Author(s)

Ndiaga Matar Gaye¹, Alassane Mamadou Diop^1,2*, Khalifa Ababacar Mbaye¹, Serigne Abdou Aziz Fall¹, Mamadou Ka¹, Momo Banda Ndiaye¹, Maouly Fall², Moustapha Ndiaye¹, Amadou Gallo Diop^1,2

¹Neuroscience Department, Fann Hospital, Dakar, Senegal.
²Neurology Department, Pikine Hospital, Dakar, Senegal.

Introduction: Sjögren’s syndrome is an autoimmune epithelitis with various extraglandular signs, among which are neurological, with a variable frequency according to studies. We report three cases of peripheral neuropathy revealing Gougerot-Sjögren’s syndrome, collected in the Neurology Department of the Fann University Hospital in Dakar (Senegal). Observations: The first patient, aged 48 years, presented with a length-dependent sensitivomotor polyneuropathy associated with retrobulbar optic neuritis, with dry eyes and dry mouth noticed by the patient for several years. The second patient, aged 28 years, was admitted to the hospital with chronic generalized paresthesia in the context of xerostomia and xerophthalmia. The results of the clinical examination and the electroeneuromyogram were in favour of pure sensory neuronopathy. The third patient was 32 years old female, with a history of thyroidectomy and acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP), who was seen for acute ascending flaccid tetraplegia with facial diplegia, preceded by diffuse paresthesia. The diagnosis of recurrence of acute demyelinating polyradiculonueropathy was retained in view of the rapidly increasing character of the deficit, the hyperproteinorachy at the lumbar puncture, and the signs of demyelination at the ENMG. The diagnosis of Gougerot-Sjögren’s syndrome in our three patients was established on the basis of the 2016 ACR/EULAR criteria. Indeed, the anti-SSA antibodies (Ro) were positive in our 3 patients with a biopsy of the salivary glands which showed stage 3 in the first patient and stage 4 in the two others. Corticosteroid therapy and immunosuppressive treatment resulted in a favourable clinical evolution on the neurological and general levels. Conclusion: Gougerot-Sjögren’s syndrome is an autoimmune exocrinopathy that may present with peripheral neuropathy, which may precede the diagnosis of Sjögren’s syndrome, be concomitant or occur during the course of the disease.

Sjögren’s Syndrome, Peripheral Neuropathy, Salivary Gland Biopsy, Senegal

Gaye, N. , Diop, A. , Mbaye, K. , Fall, S. , Ka, M. , Ndiaye, M. , Fall, M. , Ndiaye, M. and Diop, A. (2022) Peripheral Neuropathies Revealing Gougerot-Sjögren’s Syndrome: Description of 3 Cases. Neuroscience and Medicine, 13, 120-125. doi: 10.4236/nm.2022.133011.