Six -- count 'em -- six new Sjogren's genes.

Thanks to Laura Strom for alerting me to this story which may have enormous implications for those dealing with Sjogren's syndrome:

International coalition of researchers finds six new Sjögren’s syndrome genes

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oct. 6, 2013 — With the completion of the first genome-wide association study for Sjögren’s syndrome, an international coalition of researchers led by scientists at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has identified six new disease-related genes.
Their work appears in the journal Nature Genetics.

This research required Sjögren’s researchers from around the world putting together about 2,000 patient samples, which were tested against more than 7,000 healthy controls.
The results were exactly what the researchers were hoping to see. In addition to the previously known HLA gene related to the disease, the group was able to identify six new Sjögren’s genes and begin working to understand their functions. (Bolding mine.) Continue reading here.

OMRF (omrf.org) is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institute dedicated to understanding and developing more effective treatments for human diseases. Its scientists focus on such critical research areas as cancer, Sjögren’s syndrome, lupus and cardiovascular disease.