Hepatitis C virus infection and primary Sjögren's syndrome: a clinical and serologic description of 9 patients.
OBJECTIVE
To define the clinical and immunologic profile of 9 patients with Sjögren's Syndrome (SS) and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.


METHODS
9 out of 305 patients with SS, diagnosed according to the criteria proposed in 2002, had repeated positive serology for HCV.


RESULTS
9 female patients were studied. The mean age at onset of SS was 59 years, with a mean period of follow-up of 7.1 years. All the patients had glandular manifestations and they were all positive for dacryologic tests. Salivary gland biopsy was performed in 4 patients, all showing characteristic lymphocytic infiltrate. The main extraglandular features were arthralgias, photosensitivity, purpura, thyroiditis. All the patients were positive for anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA): 6 anti-Ro/SSA, 3 anti-Ro/SSA and anti-La/SSB positive. HCV-positive SS were compared with 296 patients with primary SS. They showed higher mean age (p=0.01), higher prevalence of photosensitivity (p=0.0266) and circulating cryoglobulins (p=0.0372). In primary SS, most patients had anti-Ro/SSA antibodies alone (49.8%) or associated to anti-La/SSB (46.5%). Five patients (1.8%) had other ANA specificities.


CONCLUSIONS
A chronic HCV infection is concomitant in about 3% of patients with pSS. They differ from patients without HCV infection for the higher prevalence of photosensitivity and cryoglobulins, without clinical manifestations of cryoglobulinemia.
Ceribelli
A
A
Rheumatology Unit, A.O. Spedali Civili, Università degli Studi, Brescia, Italy. dott.ceribelli@libero.it
Cavazzana
I
I
Cattaneo
R
R
Franceschini
F
F
D000368:Aged; D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D012859:Sjogren's Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology
D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear