PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Astrid Rasmussen
AU  - R. Hal  Scofield
TI  - Drs. Rasmussen and Scofield reply
AID  - 10.3899/jrheum.200400
DP  - 2020 Sep 15
TA  - The Journal of Rheumatology
PG  - jrheum.200400
4099  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2020/09/10/jrheum.200400.short
4100  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2020/09/10/jrheum.200400.full
AB  - The cardinal laboratory/pathological features of Sjögren syndrome (SS) are autoantibodies (anti-Ro/SSA and anti-La/SSB) and lymphocytic infiltrate of the salivary glands. The lymphocytic infiltrate is graded by the focus score (FS) 1, 2, which is the number of foci with ≥ 50 lymphocytes per 4 mm2. Much has been published about the clinical and laboratory differences found among Sjögren patients with and without autoantibodies, with the presence of anti-Ro generally associated with more severe disease2,3. However, comparatively few studies have been directed at subjects without a salivary gland lymphocytic infiltrate.