Neurological and neuropsychiatric dysfunction in primary Sjögren's syndrome

Abstract

In a prospective clinical investigation of 20 patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS), neurological complications, not attributable to other diseases were detected in 14 patients (= 70%). Dysfunction of the peripheral nervous system (PNS) was nearly twice as frequent as central nervous system (CNS) complications. PNS involvement was dominated by symmetric sensory neuropathies, carpal tunnel syndromes, cranial nerve palsies (above all trigeminal sensory neuropathy) and pupillary dysfunction. CNS impairment was represented by cortical atrophy (n = 4), hemiparesis (n = 1) and aseptic meningitis (n = 1). Though CNS complications were rare, psychometric testing revealed diminished cognitive capacity in 14 patients. In addition to the characteristic sicca syndrome patients suffered from musculoskeletal pain and recurring abnormal sensation which frequently lead to the misdiagnosis of functional disorders. Additionally the frequent occurrence of psychiatric symptoms such as nervosity and depression support the impression of a psychosomatic pattern with no organic basis.

A short neuropsychological evaluation of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome

“…As Table 2 shows in items 2,4,5 and 6 of RAVLT test the difference between controls and PSS patients was close to the significance level (borderline). We believe that a larger sample could help understand the difference between the performance of PSS and healthy controls in other parts of the test; thus, confirming that PSS Brazilian patients show critical memory impairment, as presented in other studies 22,18,23 .…”

“…Memory and executive function are the most common cognitive alterations observed in PSS 22,18,23 . In the present study, we found a significant difference in cognitive performance between PSS patients and controls in conceptual flexibility (i.e., inhibition control), one aspect of executive function.…”

The Neurological Manifestations of Sjögren’s Syndrome: Diagnosis and Treatment

“…A broad spectrum of abnormalities have been described, with reported prevalence ranging from 1% to 46% (74,(107)(108)(109)(110) Central nervous system inflammatory disease, cognitive disorders, movement disorders and meningoencephalitis are described in more detail. Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease of the nervous system for which no test is pathognomonic (15).…”

Cognitive impairments in common and rare somatic diseases

“…На МРТ головного мозга у таких пациентов определяется муль-тифокальное очаговое поражение, а по данным SPECT -гипоперфузия, даже при отсутствии изменений. КН харак-теризуются снижением внимания, быстроты вербальной продуктивности, нарушением исполнительных функций, а деменция в этих случаях -преимущественно субкортикаль-ная или мультиинфарктная [36][37][38].…”