Cutaneous Silent Period Assessment in Primary Sjögren's Syndrome

Comparison of Cutaneous Silent Period Parameters in Patients With Primary Sjögren's Syndrome With the Healthy Population and Determination of Its Relationship With Clinical Parameters

Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is a chronic, immune-mediated inflammatory disease mainly characterized by exocrine gland involvement. Beyond the wide heterogeneity in clinical presentation, neurological manifestation is one of the important systemic involvement of pSS. The prevalence of neurological involvement varies widely from 10% to 60% in different series.

Small fiber neuropathy (SFN) as a popular clinical entity in recent years targets nociceptive thinly myelinated A-delta and unmyelinated C-fiber nerves and is frequently associated with burning and allodynic pain. Previous studies have demonstrated that SFN is frequently seen in patients with pSS and has an important clinical importance because it cannot be detected by routine electrophysiological studies. Various methods can be used in the detection of SFN, and cutaneous silent period (CSP) measurement is gaining popularity recently due to its non-invasiveness and practical fashion.

In this study, the investigators aimed to compare CSP parameters as an indicator of SFN in patients with pSS and in the healthy population and to reveal its relationship with clinical parameters.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Being between the ages of 18-65
• For the patient group, patients followed up in accordance with the 2016 ACR/EULAR primary Sjögren's Syndrome classification criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

• Any comorbidities that may cause neuropathy
• Any drugs that may cause neuropathy
• Chronic alcohol consumption
• A history of disease that may affect the central nervous system