The salivary glands in Sjögren's syndrome : pathogenetic aspects of the initiation of sialoadenitis

Sjögren's syndrome is a chronic inflammatory disorder with autoimmune etiology, affecting primarily the salivary and lacrimal glands. In these glands. focallymphocytic infiltrates develop. This is accompanied by decreased production of saliva and tears. resulting in patients complaining of dry eyes and a dry mouth. First reports in which the combination of a dry mouth and dry eyes was described date from late 19th and early 2Qth century. In 1933. Henrik Sjögren. a Swedish ophthalmologist. described clinical and histological findings in a group of 19 wamen with xerostomia and keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS). dry mouth and dry eyes. thirteen of which also suffered from chronic arthritis. At present. it has become evident that, although the presenting symptoms of Sjögren's syndrome are usually dry eyes and/or dry mouth, almast every organ in the body can be affected by the disease process. In this chapter an overview is given of the criteria that are used to diagnose Sjögren's syndrome and of the clinical manifestations of the disease. Furthermore, possibilities with regard to treatment of patients and factors that are thought to contribute to the pathogenesis of Sjögren's syndrome are discussed.

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