Biopsy-Proven Small-Fiber Neuropathy in Primary Sjogren's Syndrome: Neuropathic Pain Characteristics, Autoantibody Findings, and Histopathologic Features.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Painful small-fiber neuropathies (SFNs) in primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS) may present as pure or mixed with concurrent large-fiber involvement. SFN can be diagnosed by punch skin biopsy results that identify decreased intra-epidermal nerve-fiber density (IENFD) of unmyelinated nerves.

Methods

We compared 23 consecutively evaluated patients with SS with pure and mixed SFN versus 98 patients without SFN. We distinguished between markers of dorsal root ganglia (DRG) degeneration (decreased IENFD in the proximal thigh versus the distal leg) versus axonal degeneration (decreased IENFD in the distal leg versus the proximal thigh).

Results

There were no differences in pain intensity, pain quality, and treatment characteristics in the comparison of 13 patients with

SUBMITTER: Birnbaum J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7556316 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature