[Bone and muscular lesions in sarcoidosis]

Bone lesions are observed in 10 to 15 p. 100 of cases of sarcoidosis. They occur in women in 2 out of 3 cases; the age of onset is slightly later than that of the sarcoidosis; the lesions involve mainly the fingers and toes but any part of the skeleton may be affected. The lesions are nearly always lytic, sometimes associated with chronic cutaneous, ocular or nasal sarcoid lesions; progression is slow and improvement is usually observed with steroid therapy: mortality is higher in patients with sarcoidosis and bone lesions than when there are none. Muscle involvement is present in about 50 p. 100 of cases of sarcoidosis but is usually clinically latent. Symptoms are sometimes observed related either to intramuscular nodules or to pseudomyopathy . These clinical presentations may be the only clinical sign of sarcoidosis for some time. It is important to recognise the true underlying cause with the aid of histology as steroid treatment is effective.