Sjogren's syndrome. A case report with an additional diagnostic aid

SJOGREN1first reported a syndrome of xerostomia, keratoconjunctivitis sicca, and rheumatoid arthritis in 1933. It has been the subject of some more recent publication over the last decade,2-8some suggesting a relationship to lupus erythematosus,9,10others connective tissue diseases as well as malignant lymphoma.12,13Bunim2,3,11,12has given a clinical classification of the syndrome. It was Gougerot14who first noted the association of xerostomia and keratoconjunctivitis with lymphocytic infiltration of the lacrimal glands. Morgan and Castleman10found that the histopathologic features of Mikulicz's disease and Sjogren's syndrome were indistinguishable with the latter having not only involvement of the salivary and lacrimal glands, but also systemic manifestations, the most frequent being rheumatoid arthritis. We became interested in the minor salivary glands in this disorder and found it to be infrequently described.2,9,15-17Bain9pointed out that these glands may show the characteristic "benign lymphoepithelial lesion." The purpose of this report