Sjogren's syndrome

Sjogren's syndrome (SS) is a systemic autoimmune exocrinopathy that affects the salivary and lacrimal glands. It typically presents as the "sicca comp lex" of dry eyes (xerophthalmia) and dry mouth (xerostomia) along with of h er symptoms such as arthritis. SS is classified as either primary or second ary. In the primary form, dry eyes and dry mouth occur alone. In the second ary form, the dry eyes and dry mouth occur in the context of another rheuma tic disease, most commonly rheumatoid arthritis. There is an increasing lis t of systemic manifestations affecting the lung, kidney, and nervous system in patients with SS. The skin is affected in half of SS patients. Despite this high frequency of cutaneous involvement, patients with SS are not comm only seen in dermatology practices. SS is underrecognized and underdiagnose d because the cutaneous manifestations are nonspecific (eg, xerosis, prurit us) and less severe than the oral, ocular, or musculoskeletal symptoms. Non etheless, because of its high prevalence, risk of cutaneous vasculitis, and the increased risk of a lymphoproliferative disorder, it is important for dermatologists to be familiar with SS. Copyright (C) 2001 by W.B. Saunders Company.