Does pantoprazole alleviate mouth dryness in patients with Sjögrens syndrome?
W. Fiebiger, G. Stummvoll1, G. Weinländer and M. Raderer Departments of Internal Medicine I and 1 III, University of Vienna, Austria SIR, Sjögren’s syndrome is an autoimmune condition resulting in impaired function of the salivary and lachrymal glands. The resulting dryness causes severe discomfort and interferes strongly with essential everyday activities such as eating [1]. At the moment, there is no standard treatment for patients with pronounced symptoms [2], apart from the use of saliva substitute, which is sometimes able to alleviate symptoms. A 56-yr-old woman with a 6-yr history of Sjögren’s syndrome was referred to our institution because of a diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori (HP)-associated gastric lymphoma of the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue type. After the bacteria had been eradicated with antibiotics, the patient was put on continuous oral treatment with the proton pump blocker pantoprazol (2×40 mg), but was taking no other medication apart from topical saliva substit
