QUESTION: Can you provide information on sarcoidosis? I was diagnosed as having the lung condition 10 years ago and was rechecked three years ago. Now I have a serious breathing problem and catch colds frequently. Is there a drug therapy for this condition? Also, is vitamin C in high doses helpful? I am 60 and would be enjoying good health except for this pulmonary condition. - A.A.
ANSWER: Sarcoidosis is kind of a mystery ailment. We don't know what exactly has gone wrong, but we suspect that the body's usually reliable immunity system has turned against its own tissue. Any body organ can lie in the path of this errant immunity attack, but the most common target of sarcoidosis is the lungs, and especially the lung's lymph nodes. These structures enlarge, sometimes to the point of obstructing breathing.Many sarcoidosis patients with only lung and lymph node involvement have a complete clearing in a year or so. Others have a progressive illness with more and more nodes and lung tissue affected. Sometimes, when the progression stops, the lungs do remain scarred and somewhat impaired.
I can't relate your frequent colds to the sarcoidosis process itself. The effects, that is the breathing difficulty, may be a part of that problem. Have you had breathing tests? They will help evaluate your situation. A blood test will indicate if the process is continuing. That is called the ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) test.
Large doses of C will do nothing for you. If need be, cortisone drugs are used to control sarcoidosis. I should add that sarcoidosis is non-cancerous, is not contagious, and most often has an excellent outcome.
QUESTION: Could you tell me something about acquired sideroblastic anemia? Can it be cured or kept under control? - M.
ANSWER: Breaking the term down, "sidero-" refers to iron and "blastic" to certain bone marrow cells (blasts).
These bone marrow cells are mothers to red blood cells. Here they have amassed too much iron in them. As a result, they cannot produce adequate numbers of red cells, which is what the anemia means.
Adding the word "acquired" to the diagnosis means something has worked to cause the bone marrow problem. An example might be certain medicines. And sometimes, sideroblastic anemia arises from other illnesses, rheumatoid arthritis for example. Sometimes no precipitating cause can be found.
Unfortunately, there are not treatments for every kind of sideroblastic anemia. Male hormones and vitamin B-6 are used for certain types. They are sometimes ineffective, especially for acquired forms. If the red blood cells drop too low, blood transfusions are given.
QUESTION: Every summer when I go to the beach for vacation, within about two or three days I get sun poisoning, a red, itchy rash on my front, legs and arms. It goes away by the time I get back home. Please let me know if there is any medicine to stop this. - Ms. E.K.
ANSWER: Could be polymorphous light reaction. Anywhere from one to four days after exposure, the exposed skin breaks out in little blisters or a flat rash. I can give you two pieces of advice. One is to use a sun screen that shields from ultraviolet A as well as B light. Photoplex is a brand name of one of these products. My second bit of advice is to see a dermatologist, who can evaluate this firsthand.
QUESTION: Would you know how many miles on an exercycle is equivalent to a mile of outdoor walking? - R.G.
ANSWER: Let me give you the answer in time rather than distance. That seems more germane to the aerobic benefit factor, which I presume is your concern. Not all charts agree precisely, but typically, walking at a pace of 3 mph (a normal pace) burns 3 calories a minute, while using an exercycle at average tension and pace burns about 4.5 calories a minute.
C) 1990 North America Syndicate Inc.