Table 2.
Synoptic view of cranial nerve involvement in the course of Sjögren's syndrome (SS).
| Cranial nerve(s) | Frequency of involvement (%) | Key points |
|---|---|---|
| I | 1 | Probably underdiagnosed because of the concomitant olfactory dysfunction secondary to mucosal dryness. |
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| II | 46 | Possible feature of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, associated with SS, otherwise, autoimmune neuritis in patients with possibly misdiagnosed SS. |
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| III, IV, VI | 12 | Clinically evident as diplopia, this neuritis is generally responsive to steroids. |
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| V | 38 | Autoimmune damage of the Gasser ganglion could be suspected. Neuritis tends to be recurrent or to stabilize and to be less frequently responsive to steroids than other cranial neuritis. |
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| VII | 5 | Neuritis isolated or associated with another nerve involvement, with good prognosis. |
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| VIII | 3 | Neuritis rarely reported as tinnitus, often isolated. |
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| IX, X, XI, XII | 4 | Transient, often recurrent neuritis episodes, generally responsive to steroids. The IX nerve was always reported in cases of multineuritis, while the XI was never mentioned in literature. |
Cranial nerves are named with their Roman numerals. The frequencies of involvement refer to the cases illustrated in Table 1, considering a total of 267 SS patients with cranial neuritis.