The remaining 96 patients not meeting ACR/EULAR criteria were diagnosed on the basis of various objective clinical factors, including positive anti-La/SSB antibodies in the absence of positive anti-Ro/SSA antibodies (24 patients), other objective serologic evidence of systemic autoimmunity (27 patients), additional objective clinical evidence of salivary/ocular dysfunction (26 patients), otherwise unexplained peripheral neuropathy (21 patients), and interstitial lung disease without another well-defined connective tissue disorder (17 patients). This evidence concerns the gene SSB and interstitial lung disease.