These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Hepatitis C virus infection and primary Sjögren's syndrome: a clinical and serologic description of 9 patients.
    Author: Ceribelli A, Cavazzana I, Cattaneo R, Franceschini F.
    Journal: Autoimmun Rev; 2008 Dec; 8(2):92-4. PubMed ID: 18692602.
    Abstract:
    OBJECTIVE: To define the clinical and immunologic profile of 9 patients with Sjögren's Syndrome (SS) and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. PATIENTS: 9 out of 305 patients with SS, diagnosed according to the criteria proposed in 2002, had repeated positive serology for HCV. RESULTS: 9 female patients were studied. The mean age at onset of SS was 59 years, with a mean period of follow-up of 7.1 years. All the patients had glandular manifestations and they were all positive for dacryologic tests. Salivary gland biopsy was performed in 4 patients, all showing characteristic lymphocytic infiltrate. The main extraglandular features were arthralgias, photosensitivity, purpura, thyroiditis. All the patients were positive for anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA): 6 anti-Ro/SSA, 3 anti-Ro/SSA and anti-La/SSB positive. HCV-positive SS were compared with 296 patients with primary SS. They showed higher mean age (p=0.01), higher prevalence of photosensitivity (p=0.0266) and circulating cryoglobulins (p=0.0372). In primary SS, most patients had anti-Ro/SSA antibodies alone (49.8%) or associated to anti-La/SSB (46.5%). Five patients (1.8%) had other ANA specificities. CONCLUSIONS: A chronic HCV infection is concomitant in about 3% of patients with pSS. They differ from patients without HCV infection for the higher prevalence of photosensitivity and cryoglobulins, without clinical manifestations of cryoglobulinemia.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]