Sarcoidosis in the 1990s: avenues for the future

Thirty years have passed since the International Conference on Sarcoidosis, held in Washington, D.C., in 1960. During this period, many useful findings were reported on the pathophysiology of sarcoidosis, such as findings on the angiotensin-converting enzyme and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. On the other hand, no information on the causative agents has been obtained, and no advances have been made in the treatment of sarcoidosis. We expect steady advances in both in the 1990s and hope that the 12th World Congress on Sarcoidosis in September 1991 in Kyoto will mark the first step toward these objectives.