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A comparison of salivary gland hypofunction in primary and secondary Sjögren's syndrome
Author(s) -
Dawson LJ,
Holt DJ,
Higham SM,
Longman LP,
Field EA
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
oral diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.953
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1601-0825
pISSN - 1354-523X
DOI - 10.1034/j.1601-0825.2001.70106.x
Subject(s) - salivary gland , primary (astronomy) , medicine , sjögren syndrome , pathology , dermatology , immunopathology , systemic disease , physics , astronomy
OBJECTIVE: A commonly held view by clinicians is that the salivary gland hypofunction associated with primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS‐1) is more severe than that associated with secondary Sjögren's syndrome (SS‐2). This study aimed to determine if this view could be substantiated, when applied to a large sample group. METHOD: Unstimulated and paraffin wax‐stimulated whole salivary flow rates were retrospectively compared for age and gender matched, patients diagnosed with SS‐1 or SS‐2 according to the preliminary European criteria. The patients had attended the Xerostomia Clinic, in the Oral Medicine Department, at the Liverpool University Dental Hospital. RESULTS: Sixty‐seven patients with SS‐1 (average age 57.1 years) were matched with 67 patients with SS‐2 (average age 57.6 years), according to gender and age, within 5 years. The mean unstimulated whole salivary flow rates (±s.d.) for patients with SS‐1 and SS‐2 were 0.11 (±0.15) and 0.12 (±0.18) mL min −1 respectively. The mean paraffin wax stimulated, whole salivary flow rates (±s.d.) for patients with SS‐1 and SS‐22 were 0.45 (±0.02) and 0.47 (±0.49) mL/min −1 respectively. No significant differences, in either stimulated ( P = 0.54) or unstimulated ( P = 0.60) whole salivary flow rates were found between individuals with SS‐1 or SS‐2. CONCLUSION: The severity of salivary gland hypofunction does not appear to be related to the clinical variant of Sjögren's syndrome.