Nine Of 10 Sjogren's Patients Are Women
BETH N. GRAY Sjogren's syndrome. Although identified back in 1933 by a Swedish physician of that name, the affliction remains so obscure that many physicians today even ask, "What?" Dana Moreno, 42, and Connie Roberts, 44, both of whom had to give up professional careers because of the syndrome, have made it their mission to educate doctors - and everyone else - about Sjogren's pronounced SHOW-grins, an autoimmune deficiency that debilitates through myriad avenues: the central nervous system first, then on to major organs and the lymphatic system. The two women have prepared a resolution that the Hernando County Commission is expected to adopt on April 3, proclaiming April Sjogren's Syndrome Awareness Month. It was so proclaimed by the U.S. Congress several years ago. Moreno and Roberts also have been invited to Tallahassee when Gov. Charlie Crist is tentatively scheduled to sign a similar proclamation for the state. According to the Sjogren's Syndrome Founda...