|
Sjogren's syndrome means that a person develops dry eyes and mouth and often has joint pains and
blood tests that show that a person's immune cells are trying to kill a germ, but doctors can't find a
specific germ that causes the symptoms. . When doctors cannot find a cause for a disease, they often call
it autoimmune which means that they don't have the foggiest idea of the cause Just because doctors
cannot culture a germ from a disease does not mean that the disease is not infectious. New bacteria are
discovered every day and doctors do not have available dependable tests for chlamydia, mycoplasma and
ureaplasma, common causes of dry eyes, mouth and vagina.
A report from Israel shows that antibiotics control Sjogren's syndrome (1). Some cases of Sjogren's
disease are associated with helicobacter inflection in the stomach causing belching and burning in the
stomach (2). Hepatitis C is associated with Sjogren's syndrome (3). There's another reason for people
with Sjogren's syndrome to take antibiotics. Saliva continually washes bacteria from the mouth into the
stomach where they are killed by stomach acids. Lack of saliva allows bacteria to accumulate and cause
gum and tooth disease (4).
For DRY EYES: I recommend a bacterial culture of the eye and Neosporin ointment twice a day in each
eye for a week. If that does not help, a cipro eye drop (Ocuflox) four times a day for several weeks and
Neosporin ointment in each nostril at bedtime for several weeks. Plus Zithromax 250 mg once a day for
9 days.
For DRY MOUTH: Lack of saliva can cause severe mouth and neck pain, frequent mouth infections,
difficulty talking and sleeping, dental cavities/ and difficulty swallowing because saliva lubricates the
food and allows it to pass down your throat. Dry mouth can be caused by infection that can be cured with
antibiotics, nerve damage and drugs such as blood pressure medication such as clonidine, Prilosec and
other ulcer medications, antihistamines, stimulants such as amphetamines and intestinal medication
called atropine. You could also suffer from Sjogren's syndrome, associated with arthritis (Interferon
treats Sjogren's syndrome. British Med Journal Jan, 1993). Since the mouth is normally full of germs
that belong there, it is very difficult to culture a bacteria that causes dry mouth, but some people are
cured by taking the antibiotics metronidazole and clarithromycin for a couple of weeks. If that doesn't
cure you, you may have to take a 5 mg pilocarpine pill four times a day, but it can cause sweating,
nausea, running nose, chills, dizziness and frequent urination (5,6,7,8). You can order a machine called
Salitron made by Biosonics in Pennsylvania. You put an electrical probe in your mouth to stimulate the
salivary glands to produce saliva.
http://www.drmirkin.com/morehealth/G165.htm
Hepatitis C virus infection in `primary' Sjögren's syndrome:
prevalence and clinical significance in a series of 90 patients
Mario García-Carrasco,aManel Ramos,aRicard Cervera,aJosep Font,aJosep Vidal,bFrancisco J Muñoz,aCarles Miret,aGerard Espinosa,aMiguel Ingelmoa
a Systemic Autoimmune
Diseases Unit , b and the Department
of Microbiology , c Hospital
Clínic, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Correspondence to: Dr R Cervera, Unitat de Malalties Autoimmunes Sistèmiques,
Hospital Clínic, C/Villarroel, 170, 08036 Barcelona, Catalonia,
Spain.
Accepted for publication 2 January
1997
OBJECTIVES To determine the prevalence and
clinical significance of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in a large
cohort of patients with `primary' Sjögren's syndrome (SS).
METHODS90 consecutive patients (83 female and
seven male) were included, with a mean age of 62 years (range 31-80)
who prospectively visited our unit. All patients fulfilled the European
Community criteria for SS and underwent a complete history, physical
examination, as well as biochemical and immunological evaluation for
liver disease. Serum from all patients was tested for antibodies to HCV
by third generation enzyme linked immunoassay and positivity was
confirmed by polymerase chain reaction.
RESULTSAntibodies to HCV were present in 13 (14%) patients with `primary' SS. When compared with patients
without HCV infection, patients with HCV infection presented a higher
prevalence of hepatic involvement (100% v 8%, p < 0.05). Transcutaneous liver biopsy was performed in five patients with
HCV infection, and specimens obtained showed in all cases a chronic
active hepatitis with varying degrees of portal inflammation.
CONCLUSIONHCV infection is frequent in patients
with `primary' SS and liver involvement is present in all these
patients. The possible pathogenic role of HCV infection in these
patients is still unclear.
 |
News 
Subscribe to this comment's feed