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A New Look at Cutaneous Features of Sjogren’s Syndrome
Author(s) -
Abrishami P.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of cutaneous pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.597
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1600-0560
pISSN - 0303-6987
DOI - 10.1111/j.0303-6987.2005.0320c.x
Subject(s) - medicine , pathology , hypergammaglobulinemia , skin biopsy , purpura (gastropod) , lymphocytic infiltration , vasculitis , asymptomatic , biopsy , infiltration (hvac) , plasma cell , palpable purpura , histiocyte , mycosis fungoides , erythema , lymphoma , dermatology , disease , henoch schonlein purpura , ecology , bone marrow , physics , biology , thermodynamics
A 37‐year‐old woman with diagnosis of Sjogren’s syndrome (SS) presented with asymptomatic non‐palpable purpura of the lower extremities. Biopsy of a purpuric macule revealed a perivascular and focally nodular lymphocytic infiltrate with large numbers of plasma cells, seemingly around eccrine glands. There was no vasculitis. The histologic findings in the skin were strikingly similar to those of salivary, parotid, and other “secretory” glands affected in SS. The cutaneous manifestations of SS highlighted in textbooks include xerosis, annular erythema, small‐vessel vasculitis, and pigmented purpura. This case illustrates that purpura in skin of patients with SS may be caused by a peri‐eccrine plasma‐rich infiltrate. The link between hypergammaglobulinemia, auto antibodies, plasma cells infiltration, and development of extranodal B‐cell lymphoma in SS remains to be elucidated.