptoms can be useful to approach patients with NS. Methods: For this purpose, databases such as Pubmed, Medline and Pubmed Central (PMC) have been searched.

Results: A correct diagnosis of NS is established by the combination of clinical picture, imaging features and the histopathological finding of non-caseating and non-necrotizing granulomas. After analyzing the current literature, there is a need for specific, case-control, cohort and clinical trials on the psychiatric manifestations of sarcoidosis, because the evaluation of psychological distress (in terms of emotional suffering e.g. anxiety or depression) is often underestimated.

Discussion and conclusion: Exploring the neuropsychiatric manifestations of sarcoidosis is useful to raise awareness of this condition among clinicians and to establish a holistic management, which includes both physical and psychological aspects.

Keywords: Sarcoidosis; anxiety; depression; disease; fatigue; headache; neuropathy; pain.

Figure 1.

Common causes of pain in sarcoidosis patients. Created with BioRender.