PARSIPPANY, N.J. and BETHESDA, Md., April 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/
— The Sjogren’s Syndrome Foundation (SSF), in partnership with
Daiichi Sankyo Inc., today announced the launch of the Defy the
Dry™ campaign, an educational initiative to ignite
patient-physician dialogue about dryness symptoms. For those with
Sjogren’s syndrome today, it takes approximately seven years from
the onset symptoms to an accurate diagnosis. Knowing this is
too long to wait for a diagnosis, motivated patients living
with Sjogren’s — the second most common autoimmune
disorder(1) — are leading an effort to encourage friends,
families and doctors in their local communities to talk about
dryness symptoms, especially dry eyes and dry mouth. The Defy the
Dry™ campaign is the first step towards the SSF’s goal of
reducing the time from on-set of symptoms to diagnosis of Sjogren’s
by 50 percent in five years.
“As many as four million Americans are living with Sjogren’s(2)
and many of them may not even know it. Dry eyes and dry mouth are
the hallmark symptoms of Sjogren’s syndrome(2), but patients and
doctors just aren’t discussing these symptoms often enough or soon
enough,” said Steven Taylor, Chief Executive Officer of the
Sjogren’s Syndrome Foundation in Bethesda, Maryland. “We hope that
by igniting dryness discussions through the Defy the Dry™
campaign, we can help people living with dryness get diagnosed
sooner and, as necessary, start the appropriate treatment.”
Sjogren’s syndrome (pronounced SHOW-grins) is a chronic
autoimmune disorder in which the body attacks glands — such as the
salivary glands and the tear-secreting glands — that produce
moisture vital to healthy bodily functions such as digestion and
vision(2). Dry eyes and dry mouth are the most common
symptoms of Sjogren’s syndrome and may result in a dry, gritty or
burning sensation in the eyes, difficulty talking, chewing or
swallowing, a sore or cracked tongue, and a cha
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