Sarcoidosis is a multi-system disease of unknown etiology characterized by the formation of granulomas in various organs. It affects people of all ethnic backgrounds and occurs at any time of life but is more frequent in African Americans and Scandinavians and in adults between 30 and 50 years of age. Sarcoidosis can affect any organ with a frequency varying according to ethnicity, sex and age. Intrathoracic involvement occurs in 90% of patients with symmetrical bilateral hilar adenopathy and/or diffuse lung micronodules, mainly along the lymphatic structures which are the most affected system. Among extrapulmonary manifestations, skin lesions, uveitis, liver or splenic involvement, peripheral and abdominal lymphadenopathy and peripheral arthritis are the most frequent with a prevalence of 25–50%. Finally, cardiac and neurological manifestations which can be the initial manifestation of sarcoidosis, as can be bilateral parotitis, nasosinusal or laryngeal signs, hypercalcemia and renal dysfunction, affect less than 10% of patients. The diagnosis is not standardized but is based on three major criteria: a compatible clinical and/or radiological presentation, the histological evidence of non-necrotizing granulomatous inflammation in one or more tissues and the exclusion of alternative causes of granulomatous disease. Certain clinical features are considered to be highly specific of the disease (e.g., Löfgren’s syndrome, lupus pernio, Heerfordt’s syndrome) and do not require histological confirmation. New diagnostic guidelines were recently published. Specific clinical criteria have been developed for the diagnosis of cardiac, neurological and ocular sarcoidosis. This article focuses on the clinical presentation and the common differentials that need to be considered when appropriate.

Parenchymal lung involvement (PLI) in adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD) has seldom, if ever, been studied. We examine here retrospective cohort AOSD cases and present a review of the literature (1971-2014) on AOSD-related PLI cases.Patients with PLI were identified in 57 AOSD cases. For inclusion, the patients had to fulfill Yamaguchi or Fautrel classification criteria, show respiratory symptoms, and have imaging evidence of pulmonary involvement, and data allowing exclusion of infectious, cardiogenic, toxic, or iatrogenic cause of PLI should be available. This AOSD + PLI group was compared with a control group (non-PLI-complicated AOSD cases from the same cohort).AOSD + PLI was found in 3 out of the 57 patients with AOSD (5.3%) and the literature mentioned 27 patients. Among these 30 AOSD + PLI cases, 12 presented an acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and the remaining 18 another PLI. In the latter, a nonspecific interstitial pneumonia computed tomography pattern prevailed in the lower lobes, pulmonary function tests showed a restrictive lung function, the alveolar differential cell count was neutrophilic in half of the cases, and the histological findings were consistent with bronchiolitis and nonspecific interstitial pneumonia. Corticosteroids were fully efficient in all but 3 patients. Ten out of 12 ARDS cases occurred during the first year of the disease course. All ARDS-complicated AOSD cases received corticosteroids with favorable outcomes in 10 (2 deceased). Most PLIs occurred during the systemic onset of AOSD.PLI may occur in 5% of AOSDs, of which ARDS is the most severe. Very often, corticosteroids are efficient in controlling this complication.

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis is the most common chronic rheumatic disease in children, and its etiology remains poorly understood. Here, we explored four families with early-onset arthritis carrying homozygous loss-of-expression mutations in LACC1. To understand the link between LACC1 and inflammation, we performed a functional study of LACC1 in human immune cells. We showed that LACC1 was primarily expressed in macrophages upon mTOR signaling. We found that LACC1 deficiency had no obvious impact on inflammasome activation, type I interferon response, or NF-κB regulation. Using bimolecular fluorescence complementation and biochemical assays, we showed that autophagy-inducing proteins, RACK1 and AMPK, interacted with LACC1. Autophagy blockade in macrophages was associated with LACC1 cleavage and degradation. Moreover, LACC1 deficiency reduced autophagy flux in primary macrophages. This was associated with a defect in the accumulation of lipid droplets and mitochondrial respiration, suggesting that LACC1-dependent autophagy fuels macrophage bioenergetics metabolism. Altogether, LACC1 deficiency defines a novel form of genetically inherited juvenile arthritis associated with impaired autophagy in macrophages.

