The symptoms associated with the abnormal physiology in patients with hypofunction of the lachrymal, nasal, and salivary glands have been termed variously as the sicca syndrome or complex, Sjögren's syndrome, keratoconjunctivitis sicca, or filamentary keratitis. In 1933, Henrik Sjögren, an ophthalmologist, described 19 such patients, some with an associated polyarthritis and parotid swelling, as well as the microscopic changes in the conjunctivae, cornea, lachrymal, and salivary glands.1 The main manifestations of the disorder were the dryness of the eyes and mouth with a chronic polyarthritis plus certain general symptoms, not all present in all cases, such as acrodermatitis, scleroderma, achylia, pernicious anemia, Raynaud's phenomenon, purpura, and alopecia.2 Other recent reports have dealt with the historic aspects and clinical characteristics of the disorder3,4; the microscopic features of biopsy and autopsy material,5-7 and therapeutic regimens.8-11
The protean nature of this condition reflects a multisystemic involvement including features seen in the more