While some people experience mild discomfort, others suffer debilitating symptoms that greatly impair their ability to function. Early diagnosis and proper treatment can prevent serious complications and greatly improve quality of life.
The SSA lists Sjogren's syndrome as a recognized disability, but people who are diagnosed with the disorder must meet the eligibility criteria in order to qualify for benefits.
In more serious cases of Sjögren's syndrome, the immune system can attack other parts of the body, causing symptoms and conditions such as: dry skin. tiredness and fatigue – which are common and can lead to total exhaustion. muscle pain.
With a typical age of onset between 40 and 60 years old, Sjögren's (pronounced show-grins) syndrome is a progressive autoimmune disease affecting the areas of the body which synthesize fluids, including saliva and tears.
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.
The neurological complications of Sjögren's syndrome are extensive and range from cognitive difficulties, to burning toes and feet.
In multivariate analysis adjusted by age groups, gender and the comorbidities, the HR of developing dementia was 1.246 (95% CI 1.123–1.384) times greater in the pSS group than in the non‐pSS group. This result suggested that pSS was an independent risk factor for the development of dementia.
These and previous studies suggest a model for pSS that separates the disease into several stages: 1) initial injury to the submandibular and lacrimal glands via an environmental insult and LTα; 2) amplification of local injury via the production of type 1 IFN; injury to the parotid glands, lungs, and kidneys is seen; ...
While many patients experience dry eyes, dry mouth, fatigue and joint pain, Sjögren's can also cause dysfunction of organs such as the kidneys, gastrointestinal system, blood vessels, lungs, liver, pancreas, and the central nervous system.
Life expectancy and primary Sjogren's syndrome
Life expectancy in primary Sjogren's syndrome is comparable to that of the general population, but it can take up to seven years to correctly diagnose Sjogren's. Although life expectancy is not typically affected, patients' quality of life is, and considerably.
Are patients with Sjögren's Immunocompromised/Immunosuppressed? Not all Sjögren's patients have compromised immune systems. This specific risk factor is for those who regularly take drugs to suppress the immune system.
Falk: What kinds of factors can make Sjogren's worse? What is the effect, for example, of stress? Jonas: Well, like all autoimmune diseases, patients who feel stressed or are under unusual stress will often have exacerbation of their symptoms. Learning to manage that stress in your life is very important.
Age: Most people who are diagnosed with Sjögren's syndrome are 40 or older, but it can affect younger individuals, including children. Gender: Women are as much as 10 times more likely to develop Sjögren's syndrome than men. This imbalance may be related to the effect of sex hormones on a woman's immune system.
Although the hallmark symptoms are dry eyes, dry mouth, fatigue and joint pain, Sjögren's is a systemic disease and affects the entire body. Fatigue is often described as one of the most debilitating symptoms of Sjögren's.
Fatigue was the symptom that most significantly interfered with daily activities, having the highest scores in seven categories. Physical exercise, gardening or shopping, and performing household chores, were the activities most significantly impacted by it.
How Does Sjogren's Syndrome Affect Your Ability To Work? Sjogren's Syndrome can be disabling, preventing your ability to work and earn a living. Sjogren's flare-ups lead to joint and muscle pain, fatigue, and dryness of the eyes and mouth.
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. The lymphoaggressive nature of the disease appears to lead SS patients from stage I to II and from stage II to III.
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.
People with two or fewer of these signs and symptoms have a 3.8 percent chance of developing the condition. Those with three to six risk factors have a 39.9 percent chance of developing lymphoma. People with all seven risk factors have nearly a 100 percent chance of being diagnosed with lymphoma at some point.
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.
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.
The patients with Sjogren's had an overall lower quality of sleep [8]. All of the studies in the systematic review noted that there is an increased number of nighttime awakenings in Sjogren's patients.
It may include forgetfulness, spaciness, confusion, decreased ability to pay attention, an inability to focus, and difficulty in processing information.
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].