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More than 700 medical experts, pharmaceutical executives, patient advocates, and others are expected to converge on Washington, D.C., next month for the 2018 NORD Rare Diseases & Orphan Products Breakthrough Summit. The Oct. 15-16 event, sponsored by the National Organization for Rare Diseases (NORD), takes place at the…

Larger differences in the size and volume of red blood cells — measured with a blood parameter called red blood cell distribution width — are linked to poor prognosis and survival in patients with primary Sjogren’s syndrome affected by pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), researchers found. Their study, “Red blood…

Patients with primary Sjögren’s syndrome (PSS) have stiffer arteries and more atherosclerotic plaques than control subjects without the disease, a study found. The findings suggest that PSS patients have a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases. The study, “Association between primary Sjogren’s syndrome, arterial stiffness, and subclinical atherosclerosis: a systematic review…

In Sjögren’s syndrome, chronic eye inflammation results in the inability of myoepithelial cells — components of the lacrimal glands thought to contract to expel tears — to contract, a mouse study shows. This study, “Myoepithelial cell-driven acini contraction in response to oxytocin receptor stimulation is impaired in lacrimal…

The newly proposed 2016 ACR-EULAR criteria can successfully diagnose primary Sjogren’s syndrome with 100% sensitivity, but the ethnicity of the study population influences its specificity, a Korean study reported. The study, “Performance of the 2016 ACR-EULAR classification criteria for primary Sjogren’s syndrome in a Korean cohort,” was published in…

A type of immunosuppressive cells called myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), high levels of which were found in patients with Sjögren’s syndrome, seem to worsen the symptoms and prognosis of the disease, a study reports. While the results seem counterintuitive, researchers found that MDSCs act on other regulatory immune cells, reducing their number…

Levels of migration inhibitory factor (MIF), a pro-inflammatory immune molecule, are significantly higher in the serum of patients with primary Sjogren’s syndrome, suggesting it could play a part in diagnosing the disease. MIF levels, however, do not correlate with any clinical characteristics and additional studies are needed to understand…

The hormone adiponectin correlates with disease severity in Sjogren’s syndrome patients, and could be used as a salivary biomarker to diagnose the disease, a Spanish pilot study shows. The research, “Salivary adiponectin, but not adenosine deaminase, correlates with clinical signs in women with Sjögren’s syndrome: a pilot study,” was…

Among Manhattan residents, women are more affected by Sjögren’s syndrome than men, with the most new cases reported in Asian women, a study shows. The study, “The Incidence and Prevalence of Adult Primary Sjögren’s Syndrome in New York County,” was published in the journal Arthritis Care & Research. Sjögren’s…

Researchers have identified genital ulcers as an initial symptom of primary Sjögren’s syndrome for the first time in a recent case report. The report, “Lipschütz Genital Ulceration as Initial Manifestation of Primary Sjögren’s Syndrome,” appeared in Case Reports in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Women affected by…