• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.578-586
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• 2013

The objective of this study was to investigate the diagnosis and treatment of Sjogren's syndrome(SS) such as syndrome differentiation and herbal medicine by reviewing Chinese traditional medicine's journals. The journal search was carried out using China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI) and PubMed from January 2007 to July 2012. Searching key words were the various combination of "Sjogren's syndrome", "Traditional Chinese Medicine", "herbal medicine", and "syndrome differentiation". The final selection of 57 studies were extracted and summarized by two researchers independently. The syndrome differentiation was classified as yin deficiency with fluid depletion, yin deficiency with dryness heat, dryness toxin with yin damage, internal obstruction of static blood, dual deficiency of qi and yang, dampness-heat obstructing, wind with external contraction, liver qi depression, blood deficiency and wind-dryness, dual deficiency of yin and yang, and internal obstruction of phlegm-blood stasis. Liriope platyphylla(麥門冬), Rehmania glutinosa(生地黃), and Scrophularia buergeriana(玄蔘) were primarily prescribed to tonify yin, engender fluid and moisten dryness.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.22-27
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• 2024

A 74-year-old female presented with a complaint of dry mouth, continuous spontaneous burning sensation in the tongue, and asymptomatic submucosal soft tissue mass on both sides of the lower labial mucosa. She refused to undergo total excision of the mass due to concern about the possibility of complications such as nerve damage because of the large size of the mass. As her clinical features and magnetic resonance imaging indicated the possibility of Sjögren's syndrome, a biopsy of the minor salivary gland of the right lower lip was performed. Consequently, she was diagnosed with mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. Although the patient had typical signs and symptoms of Sjögren's syndrome, the histopathological result of MALT lymphoma made it impossible to determine whether the patient had a history of Sjögren's syndrome. For patients with risk factors for MALT lymphoma, such as Sjögren's syndrome, a biopsy of the labial minor salivary gland with immunohistochemical staining can be helpful in the diagnosis of not only Sjögren's syndrome but also MALT lymphoma.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.357-364
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• 2023

Sjögren syndrome (SS) is a systemic inflammatory autoimmune disease that involves exocrine glands. Shikonin is extracted from comfrey, which is conventionally used as an anti-tumor, antibacterial, and antiviral drug in China. However, the application of Shikonin in SS remains unreported. This study aimed to verify the potential functions of Shikonin in SS progression. Firstly, non-obese diabetic mice were used as the SS mouse model, with C57BL/6 mice serving as the healthy control. It was demonstrated that the salivary gland damage and inflammation were aggravated in the SS mouse model. Shikonin improved salivary gland function decline and injury in the SS mouse model. Moreover, Shikonin reduced inflammatory cytokines and immune infiltration in the SS mouse model. Further experiments discovered that Shikonin attenuated the MAPK signaling pathway in the SS mouse model. Lastly, inhibition of the MAPK signaling pathway combined with Shikonin treatment further alleviated the symptoms of SS. In conclusion, Shikonin ameliorated salivary gland damage and inflammation in a mouse model of SS by modulating the MAPK signaling pathway. Our findings indicate that Shikonin may be a useful drug for SS treatment.