Peripheral neuropathy in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome - a study

This is a summary of the study published in 2023 Analysis of clinical features and risk factors of peripheral neuropathy in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome.

Objective

To observe the clinical features and effectiveness of immunosuppressive therapy in patients with both primary Sjögren's syndrome (PSS) and peripheral neuropathy (PN) syndrome and to explore the risk factors for PN in patients with PSS.

Methods

Sixty patients with PSS admitted to the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Wuhan No. 1 Hospital, from January 2014 to June 2020 were analysed retrospectively. 

Patients were divided into a PN group (N = 15) and a non-PN group (N = 45). 

The clinical characteristics of the two groups were compared, and the independent risk factors for PN combined with PSS were analysed by multivariate logistic regression. 

The patients with PSS combined with PN were followed up to observe the effect of immunosuppressive therapy.

Results

The patients with PN had a longer course of disease than those without PN and the incidence of Raynaud's phenomenon, anti-SSB antibody, rheumatoid factor and hyperglobulinaemia was higher in patients with PN than in those without PN. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that hyperglobulinaemia, RF and anti-SSB antibodies were independent risk factors for PN with PSS. 

Fourteen patients with PSS-PN were treated with immunosuppressants. The clinical symptoms of 10 patients were relieved, and mRS scores of 10 patients were decreased.

Conclusion

• PN is a common complication in PSS patients. 

• Patients with PSS combined with PN have a longer course of disease and a significantly higher percentage of Raynaud's phenomenon, positive anti-SSB antibody, positive RF and hyperglobulinaemia. 

• Immunosuppressive therapy was effective for partial remission of PN with PSS.

Glossary

Sjögren's syndrome is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by lymphocyte infiltration of the exocrine glands.

Primary Sjögren's syndrome (PSS) is when the person has no other connective tissue conditions. 

Peripheral neuropathy is a nervous system condition caused by damage of the peripheral nerves. Symptoms are  numbness, pain, and weakness, usually in the hands and feet.

The most common peripheral neuropathies are small-fibre sensory neuropathy and axonal sensorimotor polyneuropathy. The peripheral nervous system is involved in up to 60% of people with Sjögren's syndrome.

Multivariate logistic regression is where "multivariate" is used to mean several responses/dependent variables. To this end, multivariate logistic regression is a logistic regression with more than one binary outcome.

Immunosuppressive therapy is when immunosuppressive drugs are used to suppress the immune system activity to manage some autoimmune conditions. 

Raynaud's phenomenon is a condition that causes the blood vessels in the extremities to narrow, restricting blood flow.

 

Anti-SSB antibody (anti-La) is an autoantibody associated with SLE or Sjögren’s syndrome.

Rheumatoid factor (RF) is the autoantibody that was first found in rheumatoid arthritis.High levels of rheumatoid factor in the blood are most often associated with autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and Sjogren's syndrome. But rheumatoid factor may be detected in some healthy people, and people with autoimmune diseases sometimes have normal levels of rheumatoid factor. MAYO CLINIC.

 

Hyperglobulinaemia means an abnormally high concentration of globulins in the circulating blood plasma.

Are larger Glossary relating to Sjögren’s can be found here. 

This is a shortened and simplified version of the study and a more in-depth version can be found at BMC BioMed Central