To the Editor:
We would like to thank Dr. Panchovska for her comments on our editorial1, which was motivated by the work of Sharma, et al2, who reported patients with sicca (100%) and other symptoms such as arthralgia (82%) and constitutional symptoms (43%) among others, in whom the presence of anti-Ro/SSA antibodies allowed a diagnosis of Sjögren syndrome (SS) despite a negative minor salivary gland (MSG) biopsy [i.e., focus score (FS) = 0].
The diagnosis of SS is based on the combination of symptoms (mainly sicca symptoms) and the presence of the autoimmune characteristics: activation of T cells (i.e., positive salivary …
Address correspondence to Dr. J.M. Anaya, Center for Autoimmune Diseases Research (CREA), School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Carrera 24 No. 63C-69, Bogotá, Colombia. Email: juan.anaya{at}urosario.edu.co.