[Update on sarcoidosis]

Since the first description more than a century ago, intensive research continues to focus on sarcoidosis. Based on our current knowledge, sarcoidosis can be considered as an immune syndrome resulting from a variable combination of predisposing genetic, ethnic, and environmental factors. Over the last few years, several teams have proposed a link between certain genetic polymorphisms, particularly of the HLA system, and the risk of development or progression of sarcoidosis. Other pathogenic mechanisms involved in the formation of the sarcoid granuloma are becoming more clear and have led to the development of new therapeutic approaches such as anti-TNF currently being evaluated in multicentric trials.