SALIVARY ELECTROPHORESIS IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF SJOGRENS-SYNDROME

Objective, The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential use of salivary electrophoresis for the diagnosis of Sjogren's syndrom e. Methods. Salivary protein profiles of 43 patients and 39 healthy co ntrol subjects were compared on three different gel electrophoresis sy stems: sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, anion ic polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and immobilized pH gradient gel electrophoresis (isoelectric point, 3.5-5.0), Results, Most of the pa tients with Sjogren's syndrome exhibited an electrophoretic profile th at was different From that of the healthy control subjects. Among the three gel electrophoresis systems examined, the immobilized pH gradien t system appeared to be the most reliable for Sjogren's syndrome. Test s of accuracy revealed that the immobilized pH gradient system exhibit s high specificity (97%), sensitivity (95%), positive predictive Value (97%), and negative predictive value (95%) in the diagnosis of Sjogre n's syndrome. Conclusions. Our results suggest that salivary electroph oresis is a potentially useful test for the diagnosis of Sjogren's syn drome.