Oral medicine
Atrophic change of tongue papilla in 44 patients with Sjögren syndrome

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Objective

The purpose of this study was to investigate the atrophic change of tongue papilla in Sjögren syndrome (SjS) patients and the correlation with characteristic features of the disease.

Study design

Atrophic change of tongue papilla, investigated by a digital microscope, was classified from score 0 (normal) to score 6 (severe) and compared among 44 SjS patients, 20 xerostomia patients, and 20 healthy subjects. In SjS patients, correlation of the atrophic score of tongue papilla with characteristic changes in sialometry, sialography, lip biopsy, and serologic tests was also investigated.

Results

The atrophic score of tongue papilla was significantly higher in SjS patients and correlated with the decrease of salivary secretion, the stage on sialography, and the histologic grade of the minor salivary gland.

Conclusion

Atrophic change of tongue papilla is significant in SjS patients and is correlated with the characteristic features of the disease.

Section snippets

Subjects and Methods

Forty-four SjS patients treated in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and/or General Medicine, Nara Medical University, 20 xerostomia patients, and 20 healthy subjects were the subjects of this study. These subjects were chosen arbitrarily from patients who visited our departments and volunteers, and the sample size was not estimated before the study. The diagnosis of SjS was made according to the criteria of the Revised Japanese Criteria for SjS (1999).4 The patients were also

Results

Demographic data, values of the Saxon test, and atrophic score of the tongue papilla in healthy subjects, xerostomia patients, and SjS patients are shown in Table II. Most of the subjects were female. The average ages of healthy, xerostomia, and SjS subjects were 58.7 ± 4.4, 61.5 ± 8.7, and 60.3 ± 9.3 years, respectively. There was no significant difference in the average age of each group. Values of the Saxon test ranged from 2.31 to 5.92 g with an average of 3.85 ± 1.13 g in healthy subjects,

Discussion

The present study clearly showed that the atrophic score of the tongue papilla was significantly higher in SjS patients than in xerostomia patients and healthy subjects and was correlated with the decrease of salivary secretion, the stage on sialography, and the histologic grade of lymphocyte infiltration in the minor salivary gland.

The initial atrophic change of filiform papilla seems to be decreased keratinization and the rounded shape of papilla. As atrophy progresses, we speculate, based on

References (13)

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