Primary Sjögren's syndrome Certain people are born with specific genes that make them more vulnerable to a faulty immune system. Then, many years later, an environmental factor, possibly a common virus, triggers the immune system to stop working properly. The female hormone oestrogen also seems to play a role.
Bacteria Infections
This is shown by the higher prevalence of antibody towards Heliobacter pylori among SS patients. Another evidence of bacterial infection is the high severity of endocardium tissue damage due to Staphyloccocus saccharolyticus infection on a patient diagnosed with SS.
If Sjögren's syndrome isn't treated appropriately, significant, long-term complications could result that affect your eyes, mouth, lungs, kidneys, liver or lymph nodes — complications including blindness, significant dental destruction and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Chronic stress and stressful life events can trigger autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel disease. One study also found that multiple stressful events may be a risk factor for developing primary Sjögren's syndrome, but the link is less well-studied.
The disorder can affect the nervous system, muscles, joints, kidneys, lungs, blood vessels, liver, and pancreas. Sjögren's syndrome is a long-lasting disorder that affects females more often than men.
Global cognitive impairment in Sjögren's
Most patients experience “brain fog” symptoms, which manifest as memory lapses, forgetfulness, mental confusion, and difficulties in concentrating, organizing, or anticipating future events.
Constipation and diarrhea can occur with Sjögren's. Increase vegetables. Try magnesium supplement for constipation. The pancreas, which releases digestive enzymes, can have low-level inflammation (20-40%) in Sjögren's.
Who Gets Sjögren's Syndrome? Most people with Sjögren's syndrome are women. You can get it at any age, but it is most common in people in their 40s and 50s. It occurs across all racial and ethnic backgrounds.
Patients with pSS have an increased risk of newly diagnosed depressive and/or anxiety disorders and sleep disorders that may impair their quality of life [4,13,14].
In most people with Sjögren syndrome, dry eyes and dry mouth are the primary features of the disorder, and general health and life expectancy are largely unaffected.
The neurological complications of Sjögren's syndrome are extensive and range from cognitive difficulties, to burning toes and feet.
Sjögren's syndrome doesn't cause weight gain. However, medications (like steroids) used to treat symptoms may cause weight gain. Also, there are conditions like hypothyroidism that may be linked to Sjögren's syndrome that can result in unintended weight gain.
You wake up feeling aches and pains
Typically, the pain strikes in small joints like the fingers, wrists, and ankles, though the tenderness and swelling can also show up in the knees, shoulders, and hips.
We divided SS patients into three stages: stage I is glandular SS, stage II is extraglandular SS, and stage III is extraglandular SS with lymphoid malignancy.
Dry eyes, corneal ulcerations and infections. Dry nose, recurrent sinusitis, nosebleeds. Dry mouth, mouth sores, dental decay, difficulty with chewing, speech, taste and dentures. Swollen, painful parotid/salivary glands.
Sjogren's Syndrome patients often complain of mental fatigue or “brain fog.” Brain fog impairs focus, causes fuzzy concentration, and contributes to difficulty in problem-solving. Keep your stress levels low, and give your brain a workout with crosswords, puzzles, reading, adult coloring books, or online brain games.
Biopsy of the Inner Lip
At NYU Langone, doctors use the results of a lip biopsy to confirm Sjogren's syndrome and rule out other diagnoses. The biopsy involves the removal of a small amount of tissue containing tiny salivary glands that's examined under a microscope.
Patients with Sjogren's syndrome (SS) frequently have irritable bowel like symptoms (IBS). Some have celiac sprue.
Chronic diarrhea has been described in up to 9% of patients with Sjogren's syndrome (3), but it is rare that chronic refractory diarrhea can be the chief complaint and most severe symptom. The patient received enteral nutrition therapy after admission, which cause refeeding syndrome (RFS).
For Sjögren's patients, an optimal range of humidity is between 55% and 60% regardless of the ambient temperature. You can monitor the humidity in your home with a simple humidistat.