News

A little-known government entity within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is helping to lead U.S. efforts to speed up the development of therapies for some 7,000 rare diseases. The Office of Rare Diseases Research (ORDR), headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, was established in 1993 within the NIH Office of the…

Monoclonal gammopathy, a condition marked by an unusual protein produced in plasma cells and one that can progress to a blood cancer, is evident in patients with Sjögren syndrome and certain other rheumatic diseases, a Chinese study found. Sjögren patients with highly active disease are more likely…

Low salivary secretion contributes more to the altered oral microbiome found in people with primary Sjogren’s syndrome (pSS) than does the underlying disease, a Dutch study shows. The research, “Reduced salivary secretion contributes more to changes in the oral microbiome of patients with primary Sjögren’s syndrome than underlying disease,”…

With April designated as Sjögren’s Awareness Month, the Sjögren’s Syndrome Foundation hopes patients will be a part of the movement and help educate loved ones and others about the disease. The Sjögren’s Syndrome Foundation works to educate people about this debilitating disease and how it affects the lives…

Wize Pharma has enrolled the first participant in a Phase 4 clinical trial investigating the company’s LO2A drops to prevent the dry eye seen in Sjogren’s syndrome. The trial (NCT03319420) in Israel will compare LO2A’s ability to relieve dry eyes with that of an over-the-counter treatment known as Systane…

Musculoskeletal ultrasound is better than clinical examination and blood tests for the best management of  hand arthritis in Sjogren’s syndrome patients, according to a new study. The findings were presented recently at the European Lupus Meeting 2018, in Düsseldorf, Germany, in an abstract titled “PS6:120 Hand ultrasound guided therapeutic decisions…

Treatment with ciclosporin A — an anti-inflammatory medication — significantly improved the signs and symptoms of patients with moderate-to-severe dry eye disease (DED), including those with Sjögren’s syndrome, an analysis of two Phase 3 studies shows. The study, “Efficacy and safety of 0.1% ciclosporin A cationic emulsion in…

Autophagy — a physiological process that involves the destruction of old or diseased cells in the body, maintaining normal functions by protein degradation — is impaired in the salivary glands of patients with Sjogren’s syndrome, but may be corrected through the use of a potential therapy called P140 peptide, according…

Dental implants to replace dry mouth-associated missing teeth in Sjögren’s syndrome patients show high survival rates, low complications, and an improved quality of life in patients, according to a review of research going back to 1997. The study, “Dental implants in Sjögren’s syndrome patients: A systematic…

Genetic sequencing and the speed with which it can help diagnose a child’s disease — in addition to revealing the genes that cause at least half of the 7,000 rare diseases currently known — was the focus of a discussion by three top New York geneticists. The Feb. 28 conference,…