Sjogren's syndrome

What is Sjogren's syndrome?

Symptoms of Sjogren's syndrome, consequences

Causes / triggers of Sjogren's syndrome

Remedies / treatment for Sjogren's syndrome

References

What is Sjogren's syndrome?

Sjogren's syndrome (SS) is a long-term autoimmune disease that affects the body's moisture-producing glands, the lacrimal and salivary glands. As it progresses, it often affects other organs including the lungs, kidneys and nervous system.

Sjogren's syndrome is a common rheumatic autoimmune disorder, only behind rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus in frequency of occurrence. Between 2% and 6% of all adults are affected by SS, depending upon how it is defined and measured. There are no geographical differences in the rates of SS, but it affects women nine times more frequently than men.

Sjogren's syndrome has been diagnosed in all age groups, but the average age of onset is 40 to 60 years. The prevalence of SS increases with age.

SS is reported in 30-50% of people with rheumatoid arthritis and in 10-25% with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Symptoms of Sjogren's syndrome, consequences

• Dry eyes and dry mouth are often the first symptoms to appear.
• Dry mouth often leads to dental decay, difficulty swallowing, bleeding cracks in the gums and severely chapped lips.
• Reduced sense of taste.
• Mucous membranes swollen. Sinusitis.
• Gastrointestinal tract, digestive disorders.
• Dry vagina.
• Nervous system. Memory loss or brain fog.
• Lungs. This can present as pneumonia, interstitial lung disease or recurrent bronchitis.
• Liver. Biliary cirrhosis or autoimmune hepatitis.
• Kidneys.
• Lymphoma.
• Pain.
• Fatigue.

Causes / triggers of Sjogren's syndrome

The medical establishment says that there is no known cause of SS, even though it is one of the most common autoimmune diseases. It has no specific diagnostic tests and treatment is directed at managing the patient's symptoms.

• Vitamin D deficiency causes many autoimmune diseases, including Sjogren's syndrome. (11, 12)
• Viral infection. Sufferers of SS have usually been infected by the Epstein-Barr virus or cytomegalovirus, which had gone into remission prior to the emergence of SS.
• Gut biome damage / gut dysbiosis. Research shows that Sjogren's syndrome is caused by various forms of gut dysbiosis, especially where the white blood cell Th17/Treg balance is disrupted. The use of antibiotics and a poor Standard American Diet are the likely initiators. (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7)
  Introducing gut bacteria from humans suffering from Sjogren's syndrome into sterile mice, caused those mice to develop severe dry eye symptoms. (13)
• Stress or compromised immune system. A stressful event, such as the loss of a loved one brought a virus out of remission.
• Systemic inflammation. (5, 8).
• Pregnancy. Women who have been pregnant and given birth to a child have higher rates of SS. It is possible that incompatible genes in the father's DNA are a trigger.

Remedies / treatment for Sjogren's syndrome

• Vitamin D. (11, 12)
• Sauerkraut. Use a little home-made, unpasteurised every day.
• Broccoli sprouts - the best food source of Sulforaphane. (8)
• Probiotic eye drops. A study published in 2023 investigated applying a gut-derived probiotic bacterial strain, Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM17938, to the eyes of mice with dry eye symptoms. L. reuteri is a human-derived, commercially available probiotic bacterial strain that has already demonstrated protective effects in the gut and immune system in humans and mice, but it had not been tested in the context of eye health. The study showed that this could be a new treatment for dry eyes and for Sjogren's syndrome. (13)
• Sufficiency of vitamins A and D. Preferably get them from food sources and sunshine.
• DMSO.
• Artemisia (wormwood).
• Coconut oil.
• Castor oil.
• Cordycepin from traditional Chinese medicine cordyceps mushrooms. (9, 10)

If you use any remedies from Grow Youthful, please come back next week (or whenever you have an outcome) and let us know about your experience. Please leave a comment as many people are interested.

See details of remedies recommended by Grow Youthful visitors, and their experience with them.

References

1. Shi B, Wang Z, Jin H, Chen YW, Wang Q, Qian Y. Immunoregulatory Cordyceps sinensis increases regulatory T cells to Th17 cell ratio and delays diabetes in NOD mice. Int Immunopharmacol. 2009 May;9(5):582-6. doi: 10.1016/j.intimp.2009.01.030. PMID: 19557879.

