Grammy Award-winning rapper Krayzie Bone was rushed to the hospital after coughing up blood last week and is now fighting for his life on a ventilator.
The rapper famous for being one-fifth of the hip-hop group Bone Thugs -n- Harmony underwent a chest x-ray that revealed a leaking artery into his lung, believed to be due to his long battle against a disease called sarcoidosis.
Sarcoidosis is an immune system condition that can affect any organ, but most commonly affects the lungs and lymph nodes.
It causes the immune system to overreact to an ancient invader, accumulating clumps of immune cells that lodge in the body’s tissues and cause inflammation.
Clusters of immune cells known as granulomas can heal on their own, but they can also cause scarring of lung tissue that becomes stiff and inflamed, increasing the risk of long-lasting breathing problems and strain on the heart.
Below, DailyMail.com answers questions about sarcoidosis, how it damages the lungs and what could cause it.
Details: Bone Thugs-n-Harmony artist Krayzie Bone, 50, was hospitalized in Los Angeles on Friday after coughing up blood, sources told AllHipHop.
Sarcoidosis often does not cause any symptoms and resolves on its own. But if it progresses without treatment, it could lead to permanent scarring of the lung tissue, which stiffens the blood vessels responsible for carrying blood from the heart to the lungs.
What is sarcoidosis?
Granuloma can affect any organ system in the body, but in Mr. Henderson’s case, it affected his lungs.
Bleeding into the alveoli of one of your lungs, which can cause the patient to cough up blood, is likely the result of diffuse alveolar hemorrhage, a rare but potentially life-threatening complication.
Henderson underwent emergency surgery to repair the leaking artery, but the bleeding persisted. Mr Henderson is now sedated and on a ventilator.
Sarcoidosis is considered rare according to the Food and Drug Administration, with fewer than 200,000 cases at any given time in the U.S. It’s the same disease that took the life of comedian Bernie Mac in 2008.
While not an autoimmune disorder, the condition causes an aggressive immune response to some unknown trigger, usually an infection or environmental contaminant.
The immune response includes an accumulation of specific immune cells called T cells. Together with another type of cell called macrophages, they form granulomas in the lung tissue. Over time, the tissue becomes inflamed and hardens due to scarring.
That buildup of scar tissue can cause narrowing of blood vessels that must support the same pressure of normal blood flow, a complication known as pulmonary hypertension.
This puts pressure on the right side of the heart, which then has to work overtime to pump blood to the lungs, making breathing difficult. It also causes severe fatigue in 70 percent of patients.
What are the symptoms?
Most people with sarcoidosis don’t even know it. However, between 40 and 70 percent of patients will experience symptoms.
In almost 70 percent of cases, patients have a dry cough that does not go away, while around a third have difficulty breathing and more than a fifth experience chest pain.
Henderson went to the hospital for the first time Friday after coughing up blood. While details of her medical condition have not been made public, this symptom could indicate that small air sacs in her lungs have filled with blood, a potentially fatal syndrome called diffuse alveolar hemorrhage.
His sarcoidosis diagnosis was revealed in 2016 when he revealed that he suffered an ‘intense case of pneumonia’ due to medications that weakened his immune system. Pneumonia forced him to cancel tour dates in Canada.
In addition to causing symptoms similar to a common respiratory infection, sarcoidosis can cause joint and bone pain, swollen lymph nodes, unexplained weight loss, kidney stones, and night sweats.
How serious is it?
Most people with sarcoidosis who have had it for three years or more likely have a chronic disease, causing permanent organ damage in 10 to 20 percent of cases.
Only about five percent of sarcoidosis patients die, but those who do often experience bleeding lung tissue, scarring of the lungs, and heart failure if the particular case involves disruptions in the heart’s electrical system.
High blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs, or pulmonary hypertension, is a potentially serious complication.
Arteries are a type of blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the lungs for oxygenation, meaning it primarily affects the right side of the heart.
When Henderson went to the hospital, doctors identified the leak and immediately took him into surgery to surgically close the gap in the artery causing the bleeding.
Doctors performed the surgery, which may involve suturing the hole in the artery or placing a patch over it, but it did not stop the bleeding.
While the severity of Mr Henderson’s condition remains a secret, he is currently unconscious and on a ventilator.
What causes it?
The exact cause of pulmonary sarcoidosis is unknown, but scientists believe that an external pathogen, such as a virus, or environmental pollutants, such as chemicals in the air, could trigger the disease.
There is also evidence of a genetic basis. Having at least one first-degree relative with sarcoidosis was associated with a 3.7-fold increase in the risk of sarcoidosis, according to a study published in the European Respiratory Journal.
In addition to having more than one possible cause, there are several factors that increase a person’s risk of developing sarcoidosis.
Among African Americans, the most affected group in the United States, the estimated lifetime risk of developing sarcoidosis could be as high as 2 percent.
Counterintuitively, some research has shown a reduced risk of sarcoidosis associated with smoking. A 2016 study in the journal Respiratory Medicine found that people who currently smoke had a lower risk of developing sarcoidosis compared to those who had never smoked.
Doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota conducted a study on 345 people with sarcoidosis and 345 healthy people.
The odds of developing sarcoidosis among current smokers were about 66 percent lower than among people who had never smoked. And even when both never smokers and former smokers are considered together, current smokers had a 62 percent lower risk of sarcoidosis.
Still, the degree to which smoking influences the risk of being diagnosed with sarcoidosis depends on the individual patient, and a study in the journal Scientific Reports found that the way genetics and smoking interact can affect whether a person will get sarcoidosis. .
That finding suggested that genetics or smoking alone do not determine whether a person will get sarcoidosis. Rather, it is both factors combined that determine the risk.
How is it diagnosed?
Imaging tests, such as X-rays and CT scans, are the most common ways to diagnose someone with sarcoidosis.
In Mr. Henderson’s case, doctors ordered a CT scan, which uses computers and rotating X-ray machines to provide a detailed view of specific parts of the body.
Doctors will also likely perform noninvasive tests that measure lung function, blood and urine tests to show how well other organs are working, and an electrocardiogram to check the heart’s electrical activity.
How is it treated?
Sarcoidosis treatment is primarily aimed at preventing organ damage and reducing inflammation. This often requires patients to take immune-suppressing medications.
Corticosteroids reduce lung inflammation by suppressing the immune system and blocking the body’s production of substances, such as cytokines, that are known to inflame tissue.
