Cognitive Dysfunction and Dementia in Primary Sjögren's Syndrome

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Immunology
• Radiology

Background:

• Primary Sjögren's syndrome (PSS) is a common systemic autoimmune disease.
• Cognitive dysfunction is increasingly recognized in autoimmune disorders.
• Understanding the neurological impact of PSS is crucial for patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prevalence of cognitive impairment in PSS patients.
• To explore correlations between cognitive deficits and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings.
• To compare cognitive function in PSS patients with those with multiple sclerosis (MS) and healthy controls.

Main Methods:

• Twenty-five PSS patients underwent neuropsychological testing using the Brief Repeatable Battery for Neuropsychological Examination.
• Brain MRI was performed to assess white matter lesions (WML) using the Wahlund classification.
• Results were compared to 25 matched MS patients and 25 controls.

Main Results:

• 60% of PSS patients (15/25) exhibited cognitive disorders, with 5 cases of dementia.
• Impaired domains included information processing speed, attention, memory, and executive functions.
• A trend towards correlation was observed between cognitive impairment severity and WML (P = 0.03).

Conclusions:

• Cognitive impairment, ranging from mild deficits to dementia, is prevalent in PSS.
• Brain MRI may reveal white matter changes associated with cognitive dysfunction in PSS.
• Further research is warranted to elucidate the neurobiological underpinnings of cognitive impairment in PSS.