Scleroderma and Sjogren's syndrome.

Scleroderma is a rare condition, occurring most commonly in females, the onset of which is usually heralded by Raynaud's phenomenon, cutaneous sclerosis, or arthritic symptoms.General constitutional disturbances such as lassitude, anorexia, and weight loss are common.The course of the disease may be prolonged, or death may supervene within a year of onset.No part of the body appears to be immune from the disease process.This comrnunication reports a case of Sjogren's syndrome in association with scleroderma and presents the ocular findings in nine other cases of scleroderma.Case report A 62-year-old female (Case io, see Table ) presented complaining of a gritty sensation in both eyes of 2 years' duration.For 20 years she had suffered from Raynaud's phenomenon, terminal ulceration of the digits, and arthritis of the hands, and over the previous I0 years her skin had become smooth, shiny, and taut, the face and upper limbs being particularly involved.For 2 years she had also suffered from xerostoma and dysphagia.