Periductal lymphocytic infiltration of salivary glands in Sjögren's syndrome with relation to clinical and immunologic findings.

We studied 113 patients who were suspected to have Sjögren's syndrome (SS) because they had dry mouth and dry eyes, and who were determined as not having any other autoimmune disease, to clarify the relationship of periductal lymphocytic infiltration of salivary glands to clinical and immunologic findings in relation to SS. Periductal lymphocytic infiltrations were observed in the labial and/or the parotid glands of 57 patients (P-group). The salivary glands of the other 56 patients did not demonstrate obvious histologic changes (N-group). The stimulated salivary flow rate of parotid glands of the patients in both the P- and N-groups was significantly reduced when compared with healthy persons. However, no difference in the flow rate was observed between the P- and N-groups. In contrast, the percentage of patients in the P-group with keratoconjunctivitis sicca was significantly higher than that of patients in the N-group. Percentage of gamma-globulin fraction and IgG level in the sera of the patients in the P-group were both significantly higher than those in the N-group. The percentages of patients who demonstrated the serum rheumatoid factor, anti-SS-A, and anti-SS-B antibodies were also significantly higher in the P-group than in the N-group.