Sjogren's is an autoimmune condition. Most autoimmune conditions have either been linked to pathogens or pathogens are suspected. Sjogren's is no different. Several viruses are suspected as being triggers including Epstein Barre' virus (EBV) and the hepatitis C virus (HCV).

The second component of autoimmune disorders is adrenal dysfunction, which leads to the overproduction of low affinity (nonspecific) antibodies due to the lack of immune modulating corticosteroids.

I recently did a post discussing the basics of autoimmunity:

http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=1585763#i