2. Chen P, Tang X. Gut Microbiota as Regulators of Th17/Treg Balance in Patients With Myasthenia Gravis. Front Immunol. 2021 Dec 23;12:803101. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.803101. PMID: 35003133; PMCID: PMC8732367.

3. Kong W, Yen JH, Ganea D. Docosahexaenoic acid prevents dendritic cell maturation, inhibits antigen-specific Th1/Th17 differentiation and suppresses experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Brain Behav Immun. 2011 Jul;25(5):872-82. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2010.09.012. Epub 2010 Sep 18. PMID: 20854895; PMCID: PMC3031664.

4. Lee GR. The Balance of Th17 versus Treg Cells in Autoimmunity. Int J Mol Sci. 2018 Mar 3;19(3):730. doi: 10.3390/ijms19030730. PMID: 29510522; PMCID: PMC5877591.

5. Langrish CL, Chen Y, Blumenschein WM, Mattson J, Basham B, Sedgwick JD, McClanahan T, Kastelein RA, Cua DJ. IL-23 drives a pathogenic T cell population that induces autoimmune inflammation. J Exp Med. 2005 Jan 17;201(2):233-40. doi: 10.1084/jem.20041257. PMID: 15657292; PMCID: PMC2212798.

6. Chen Y, Tao T, Wang W, Yang B, Cha X. Dihydroartemisinin attenuated the symptoms of mice model of systemic lupus erythematosus by restoring the Treg/Th17 balance. Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol. 2021 Apr;48(4):626-633. doi: 10.1111/1440-1681.13461. Epub 2021 Jan 19. PMID: 33469936.

7. Omenetti S, Pizarro TT. The Treg/Th17 Axis: A Dynamic Balance Regulated by the Gut Microbiome. Front Immunol. 2015 Dec 17;6:639. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2015.00639. PMID: 26734006; PMCID: PMC4681807.

8. Liang J, Jahraus B, Balta E, Ziegler JD, Hubner K, Blank N, Niesler B, Wabnitz GH, Samstag Y. Sulforaphane Inhibits Inflammatory Responses of Primary Human T-Cells by Increasing ROS and Depleting Glutathione. Front Immunol. 2018 Nov 14;9:2584. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.02584. PMID: 30487791; PMCID: PMC6246742.

9. Jaiboonma A, Kaokaen P, Chaicharoenaudomrung N, Kunhorm P, Janebodin K, Noisa P, Jitprasertwong P. Cordycepin attenuates Salivary Hypofunction through the Prevention of Oxidative Stress in Human Submandibular Gland Cells. Int J Med Sci. 2020 Jul 6;17(12):1733-1743. doi: 10.7150/ijms.46707. PMID: 32714076; PMCID: PMC7378660.

10. Ashraf SA, Elkhalifa AEO, Siddiqui AJ, Patel M, Awadelkareem AM, Snoussi M, Ashraf MS, Adnan M, Hadi S. Cordycepin for Health and Wellbeing: A Potent Bioactive Metabolite of an Entomopathogenic Cordyceps Medicinal Fungus and Its Nutraceutical and Therapeutic Potential. Molecules. 2020 Jun 12;25(12):2735. doi: 10.3390/molecules25122735. PMID: 32545666; PMCID: PMC7356751.

11. Ritterhouse LL, Crowe SR, Niewold TB, et al. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increased autoimmune response in healthy individuals and in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2011;70:1569-1574.

12. Lemke D, Klement RJ, Schweiger F, Schweiger B, Spitz J. Vitamin D Resistance as a Possible Cause of Autoimmune Diseases: A Hypothesis Confirmed by a Therapeutic High-Dose Vitamin D Protocol. Front Immunol. 2021 Apr 7;12:655739. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.655739. PMID: 33897704; PMCID: PMC8058406.

13. Laura Schaefer, Robert Britton, Steven Pflugfelder, Cintia de Paiva. An Oral Probiotic Can Treat Dry Eye Disease. American Society for Microbiology. 18 June 2023.