Gastric involvement in primary Sjögren's syndrome

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Immunology
• Internal Medicine

Background:

• Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is an autoimmune disease that can affect various organs.
• Gastric involvement in pSS has been reported, but findings regarding the type of gastritis and its correlation with biomarkers are inconsistent.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of gastric involvement in Italian patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome.
• To compare gastric histology, endoscopic findings, and relevant serum biomarkers between pSS patients and a control group.

Main Methods:

• Endoscopic and histological examination of the gastric mucosa in 20 Italian pSS patients.
• Measurement of serum group I pepsinogen (PG I), serum gastrin, and detection of antibodies to gastric parietal cells (PCA).
• Comparison of findings with a matched control group of dyspeptic subjects.

Main Results:

• Gastric complaints were reported by 55% of pSS patients, with endoscopic abnormalities in 50%.
• Superficial gastritis (SG) was prevalent (85%), while chronic atrophic gastritis (AG) was found in only 10%.
• Significantly higher mean serum PG I levels and lower fundic PG I concentrations were observed in pSS patients compared to controls. No correlation was found between symptoms, endoscopy, and histology.

Conclusions:

• Contrary to previous reports, chronic atrophic gastritis with hypopepsinogenemia is not a prominent feature of pSS in this Italian cohort.
• Primary Sjögren's syndrome in Italian patients is frequently associated with superficial gastritis and elevated serum PG I levels.