In those with joint or muscle pain, ibuprofen may be used. Medications that can cause dryness, such as antihistamines, may also be stopped. The most specific extant diagnostic test requires lip biopsy. The disease was described in 1933 by Henrik Sjögren, after whom it is named; however, a number of earlier descriptions of people with the symptoms exist. Between 0.2 and 1.2% of the population is affected, with half having the primary form and half the secondary form. Females are affected about 10 times as often as are males. Though the disease commonly begins in middle age, anyone can be affected. Among those without other autoimmune disorders, life expectancy is unchanged. Signs and symptoms
The hallmark symptom of Sjögren syndrome is dry mouth and keratoconjunctivitis sicca (dry eyes). Vaginal dryness, dry skin, and dry nose may also occur. Other organs of the body may also be affected, including the kidneys, blood vessels, lungs, liver, pancreas, and brain.Skin dryness in some people with SS may be the result of lymphocytic infiltration into skin glands. The symptoms may develop insidiously, with the diagnosis often not considered for several years because sicca may be attributed to medications, a dry environment, or aging, or may be regarded as not of a severity warranting the level of investigation necessary to establish the presence of the underlying autoimmune disorder.Sjögrens syndrome can damage vital organs, with symptoms that may plateau or worsen, or go into remission, as with other autoimmune diseases.
Ropeginterferon alfa-2b, sold under the brand name Besremi, is a medication used to treat polycythemia vera. It is an interferon. It is given by injection.The most common side effects include low levels of white blood cells and platelets (blood components that help the blood to clot), muscle and joint pain, tiredness, flu-like symptoms and increased blood levels of gamma-glutamyl transferase (a sign of liver problems). Ropeginterferon alfa-2b can cause liver enzyme elevations, low levels of white blood cells, low levels of platelets, joint pain, fatigue, itching, upper airway infection, muscle pain and flu-like illness. Side effects may also include urinary tract infection, depression and transient ischemic attacks (stroke-like attacks).It was approved for medical use in the European Union in February 2019, and in the United States in November 2021. Ropeginterferon alfa-2b is the first medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat polycythemia vera that people can take regardless of their treatment history, and the first interferon therapy specifically approved for polycythemia vera. Medical uses
In the European Union, ropeginterferon alfa-2b is indicated as monotherapy in adults for the treatment of polycythemia vera without symptomatic splenomegaly. In the United States it is indicated for the treatment of polycythemia vera. History
The effectiveness and safety of ropeginterferon alfa-2b were evaluated in a multicenter, single-arm trial that lasted 7.5 years. In this trial, 51 adults with polycythemia vera received ropeginterferon alfa-2b for an average of about five years.