<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
 
At 12:24 PM 5/19/96 -0400, Maureen Marx <[log in to unmask]> asked:
 
>My mother has been diagnosed with Sjogren's Syndrome for seven years and
>recently was diagnosed with CD.  Many of the symptoms she had been
>experiencing - severe anemia, weightloss etc. had been blamed on Sjogren's.
>Has anyone else had this experience? Does anyone know if there is a
>connection between the two other than that they are both auto-immune
>disorders?
 
Here are some things from my hard disk:
 
Date:    Mon, 17 Jul 1995 12:20:57 -0500
From:    "J. Murray" <[log in to unmask]>
 
Yes there is an association between Sjogren's disease and celiac disease.
In one Scandinavian study a series of patients attending a rheumatological
clinic for joint pains had gliadin testing done and 10% of the sjogren's
patients had celiac disease. It is likely that they occur due to the
similar genetics predisposition.
Joe Murray
University of Iowa
 
Then here's an Medline abstract listing a bunch of condition's associated
with celiac disease. Sjogren's is mentioned in it.
 
Collin P et al. (1994) Coeliac disease - associated disorders and survival.
Gut vol 35 (9):1215 1218.
 
Abstract: The associated diseases in 335 coeliac patients diagnosed
1980-1990 were compared with age and sex matched control patients with
various gastrointestinal symptoms. Endocrine disorders were found in 11.9%
of coeliac and 4.3% of control patients (p=0.0003). Coeliac patients had
insulin dependent diabetes mellitis significantly (p=0.0094) more often
(5.4%) than control patients (1.5%). Connective tissue diseases were found
in 7.2% of coeliac and 2.7% of control patients (p=0.011). Sjogrens
syndrome occurred in 3.3% of coeliac patients and 0.3% of controls (p =
0.0059). Autoimmune thyroid diseases were found in 5.4% and asthma in 3.6%
of coeliac patients but also in 2.7% and 3.6%, respectively, among control
patients. The incidences of malignant disease and the survival rate in
coeliac patients were compared with those in the Finnish population. Ten
coeliac patients developed a cancer during the follow up (mean 5.3 years,
range 1-12) but none had a lymphoma. The risk of malignant disease did not
differ from that in the Finnish population in general. Eleven coeliac
patients died during the follow up. The five year survival rate of coeliac
patients did not differ from those in the general population. At least 83%
of the coeliac patients adhered strictly to the gluten free diet, which may
explain the favorable outcome.
 
And from a presentation by Dr. Alessio Fasano to the Celiac Disease
Foundation membership on May 19, 1995:
 
The celiac disease that physicians in this country are trained to
recognized is the typical form which in Europe occurs in approximately 1 in
2500. Dr. Fasano defined the atypical form as that found in those who have
latent onset of the disease (typical + atypical = 1 in 1500). Asymptomatic
celiacs are discovered when relatives of celiacs are tested. Latent celiacs
are defined as those who have one of the companion diseases (other
autoimmune disorders such as diabetes, arthritis, Sjogren's syndrome,
thyroid disease, collagen vascular disease, and liver disease). When
combined, these various presentations of CD reach as high as 1 in 300.
 
The more we study celiac disease, the more we realize that it is an
immunological disorder which is associated with other immune-based
disorders.  Some of these are:  diabetes mellitus (Type I), thyroid
disease, Sjogren's syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, collagen vascular
disease, and liver disease.  The genes responsible for diabetes, for
example, travel back-to-back on the same gene.
 
Don Wiss