World Sjögren’s Day is celebrated every year on July 23rd to raise much needed awareness for Sjögren's and the patients that live with the complexities of this autoimmune disease! The Sjögren's Foundation created World Sjögren's Day in 2005 to commemorate the birthday of Dr. Henrik Sjögren, the ophthalmologist who discovered the disease. Today, you can make a significant difference to help increase education and awareness for Sjögren’s.
Approximately four million Americans live with Sjögren’s and 50% of these people are undiagnosed, and suffering. Once diagnosed, management of the disease is difficult and expensive due to the number of healthcare providers needed to care for a patient, and the number of products needed so patients can live more comfortably. World Sjögren’s Day is meant to put a face on the millions of people who live with this disease or suffer from symptoms and have yet to be diagnosed. It provides everyone touched by Sjögren’s an opportunity to reach out and educate those close to them— family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc.— about the disease. So let your voice be heard and share your story!
World Sjögren’s Day is also an opportunity to raise funds to further the mission of the Sjögren’s Foundation. This year, we are extremely thankful to Amgen for offering a $40,000 fundraising match in honor of the Sjögren’s Foundation’s 40th anniversary and World Sjögren’s Day! Their generous offer ensures your gift provides even more support for the Foundation and its initiatives.
Ways You Can Make a Difference:
Research and Grants
The Foundation has led the charge to improve the number of experts working on high quality Sjögren’s research. Over the last four years, the Foundation has funded over $1.8 million in Sjögren’s research. We have committed $100,000/year over five years to AMP®AIM (Accelerated Medicines Partnership ®/ Autoimmune and Immune-Mediated Diseases), which is a program focused on identifying common inflammatory pathways in multiple autoimmune diseases including Sjögren’s. The exciting research involved in AMP®AIM will lead to more advancements in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, including Sjögren’s.
This year we increased funding in support of Foundation research grants provided to clinical and scientific researchers and awarded $275,000 in new research grants— a $150,000 increase from last year. One of our goals is to bring experts from other research areas to increase the number of quality researchers working on Sjögren’s. As an example, our 2022/2023 High Impact grant recipient, Dr. Mohammad Haj Dezfulian, is moving to the University of Pennsylvania as an assistant professor and is now focusing his research on the role of B and T cells in the development of Sjögren’s. He is just one of many talented experts that has devoted their focus to Sjögren’s.
Professional Education
July 23rd is the birthday of Dr. Henrik Sjögren, an ophthalmologist who identified Sjögren’s as a disease in 1933. A patient that complained of dry eye, dry mouth, and joint pain led Dr. Sjögren to investigate why patients were experiencing this combination of symptoms together. He was an eye doctor that ultimately discovered an autoimmune disease. For many years, Sjögren’s was thought to be a dry eye/dry mouth disease and now research and patient experience shows the disease is systemic, impacting the entire body. Sjögren’s patients need many doctors to properly care for them, yet so many providers are not knowledgeable about the disease. This is why the Foundation educates healthcare professionals of different specialties about Sjögren’s.
The Foundation collaborated with medical education leaders, such as Prime, PriMed, and National Jewish Health, to educate nearly 12,000 healthcare providers across multiple specialties. We are proud to be “the credible resource” for not only patients, but also healthcare professionals as we work to improve the quality of care received by Sjögren’s patients.
Additionally, we attend professional conferences and association meetings to present Sjögren’s and discuss best care for patients with many specialists.
In 2009, the Foundation launched an initiative to develop clinical practice guidelines for Sjögren’s, including specialty areas such as oral, ocular, pulmonology, and more. Our latest clinical practice guideline initiative has been focused on the peripheral nervous system (PNS). So many of our patients suffer from neuropathy and other neurological conditions associated with the PNS. We are excited to be near the conclusion of these guidelines, which will be made available to you once published.
Advocacy
This year we were dedicated to submitting and presenting to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) to help Sjögren’s and other autoimmune patients get the dental coverage they need under Medicare. The nomination, led by the Sjögren’s Foundation, argued that certain dental services are inextricably linked to immunosuppressive therapies for individuals with autoimmune disorders. Despite our efforts, CMS did not approve our nomination and, instead, is seeking further information regarding this inextricable link. This setback is obviously disappointing, but we feel that CMS has provided feedback that offers a way forward to continue our pursuit for Medicare dental coverage for this population of Medicare beneficiaries with an autoimmune disease. You can read more about the CMS decision on our blog.
Awareness Programs
This spring we launched an Awareness Ambassador program to help oral healthcare providers identify Sjögren’s patients. Although 92% of Sjögren’s patients experience dry mouth, it is often an ignored medical complaint that can significantly impact quality of life. The campaign included a stepped approach to identifying oral manifestations in Sjögren’s patients and was a success. Our next campaign will launch for the fall. If you would like to learn more about how to spread awareness and/or become an Awareness Ambassador, please visit https://sjogrens.org/get-involved/spread-awareness.
Our Sjögren’s community is truly the backbone and voice of this Foundation, and without you, the world would be silent on World Sjögren’s Day! We are grateful for your generous donations of time and money, and we thank you for your continued support of the Foundation!
World Sjögren’s Day is celebrated every year on July 23rd to raise much needed awareness for Sjögren's and the patients that live with the complexities of this autoimmune disease! The Sjögren's Foundation created World Sjögren's Day in 2005 to commemorate the birthday of Dr. Henrik Sjögren, the ophthalmologist who discovered the disease. Today, you can make a significant difference to help increase education and awareness for Sjögren’s.
