Review
English
Mohamed Elkabir*, El-Sanusi Taher**
* Department of Oral Surgery Tripoli Medical centre Al-Fatah University
** Department of Oral Medicine Benghazi Dental School Garyounis University
JMJ Vol.3 No.2 (September) 2004: 4-8
Abstract
Introduction
Sjogren’s Syndrome is a chronic inflammatory disorder of salivary gland, lacrimal and other exocrine glands, it was first described in 1933 by the Swedish physician Henrik Sjogren it display a wide spectrum of severity and can go undiagnosed for several months or years. An alternative term, “autoimmune exocrinopathy” is used by some authors to emphasize the systemic manifestations of the diseases.(1) It is generally agreed that two main forms of disease existed: primary type (sicca syndrome) in which the patient has both dry eyes (xerophthalmia) and dry mouth (xerostomia) without connective tissue disease (2,3).In the secondary type a triad of dry eyes, dry mouth and a connective tissue or collagen disease may be present. The connective tissue diseases that have been associated with Sjogren’s syndrome may include: rheumatoid arthritis; systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, mixed connective tissue disease. The general term of Sjogren’s syndrome is often used to encompass both subgroups which, thought they have much in common, have several clinical, genetic, and immunological differences. In essence sicca (primary Sjogren’s syndrome) is more likely to have severe ocular and oral manifestation and to be complicated by lympho-proliferative disease than the secondary type (4).
Keywords: Sjogren’s syndrome, salivary gland
Link/DOI: http://www.jmj.org.ly/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1315