Natural History of Salivary Gland Dysfunction and Sjogren's Syndrome

Saliva plays a major role in maintaining oral health and comfort. Saliva is needed to moisten the mouth, to lubricate food for easier swallowing, to protect oral hard and soft tissues, to modulate oral microbial populations, to provide enzymes necessary to begin food breakdown for digestion, and to promote soft tissue repair and oral cleansing. Therefore, salivary dysfunction may result in numerous clinical conditions affecting oral and systemic health, comfort and quality of life. In particular, we will focus on individuals with Sj(SqrRoot)(Delta)gren's syndrome, an autoimmune exocrinopathy that primarily affects the salivary and lacrimal glands. A number of unanswered questions remain concerning salivary involvement in this disorder. These include the rate of progression of secretory dysfunction, and related oral and systemic complications associated with xerostomia in autoimmune and non-autoimmune diseases, and B-cell dysregulation. Also, more precise estimates of the incidence of the lymphoma development are needed. The purpose of this study is :1) to allow careful follow-up of patients with defined salivary gland alterations so that the long term course and effects of Sj(SqrRoot)(Delta)gren's syndrome (SS) on the oral cavity and systemic health in SS may be delineated; 2) to follow the development and progression of B-cell dysregulation in SS; 3) to follow subjects to establish whether those initially manifesting incomplete criteria for SS progress toward fully meeting the criteria.; 4) to refine diagnostic tests for SS, and to determine whether those subjects who meet the criteria for SS continue to do so; and 5) to develop intermediary outcome measures for SS based on long term outcomes (loss of tears and loss of stimulated salivary flow). Patients will return every two years from the baseline visit for a full oral examination, salivary function assessment, clinical laboratory studies, and questionnaires concerning signs and symptoms of salivary gland dysfunction. These individuals will be patients with Sj(SqrRoot)(Delta)gren's syndrome (SS), incomplete SS (patients who have some, but not all of the criteria for SS) or radiation-induced salivary gland hypofunction. We anticipate that many of these patients will also participate in therapeutic trials conducted within the branch.