• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.130-134
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• 2015

$Sj{\ddot{o}}gren's$ syndrome (SS) is an autoimmune disease characterized by an autoimmune exocrinopathy involving mainly salivary and lacrimal glands. Apart from manifestations due to involvement of exocrine glands, patients with SS can present with muscular and neurological manifestations. Here, we report a rare case of a 59-year-old woman with primary SS, who presented with severe general toothache and masticatory muscle myalgia successfully treated with clonazepam. Although it was not certain that these symptoms could be originated from focal muscle dystonia or neurological changes that are associated with primary SS, our case suggested that comprehensive evaluation including neuromuscular examinations in the oral and maxillofacial area is needed in patients with SS.

• Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.46-54
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• 2020

Introduction This study aims to report a significant improvement of Sjögren's syndrome patient with irritable bladder, diagnosed as 'Soyangin chest-binding symptomatology' based on Sasang medicine. Methods The patient had treatment with 'Dojeokganggi-tang' and western medications. We evaluated the treatment outcome of Sjögren's syndrome symptoms by using a numerical score of 0 to 10, based on the patient's subjective discomfort of dry eye and dry mouth, and irritable bladder symptoms by recording the number of night urination every month. Results Sjögren's syndrome symptoms were significantly improved, and the number of night urination was decreased. After 41 weeks of treatment, the patient didn't have dry mouth any more and had only a little dry eye. The number of night urination was decreased from 3-4 times to once a night. Discussion The patient diagnosed with Sjögren's syndrome, treated with Dojeokganggi-tang and western medications for 41 weeks, showed a significant improvement in dry eye, dry mouth, and night urination compared to the first visit.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.209-216
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• 2021

Sjögren syndrome is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease characterized by lymphocytic infiltration of exocrine glands, predominantly the parotid and lacrimal glands, thereby resulting in oral and ocular dryness. It has been reported to occur most frequently in women between 40 and 50 years of age. Sjögren syndrome has an insidious onset, is slowly progressive, and presents a wide range of clinical manifestations, leading to delays or challenges in the diagnosis. Early diagnosis of this condition is essential to prevent the associated complications that affect patients' quality of life. This report presents 3 cases of Sjögren syndrome in female patients aged between 40 and 75 years who presented with complaints of persistent dry mouth and burning sensation. The cases highlight the diagnostic value of 3-dimensional cone-beam computed tomographic sialography in the detection of salivary gland pathologies at an early stage.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2018

Inflammasomes are intracellular multiprotein complexes that coordinate anti-pathogenic host defense during inflammatory responses in myeloid cells, especially macrophages. Inflammasome activation leads to activation of caspase-1, resulting in the induction of pyroptosis and the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines including interleukin $(IL)-1{\beta}$ and IL-18. Although the inflammatory response is an innate host defense mechanism, chronic inflammation is the main cause of rheumatic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and $Sj{\ddot{o}}gren^{\prime}s$ syndrome (SS). Since rheumatic diseases are inflammatory/autoimmune disorders, it is reasonable to hypothesize that inflammasomes activated during the inflammatory response play a pivotal role in development and progression of these diseases. Indeed, previous studies have provided important observations that inflammasomes are actively involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory/autoimmune rheumatic diseases. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on several types of inflammasomes during macrophage-mediated inflammatory responses and discuss recent research regarding the role of inflammasomes in the pathogenesis of inflammatory/autoimmune rheumatic diseases. This avenue of research could provide new insights for the development of promising therapeutics to treat inflammatory/autoimmune rheumatic diseases.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.211-217
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• 2020

Molecular mimicry is the most common mechanism that breaches self-tolerance. We previously identified autoantibodies to aquaporin-5 (AQP5) in the sera of patients with Sjögren's syndrome and found that the aquaporin of Prevotella melaninogenica (PmAqp), an oral commensal, is highly homologous to human AQP5. This study aimed to test whether PmAqp can induce anti-AQP5 autoantibodies via molecular mimicry. From the amino acid sequence of PmAqp, an immunizing peptide; i.e., PmE-L, was designed, which contained both the B cell epitope "E" and T cell epitope. C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice were subcutaneously immunized with linear or cyclic forms of PmE-L emulsified in incomplete Freund's adjuvant. The concentrations of the antibodies in sera were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Both linear and cyclic PmE-L induced high levels of antibodies against not only the immunized peptides but also autoantibodies against AQP5E and antibodies against PmE, a Pm homolog of AQP5E. In C57BL/6 mice; however, the cyclic form of PmE-L was more efficient than the linear form in inducing autoantibodies against AQP5E that contained a cyclic epitope. The levels of anti-PmE antibodies and anti-AQP5E autoantibodies showed a strong positive correlation (r = 0.95, p < 0.0005), suggesting molecular mimicry. Collectively, the mice produced anti-AQP5E autoantibodies in response to a PmAqp-derived peptide. This model proved to be useful for studying the mechanisms of autoantibody production by molecular mimicry.