New Sjogren's syndrome criteria developed

An international team of researchers developed new classification criteria for the common autoimmune condition Sjogren's syndrome, a U.S. dentist says. Co-lead author Caroline Shiboski, a professor at the University of California at San Francisco's School of Dentistry and Medicine, said the classification criteria are the first for Sjogren's syndrome to be based solely on objective clinical tests. Other criteria historically have permitted various testing subjectivity to enable the classification of this notoriously complex syndrome that affects multiple parts of the body, typically the eyes, salivary glands, and joints, Shiboski said. The new criteria, published in the journal Arthritis Care & Research, come from the Sjogren's International Collaborative Clinical Alliance, which was supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, with support from the National Eye Institute and the Office for Research on Women's Health. "The next step will be to present our criteria to representatives of the European League Against Rheumatism, with a goal of achieving a single international standard," Shiboski said in a statement. The American College of Rheumatology voted to accept the new criteria -- first time that the group approved classification criteria for Sjogren's syndrome and, in doing so, recognized the need for rheumatologists, ophthalmologists and oral medicine practitioners to collaborate in research studies to diagnose the condition.