The study on sex hormones and interleukin-6 in postmenopausal women with primary Sjgren′s syndrome / 中华风湿病学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the role of sex hormones and interleukin (IL)-6 in the pathogenesis of primary Sjgren′s syndrome (pSS). Methods Serum specimen of 21 postmenopausal patients with pSS and 21 postmenopausal healthy women were collected. Serum estradiol (E2) and testosterone (Te) were estimated by the commercial radioimmunoassay kits, whereas serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) were measured by enzyme-amplified chemiluminescence assay. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay kits were used to determine levels of IL-6 in serum. Results The DHEAS and the Te level in serum were lower in postmenopausal patients with pSS than in healthy controls (P0.05). The level of IL-6 in pSS patients was higher than that in controls (P0.05). Conclusion Primary Sj(?)gren′s syndrome, in which an altered metabolism of sex hormones has occured, appears to be influenced by the change of the levels of sex hormones and IL-6 in serum.