Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the frequency of neurological and other involvement patterns of the Primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS).
Method: Between June 2015 and January 2017, sixty SJS patients who were being followed up at Cumhuriyet University Medical Faculty Rheumatology-Internal Medicine Department were evaluated in the study. Their clinical complaints, glandular and extra-glandular findings, age, sex, other epidemiological data, Antinuclear antibody (ANA), Rheumatoid factor (RF), anti-Ro/La, Complemans (C3, C4), IgG, IgA, IgM levels were recorded.
Results: The mean age of the patients was 47.7±1.3 years, and the mean age at diagnosis was 47.1±1.6 years. Of the SS patients, fifty-nine (98.3%) were female and one (1.7%) was male. The frequencies of the clinical symptoms were as follows: arthralgia in 81.7%, arthritis in 46.7%, and biopsy-proven vasculitic lesions in 5%. The frequencies of the neurological symptoms were as follows: headache in 68.75%, localized numbness in 6.25%, seizure in 6.25%, paresthesia in 12.5%, and loss of function in 6.25% (Figure 1). The total frequency of neurological involvement was 26.7 % in SjS patients. Peripheral nervous system involvement was seen in 8.3%. The findings of the magnetic resonance imaging of the patients with neurological involvement were non-specific gliotic lesions in 25%, periventricular lesions in 31.25%, parenchymal vasculitic lesions in 31.25%, and multiple sclerosis-like plaques in 12.5%. Anti-Ro positivity was found in 58.3%, RF in 53.3%, ANA in 78.3%, and low complement levels in 15%. However, anti-Ro positivity was lower in patients with neurological involvement than in patients without neurological involvement (p= 0.025).
Conclusions: Neurological involvement should be kept in mind in patients diagnosed with SS. It can be seen more commonly than expected. In addition, further studies are needed to evaluate the mysterious role of anti-Ro autoantibody in SS patients with neurological involvement.
Thanks
We would like to thank to Ziynet Çınar, M.D. for her statistical analysis.