Professor Simon Hart S.Hart@hull.ac.uk
Professor in Respiratory Medicine
A single arm, open-label exploratory clinical trial of azithromycin in pulmonary sarcoidosis
People Involved
Project Description
Patients with sarcoidosis need treatment options that improve their disease without causing unacceptable side effects. Currently, steroids tablets are offered for severe sarcoidosis, but side effects can be dangerous and personally distressing, and steroid treatment can at best control, not cure. Many patients have milder disease yet often suffer from worrying symptoms or have concerns about future disease progression and prognosis. The cause of sarcoidosis remains unknown, but we know that the body’s immune system becomes hyper-active, and recent studies have suggested this is driven by over-activity of the mTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin) pathway that signals inside cells to control the immune system. Azithromycin is an antibiotic that interferes with mTOR signalling and has immune-modulating and anti-bacterial effects, both plausible beneficial properties in sarcoidosis (previous studies have suggested that bacteria can trigger sarcoidosis). Azithromycin is readily available and cheap, and long term treatment has been shown to be safe in other chronic diseases.
| Status | Project Complete |
|---|---|
| Funder(s) | SarcoidosisUK |
| Value | £59,992.00 |
| Project Dates | Mar 1, 2019 - Sep 30, 2020 |
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