© 1988 British Society for Rheumatology
brief-report |
PREVALENCE OF PRIMARY SJÖGREN'S SYNDROME IN AN ELDERLY POPULATION
1The Departments of Medicine, University of loannina 453 32 Ioannina, Greece
2Pathology, University of loannina 453 32 Ioannina, Greece
Correspondence to:
Address correspondence to Dr. A. P. Andonopoulos.
Sixty-two elderly apparently healthy volunteers, inmates of a public nursing home, were examined for evidence of primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS). Evaluation included a specific questionnaire for subjective xerophthalmia and xerostomia, slit-lamp eye examination after rose Bengal staining, Schirmer's I test, stimulated parotid flow measurement, testing of sera for autoantibodies and labial minor salivary gland biopsy. A >2+ lip biopsy score on Tarpley's scale was a sine qua non for the diagnosis of Sjogren's syndrome.
Labial salivary gland (LSG) biopsy revealed fibrosis and/or fatty infiltration in the majority of the individuals, related to ageing. However, four people had a lip biopsy score of .2+, which, supplemented by other objective criteria, classified three of them as having pSS. Another four had an LSG biopsy score of 1 +, and although they fulfilled other objective criteria, they could not be characterized as pSS. All these individuals were completely asymptomatic, and none of them had anti-Ro(SSA) or anti-La(SSB) autoantibodies.
The present study suggests that pSS in elderly people is subclinical, benign and relatively common.
KEY WORDS: Keratoconjunctivitis sicca, Xerostomia, Rose Bengal, Schirmer's I, Parotid flow rate, Autoantibodies, Lip biopsy.
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