title: Sex steroid hormones in primary Sjögren's syndrome.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relationships between concentrations of sex hormones and measures of disease activity in patients with primary Sjögren's Syndrome (pSS).
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-four women were evaluated: 39 patients (age, Q1,Q3: 57.0 yrs; 46, 66) diagnosed with pSS and 15 patients (49.0 yrs; 45, 60) who did not meet diagnostic criteria for pSS. The following measures of disease activity were assessed: serological data [antinuclear antibody, rheumatoid factor, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), serum immunoglobulin levels (IgG, IgA, IgM), serum protein, anti-SSA, and anti-SSB], labial minor salivary gland focus score, salivary flow rates, and objective measures of eye dryness (fluorescein corneal staining and unstimulated Schirmer's I test). Spearman correlations were calculated between these indices of disease activity and serum levels of sex hormones: dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), DHEA sulfate, androstenedione, testosterone, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), estrone, estradiol, and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Numerous differences were noted between cases and controls with disease activity measures. All median values of sex steroid hormones were within the range of normal for pSS cases. Positive correlations were noted between testosterone and ESR (r = 0.36, p = 0.03), testosterone and serum protein (r = 0.37, p = 0.05), and testosterone and focus score (r = 0.44, p = 0.007). Negative correlations were present between SHBG and anti-SSA (r = -0.33, p = 0.05), SHBG and anti-SSB (r = -0.43, p = 0.009), and DHT and CRP (r = -0.41, p = 0.05). No correlations were noted between estrogens and measures of pSS disease activity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Higher levels of disease activity (ESR, serum protein, and focus score) were associated with higher concentrations of testosterone. No correlation between disease activity and estrogens was found.
authors.affiliation: Gene Therapy and Therapeutics Branch (GTTB), National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Brennan
authors.forename: Vidya
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sankar
authors.forename: Rose Anne
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Leakan
authors.forename: Margaret M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Grisius
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: Philip C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.forename: Bruce J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Baum
authors.forename: Stanley R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Pillemer
mesh_terms: D000735:Androstenedione / Q000097:blood; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone / Q000097:blood; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate / Q000097:blood; D013196:Dihydrotestosterone / Q000097:blood; D004958:Estradiol / Q000097:blood; D004970:Estrone / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin / Q000378:metabolism; D012859:Sjogren's Syndrome / Q000097:blood*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin; D013196:Dihydrotestosterone; D004970:Estrone; D013739:Testosterone; D000735:Androstenedione; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone; D004958:Estradiol; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate