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.
“Brain fog” is a colloquial term for cognitive dysfunction, which refers to impairment in functions such as thinking, memory, and reasoning in a way that can affect daily activities. It is a common complaint among people with Sjogren's syndrome.
Association between Sjögren's syndrome and dementia
The overall pooled results showed that SS was associated with an increased risk of dementia (HR = 1.24, 95% CI: 1.15–1.33, p < 0.001).
The CNS manifestations of pSS include diffuse abnormalities (psychiatric changes, encephalopathy, aseptic meningitis, and cognitive difficulties/dementia) and focal or multifocal involvement of the brain and spinal cord leading to motor and sensory deficits, seizures, aphasia, and optic neuropathy [12, 31].
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.
Sjögren's syndrome can cause nerve damage which regulates the coordination of heartbeat, respiration, and gastric motility. This is called an “autonomic neuropathy.” Examples of symptoms include lightheadedness when standing, decreased or increased sweating, and feeling full despite eating small meals.
MRI of patients with primary Sjögren syndrome has shown multiple areas of increased signal intensity in the periventricular and subcortical white matter (WM) on FLAIR and T2-weighted images [7–10]. These findings have been observed in both patients with and those without CNS impairment [7–10].
Over time, the immune system for people with Sjogren's syndrome can damage other parts of your body, including joints, nerves, skin, and organs such as kidneys, liver, and lungs. These long-term consequences can be quite debilitating.
The main symptom is dry eyes; the patient may feel a burning, stinging or gritty sensation. Other possible symptoms are blurred vision or sensitivity to intense light, specifically fluorescent light.
Overview. Sjogren's (SHOW-grins) syndrome is a disorder of your immune system identified by its two most common symptoms — dry eyes and a dry mouth. The condition often accompanies other immune system disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
The lymphoaggressive nature of the disease appears to lead SS patients from stage I to II and from stage II to III. However, stage III patients made up only 5% of SS patients. Many patients remain stable in stages I or II for as long as 10 or 20 years.
Avoiding foods that tend to exacerbate symptoms including alcohol, caffeine, acidic foods, and spicy foods.
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.
Steven Carsons, MD: Common symptoms of neurologic involvement secondary to Sjogren syndrome include numbness and tingling of the extremities or problems with balance, representing peripheral neuropathy, facial pain secondary to trigeminal neuralgia, and patchy painful stinging and burning of the skin caused by small ...
Encephalopathies — typically characterized by confusion, seizures, memory loss and behavioral changes — have been well-recognized as having an autoimmune cause.
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.
Share on Pinterest Sjogren's is caused by white blood cells mistakenly attacking moisture-producing glands. The causes of Sjogren's remain largely unknown. Studies have indicated that a viral or bacterial infection may trigger the disease, but that the underlying cause is primarily genetic and environmental.
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.
Liability to multiple sclerosis and Sjogren's syndrome could be associated with Alzheimer's disease. The underlying mechanisms, such as the role of myelin and neuroinflammation, should be further investigated.
Sjogren's syndrome is an autoimmune disease that can mimic some of the symptoms of MS such as fatigue and joint pain. However, Sjogren's syndrome is known to cause dry mouth and eyes, which are not associated with MS.
Clinical and immunological parameters of Sjögren's syndrome
SS has been reported to be associated with other autoimmune diseases such as SLE, RA, autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD), SSc, and, less frequently, multiple sclerosis (MS) and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) [25,26].
A wide variety of nervous system complications are characteristic features of Sjögren's syndrome. Small fiber neuropathy — damage to the peripheral nerves — is a major one. Peripheral neuropathy can cause weakness, tingling, burning, and pain, usually in the hands and feet.