Sjögren’s Syndrome News

Among systemic rheumatic diseases, the risk for opportunistic infection is highest among patients with polymyositis or dermatomyositis, followed by systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and primary Sjögren’s syndrome, according to data published in Arthritis Research & Therapy.

Rheumatology patients treated with interleukin inhibitors have an increased risk for serious infections, opportunistic infections and cancer, according to data published in JAMA Open Network.

Secondary Sjögren’s syndrome affects approximately one-quarter of all patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, and the frequency increases with age, according to data published in the Journal of Rheumatology.

In June 2019, attendees who made the trek to the EULAR’s Annual Congress in Madrid to hear an update on possible treatments for Sjögren’s syndrome were hit with some bad news: Bristol-Myers Squibb’s abatacept, widely considered the frontrunner for an actual treatment for the disease, failed its phase 3 trial.

By the time Lilly Stairs was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis at the age of 19 — following an arduous series of tests and doctor visits — she had already been living with an autoimmune disease for 12 years.

Sjögren’s syndrome, sarcoidosis and systemic immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis all share common features when analyzed through salivary gland ultrasound, according to findings published in Arthritis Care & Research.

Primary Sjögren’s syndrome in women is associated with lower estrogen exposure and cumulative menstrual cycling, according to data published in Arthritis Care & Research.

American Indians are overrepresented among patients with Sjögren's syndrome, and demonstrate increased disease activity, despite presenting with few of the condition’s classical features, according to data published in Arthritis Care & Research.

Political activism is more accessible than ever thanks to the amplification offered by social media, and rheumatologists can use social media — particularly Twitter — to advocate for the profession and their patients, according to Angus Worthing, MD, private practice rheumatologist and chair of the Government Affairs Committee for the American College of Rheumatology.

In the ever-changing landscape of the United States health care system, rheumatologists need a voice. They need a voice in managing the complex web of drug pricing structures, a voice in developing clinical guidelines, and, on a fundamental level, a voice in simply communicating with all the players involved in running the day-to-day operations of a rheumatology practice.