Sjögren's Syndrome Treatment Prognosis Research

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Sjögren's syndrome is an autoimmune disorder in which immune cells attack and destroy the glands that produce tears and saliva. It is named after the Swedish ophthalmologist, Dr. Henrik Sjögren , who first described it. Sjögren's syndrome is also associated with rheumatic disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, and it is rheumatoid factor positive in 90% of the cases. The hallmark symptoms of the disorder are dry mouth and dry eyes. In addition, Sjögren's syndrome may cause skin, nose, and vaginal dryness, and may affect other organs of the body including the kidneys, blood vessels, lungs, liverThe liver is an organ in vertebrates including humans. It plays a major role in metabolism and has a number of functions in the body including detoxification, glycogen storage and plasma protein synthesis. It also produces bile which is important for dige, pancreasThe pancreas is a retroperitoneal organ that serves two functions: exocrine it produces pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes endocrine it produces several important hormones Anatomy The pancreas is a retroperitoneal organ located posterior to the, and brainFor other articles about other subjects named brain see brain (disambiguation). In the anatomy of animals, the brain or encephalon is the supervisory center of the nervous system. Although the brain is usually cited as the supervisory center of vertebrate.

1 Treatment

There is no known cure for Sjögren's syndrome nor is there a specific treatment to restore gland secretion. Treatment is generally symptomatic and supportive. Moisture replacement therapies may ease the symptoms of dryness (some patients use goggles to increase local humidityHumidity is the amount of moisture in the air. It can be expressed as absolute humidity which is the mass of water in a specified volume or mass of air, or more commonly as relative humidity which is the absolute humidity divided by that absolute humidity). Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may be used to treat musculoskeletal symptoms. For individuals with severe complications, corticosteroids or immunosuppressive drugs may be prescribed.

2 Prognosis

Sjögren's can damage vital organs of the body with symptoms that may plateau, worsen, or go into remissionRemission is the state of absence of disease activity in patients with known chronic illness. It is commonly used to refer to absence of active cancer or inflammatory bowel disease. REMISSION ''n (lat. remittere): In spectrosopy, the term "remission" refe. Some people may experience only the mild symptoms of dry eyes and mouth, while others go through cycles of good health followed by severe disease. Many patients are able to treat problems symptomatically. Others are forced to cope with blurred vision, constant eye discomfort, recurrent mouth infectionInfection" is also the title of an episode of the television series Babylon 5; see Infection (Babylon 5). An infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. The colonizing organism interferes with the normal functionings, swollen parotid glands, hoarseness, and difficulty in swallowing and eating. Debilitating fatigueFatigue is a feeling of excessive tiredness or lethargy with a desire to rest, perhaps to sleep. Often it causes yawning. It is typically the result of working, mental stress, jet lag or active recreation, but also from boredom or disease or mold or simpl and joint pain can seriously impair quality of life.

3 Research

The goals of research on disorders such as Sjogren's syndrome focus on increasing knowledge and under-standing of the disorder, improving diagnostic techniques, and finding ways to treat, prevent, and cure the disorder.

The original text from this article was obtained from a public domain resource at: www.ninds.nih.gov/health_and_medical/disorders/sjogrens_doc

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