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a life-threatening cytokine storm syndrome. There are no definitive guidelines for the management of secondary HLH (sHLH). A recent report by a National Health Service (NHS) clinical panel has recommended anakinra as a treatment option. We aimed to analyse the efficacy and safety of anakinra for the treatment of all-cause sHLH. We conducted a multicentric retrospective study in two French University hospitals and included all patients who had a diagnosis of sHLH and who received anakinra. Among 21 patients (median age, 45 years), 13 were men. Anakinra was used as first-line therapy in 10 patients, and as monotherapy in 5 patients. We found that anakinra was effective in 19/21 patients (90.5%), with fever resolution in 19 patients (90.5%) within a median of 1.0 day (1, 2). At the Day 7 assessment, the mean CRP concentration decreased significantly (p < 0.001), as did the mean ferritin (p = 0.011). Anakinra was generally safe and well tolerated and was discontinued for side effects in only three patients (14.3%). Anakinra is an efficient and safe treatment to control sHLH of various causes. These data, together with the recent report of the NHS panel, call for the rapid conduct of prospective randomized clinical trials.

Distinguishing between macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) and a simple flare of Still’s disease (SD) may be challenging. We sought to clarify the clinical features and outcome of MAS in SD and to explore predictive factors of MAS development. Demographic and clinical data, treatments, and outcomes were recorded in a cohort of 206 SD patients. SD patients with and without MAS were compared. To explore predictive factors for the development of MAS, patients were compared at the time of SD diagnosis. Twenty (9.7%) patients experienced MAS, which was inaugural in 12 cases. Patients with MAS were more likely to have hepatomegaly (OR, 3.71; 95% CI, 1.14–11.2; p = 0.03) and neurological symptoms (OR, 4.43; 95% CI, 1.08–15.3; p = 0.04) than patients without MAS. Cytopenias, abnormal liver tests, and coagulation disorders were significantly more frequent in patients with MAS; lactate dehydrogenase and serum ferritin levels were significantly higher. An optimized threshold of 3500 μg/L for serum ferritin yielded a sensitivity (Se) of 85% and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 97% for identifying patients with/without MAS. Survival analysis showed that a high ferritin level at the time of SD diagnosis was predictive of MAS development (p < 0.001). Specific factors, including neurological symptoms, cytopenias, elevated LDH, and coagulopathy, may contribute to the early detection of MAS. Extreme hyperferritinemia at the onset of SD is a prognostic factor for the development of MAS.

Spondyloarthritis (Spa), Behçet’s disease (BD) and sarcoidosis are major systemic inflammatory diseases worldwide. They are all multisystem pathologies and share a possible ocular involvement, especially uveitis. We hereby describe selected cases who were referred by ophthalmologists to our internal medicine department for unexplained uveitis. Physical examination and/or the use of laboratory and imaging investigations allowed to make a diagnosis of a systemic inflammatory disease in a large proportion of patients. In our tertiary referral center, 75 patients have been diagnosed with Spa (n = 20), BD (n = 9), or sarcoidosis (n = 46) in the last two years. There was a significant delay in the diagnosis of Spa-associated uveitis. Screening strategies using Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA)-B27 determination and sacroiliac magnetic resonance imaging in patients suffering from chronic low back pain and/or psoriasis helped in the diagnosis. BD’s uveitis affects young people from both sexes and all origins and usually presents with panuveitis and retinal vasculitis. The high proportion of sarcoidosis in our population is explained by the use of chest computed tomography (CT) and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography CT that helped to identify smaller hilar or mediastinal involvement and allowed to further investigate those patients, especially in the elderly. Our results confirm how in these sight- and potentially life-threatening diseases a prompt diagnosis is mandatory and benefits from a multidisciplinary approach.