Marisa Wexler, MS, senior science writer —

LOU064, an inhibitor of the Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) protein, is able to reduce the activation of B-cells both in lab dishes and in animal models, suggesting it has therapeutic potential in diseases such as Sjögren’s syndrome, a study shows. These findings were further confirmed in healthy volunteers,…

Alpine Immune Sciences‘ ALPN-101, a treatment for inflammatory and autoimmune diseases that works by inhibiting two key pathways — ICOS and CD38 — is better at reducing immune cell activity than a combination of treatments targeting these molecules individually, suggests a study in cells and animal models of Sjögren’s…

Sjögren’s syndrome can be classified into four distinct groups based on symptoms, and these groupings may be suggestive of differences in underlying biology and even response to treatment, a new study suggests. The study, “Symptom-based stratification of patients with primary Sjögren’s syndrome: multi-dimensional characterisation of international…

The content of mesenchymal stem cells — cells that can make several cell types, including cartilage and bone — improved saliva and tear flow, increased tissue regeneration, and reduced immune cell infiltration and autoantibody production in a mouse model of Sjogren’s syndrome, a study found. The study, “…

Artificial intelligence may complement — or even replace — manual search for researchers performing literature reviews, a new study suggests. The study, which used primary Sjögren’s syndrome as an example, also points out a need for more research on how the condition affects the skin. The study, “…

Psychiatric disorders including depression, anxiety, and sleep problems are more commonly diagnosed in people with primary Sjögren’s syndrome than in the general population or in those with another rheumatic condition, a study found. Titled, “Increased risks of psychiatric disorders in patients with primary Sjögren’s syndrome —…

People with primary Sjögren’s syndrome have a distinct protein composition in their tears and saliva when compared to samples from healthy individuals or those with sicca symptoms, whose dryness is not caused by Sjögren’s, a study found. These proteins may serve as biomarkers for non-invasive and fairly easy tests…

Higher levels of some inflammatory signaling molecules are associated with less fatigue in people with primary Sjögren’s syndrome, challenging prior thoughts that inflammatory molecules directly mediate fatigue in chronic autoimmune conditions, a recent validation study found. The study, “Fatigue in primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) is associated with…

Analyzing subsets of immune cells in the salivary gland by examining the cells’ epigenetic makeup is a viable way to measure inflammation that may aid in diagnosing and monitoring people with Sjögren’s syndrome, a study suggests. These data were reported in the journal Rheumatology in the paper, “…

A new study in mice suggests that metformin — a drug typically used to control blood sugar levels in diabetes — may be able to reduce inflammation and damage to the salivary glands in Sjögren’s syndrome. The study, “Metformin improves salivary gland inflammation and hypofunction in…