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.
Existing cavities must also be treated, as cavities that extend into the tooth cannot be effectively treated by teeth cleaning alone, and are at a high risk of spreading into the pulp of the tooth, leading to the loss of vitality and need for extraction or root canal therapy. This treatment regimen is the same as for all xerostomia patients, such as for those undergoing head and neck radiation therapy, which often damages the salivary glands; these glands are more susceptible to radiation than are other body tissues. Prognosis
Published studies on the survival of Sjögrens syndrome patients are limited in varied respects, perhaps owing to the relatively small sample sizes, and the fact that secondary Sjögrens syndrome is associated with other autoimmune diseases. Results from a number of studies indicate that, compared to other autoimmune diseases, Sjögrens syndrome is associated with a notably high incidence of malignant non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer of white blood cells. About 5% of patients with SS develop some form of lymphoid malignancy. Patients with severe cases are much more likely to develop lymphomas than patients with mild or moderate cases. The most common lymphomas are salivary extranodal marginal zone B cell lymphomas (MALT lymphomas in the salivary glands) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.Lymphomagenesis in primary Sjögrens syndrome patients is considered as a multistep process, with the first step being chronic stimulation of autoimmune B cells, especially B cells that produce rheumatoid factor  at sites targeted by the disease.