Early atherosclerosis in systemic sclerosis and its relation to disease or traditional risk factors.

Introduction: Several systemic autoimmune diseases are associated with an increased prevalence of atherosclerosis which could not be explained by traditional risk factors alone. In systemic sclerosis (SSc), microvascular abnormalities are well recognized. Previous studies have suggested an increased prevalence of macrovascular disease as well.

The future of biologic agents in the treatment of Sjögren's syndrome.

The gain in knowledge regarding the cellular mechanisms of T and B lymphocyte activity in the pathogenesis of Sjögren's syndrome (SS) and the current availability of various biological agents (anti-TNF-alpha, IFN- alpha, anti-CD20, and anti-CD22) have resulted in new strategies for therapeutic intervention. In SS, various phase I and II studies have been performed to evaluate these new strategies. Currently, B cell-directed therapies seem to be more promising than T cell-related therapies.

Lacrimal punctum occlusion in the treatment of severe keratoconjunctivitis Sicca caused by Sjögren syndrome: a uniocular evaluation.

Purpose: A controlled uniocular study to evaluate the short-term efficacy of lacrimal punctum occlusion in the treatment of severe dry eye caused by Sjögren syndrome.

Methods: Uniocular punctum occlusion by punctum plug in the upper and lower puncta in 1 eye was performed in 20 patients with severe keratoconjunctivitis Sicca caused by Sjögren syndrome. To overcome possible interindividual variability between patients, the other eye, in the same patient, was not occluded and served as a control eye.

Psychological and somatic predictors of perceived and measured ocular dryness of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome.

Objective: To test if age, disease activity, pain, fatigue, and depression are associated with subjective and objective ocular dryness of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS).

Methods: Sixty female patients with pSS and 60 age matched healthy controls filled out visual analog scale (VAS) scores of ocular dryness and pain, and questionnaires regarding fatigue (Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory) and depression (Zung). Lacrimal tear production was measured by Schirmer I test.

Comparison of lacrimal and salivary gland involvement in Sjögren's syndrome.

Objectives: To determine the performance of different tear and salivary tests applied in Sjögren's syndrome (SS) and to disclose how these tests relate to common serologic tests in SS.

Design: In addition to the routine ocular and oral tests for diagnosing SS (Schirmer test, rose bengal score, unstimulated whole saliva flow, and parotid sialography), tear breakup time and flow rate of glandular saliva (parotid and submandibular-sublingual [SM/SL]) were evaluated in patients referred for diagnosis of SS. Patients were categorized into primary SS, secondary SS, and non-SS groups according to the revised European classification criteria for SS.

Serum amyloid P component binds to late apoptotic cells and mediates their uptake by monocyte-derived macrophages.

Objective: Some pentraxins, such as C-reactive protein, bind to apoptotic cells and are involved in the clearance of these cells. We undertook this study to determine whether serum amyloid P component (SAP; a pentraxin that, when deficient in mice, results in lupus-like disease) binds to apoptotic cells and to assess the functional consequences of SAP binding for their phagocytosis by macrophages.

Methods: Human peripheral blood monocytes were isolated and cultured for 7 days to obtain monocyte-derived macrophages.

Parotid sialography for diagnosing Sjögren syndrome.

Objective: Despite the availability of many new imaging procedures, sialography has, after decades of use, maintained its status as the imaging procedure of choice for evaluating the oral component of Sjögren syndrome (SS). In this study, the clinical value of sialography as a diagnostic tool in SS was explored by assessing its diagnostic accuracy, observer bias, and staging potential.

Methods: One hundred parotid sialograms were interpreted independently in a blinded fashion by 2 trained and 2 expert observers.

Oral and ocular manifestations in Sjögren's syndrome.

Objective: Little is known about the relationship between lachrymal and salivary gland involvement in Sjögren's syndrome (SS). It is also of interest to know which eye test contributes most to the diagnosis of SS. We investigated the performance of different tear tests and how these tests relate to common serologic and salivary tests in SS.