Primary Sjögren's syndrome is associated with significant cognitive dysfunction

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Immunology
• Rheumatology

Background:

• Primary Sjögren syndrome (PSS) is an autoimmune disorder that can manifest with neurological symptoms, including cognitive dysfunction.
• Specific antibodies have been implicated in cognitive impairment, necessitating further investigation in PSS patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To comprehensively assess cognitive dysfunction in patients with PSS using detailed neurologic tests.
• To investigate the association between cognitive deficits and the presence of specific antibodies in PSS.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 28 female PSS patients and 17 healthy controls underwent extensive neurologic testing.
• Evaluated cognitive domains included memory, verbal learning, attention, executive functions, and processing speed.
• Assessed for anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antibody, anti-ribosomal-P, and antiganglioside antibodies.

Main Results:

• PSS patients demonstrated significantly lower performance in attention, processing speed, verbal learning, short-term verbal memory, and visuo-spatial perception compared to controls.
• Specific tests like the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test and Serial Digit Learning Test showed statistically significant differences (P < 0.01).
• While antiganglioside antibodies were more frequent in PSS patients, their presence did not correlate with the observed cognitive dysfunction.

Conclusions:

• Cognitive dysfunction is highly prevalent in patients diagnosed with primary Sjögren syndrome.
• The cognitive impairments observed in PSS patients were not associated with the presence of the evaluated antibodies (anti-NMDA receptor, anti-ribosomal-P, antiganglioside).