Approximately four million Americans live with Sjögren’s and 50% of these people are undiagnosed, and suffering. Once diagnosed, management of the disease is difficult and expensive due to the number of healthcare providers needed to care for a patient, and the number of products needed so patients can live more comfortably. World Sjögren’s Day is meant to put a face on the millions of people who live with this disease or suffer from symptoms and have yet to be diagnosed. It provides everyone touched by Sjögren’s an opportunity to reach out and educate those close to them— family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc.— about the disease. So let your voice be heard and share your story!
World Sjögren’s Day is also an opportunity to raise funds to further the mission of the Sjögren’s Foundation. This year, we are extremely thankful to Amgen for offering a $40,000 fundraising match in honor of the Sjögren’s Foundation’s 40th anniversary and World Sjögren’s Day! Their generous offer ensures your gift provides even more support for the Foundation and its initiatives.
Ways You Can Make a Difference:
We Did It! Thank you for your World Sjögren's Day donations!
Our 2024 World Sjögren's Day match program, sponsored by Amgen is officially closed! Thanks to your generous gifts and Amgen's match program, we raised over $80,000! We are truly grateful for your generosity and support.
Although World Sjögren's Day has now passed, the fight against Sjögren's continues. While it certainly made an impact, one day alone is not enough to conquer the complexities of Sjögren's.
On behalf of the Sjögren's Foundation and the 4 million Americans living with Sjögren's, we thank you again for helping to make a difference on World Sjögren’s Day.
If you would like to donate to the Sjögren's Foundation in the future, please click the link below.
Click Here to DonateHow does your donation impact the Foundation and further Sjögren’s research and patient healthcare needs?
The Foundation strives “to create a community where patients, healthcare professionals and researchers come together to conquer the complexities of Sjögren’s”. We work hard to improve the quality of life for Sjögren’s patients by providing support and education; we work hard to improve the quality of care for patients through education and by providing resources for healthcare professionals; and we fund innovative research to learn more about this disease and how best to treat and manage it. Your gift is what fuels our mission!
Donations made in honor of World Sjögren's Day helps support:
Research and Grants
The Foundation has led the charge to improve the number of experts working on high quality Sjögren’s research. Over the last four years, the Foundation has funded over $1.8 million in Sjögren’s research. We have committed $100,000/year over five years to AMP®AIM (Accelerated Medicines Partnership ®/ Autoimmune and Immune-Mediated Diseases), which is a program focused on identifying common inflammatory pathways in multiple autoimmune diseases including Sjögren’s. The exciting research involved in AMP®AIM will lead to more advancements in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, including Sjögren’s.
This year we increased funding in support of Foundation research grants provided to clinical and scientific researchers and awarded $275,000 in new research grants— a $150,000 increase from last year. One of our goals is to bring experts from other research areas to increase the number of quality researchers working on Sjögren’s. As an example, our 2022/2023 High Impact grant recipient, Dr. Mohammad Haj Dezfulian, is moving to the University of Pennsylvania as an assistant professor and is now focusing his research on the role of B and T cells in the development of Sjögren’s. He is just one of many talented experts that has devoted their focus to Sjögren’s.
Professional Education
July 23rd is the birthday of Dr. Henrik Sjögren, an ophthalmologist who identified Sjögren’s as a disease in 1933. A patient that complained of dry eye, dry mouth, and joint pain led Dr. Sjögren to investigate why patients were experiencing this combination of symptoms together. He was an eye doctor that ultimately discovered an autoimmune disease. For many years, Sjögren’s was thought to be a dry eye/dry mouth disease and now research and patient experience shows the disease is systemic, impacting the entire body. Sjögren’s patients need many doctors to properly care for them, yet so many providers are not knowledgeable about the disease. This is why the Foundation educates healthcare professionals of different specialties about Sjögren’s.
The Foundation collaborated with medical education leaders, such as Prime, PriMed, and National Jewish Health, to educate nearly 12,000 healthcare providers across multiple specialties. We are proud to be “the credible resource” for not only patients, but also healthcare professionals as we work to improve the quality of care received by Sjögren’s patients.
Additionally, we attend professional conferences and association meetings to present Sjögren’s and discuss best care for patients with many specialists.
In 2009, the Foundation launched an initiative to develop clinical practice guidelines for Sjögren’s, including specialty areas such as oral, ocular, pulmonology, and more. Our latest clinical practice guideline initiative has been focused on the peripheral nervous system (PNS). So many of our patients suffer from neuropathy and other neurological conditions associated with the PNS. We are excited to be near the conclusion of these guidelines, which will be made available to you once published.
Advocacy
This year we were dedicated to submitting and presenting to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) to help Sjögren’s and other autoimmune patients get the dental coverage they need under Medicare. The nomination, led by the Sjögren’s Foundation, argued that certain dental services are inextricably linked to immunosuppressive therapies for individuals with autoimmune disorders. Despite our efforts, CMS did not approve our nomination and, instead, is seeking further information regarding this inextricable link. This setback is obviously disappointing, but we feel that CMS has provided feedback that offers a way forward to continue our pursuit for Medicare dental coverage for this population of Medicare beneficiaries with an autoimmune disease. You can read more about the CMS decision on our blog.
Awareness Programs
This spring we launched an Awareness Ambassador program to help oral healthcare providers identify Sjögren’s patients. Although 92% of Sjögren’s patients experience dry mouth, it is often an ignored medical complaint that can significantly impact quality of life. The campaign included a stepped approach to identifying oral manifestations in Sjögren’s patients and was a success. Our next campaign will launch for the fall. If you would like to learn more about how to spread awareness and/or become an Awareness Ambassador, please visit https://sjogrens.org/get-involved/spread-awareness.
Our Sjögren’s community is truly the backbone and voice of this Foundation, and without you, the world would be silent on World Sjögren’s Day! We are grateful for your generous donations of time and money, and we thank you for your continued support of the Foundation!