Neurological Involvement in Patients With Primary Sjögren’s Syndrome

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: The neurological involvement associated with primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) can be life threatening. However, the specific characteristics of pSS-related neurological involvement remain obscure. This study aimed at determining the clinical characteristics of this neurological involvement in patients with pSS. METHODS: The clinical data of 205 patients with pSS who were admitted to our department between January 2015 and June 2017 were studied. Characteristics and laboratory findings of pSS patients with neurological abnormalities were compared with pSS patients without. RESULTS: Forty of the 205 patients with pSS exhibited neurological abnormalities (19.51%); of these, 13 patients exhibited central nervous system (CNS) involvement only, 20 patients exhibited peripheral nervous system (PNS) involvement only, and 7 patients exhibited both, yielding a total of 20 (9.76%) patients with CNS involvement and 27 (13.17%) patients with PNS involvement. The titers of anti-Sjögren’s syndrome type A (SSA) antibodies were significant higher while the presence of anti-Sjögren’s syndrome type B (SSB) antibodies was significant lower in patients with vs. without neurological involvement. Similar results were found in patients with CNS involvement. No significant differences between patients with and without neurological involvement were found for the other clinical parameters examined. CONCLUSIONS: Neurological involvement in patients with pSS is common and needs to be carefully evaluated. Patients with pSS with a high titer of anti-SSA and low presence of anti-SSB antibodies might have a relatively high risk of developing neurological involvement. Future studies should focus on identifying biomarkers that may aid in the early diagnosis of neurological involvement in patients with pSS.