Primary Sjogren's syndrome complicated by sarcoidosis

Sjogren's syndrome and sarcoidosis share several common features, such as keratoconjunctivitis sicca, swelling of parotid glands, lung involvement, cutaneous anergy, T cell-mediated immunodeficiency, an increased CD4(+)/CD8(+) lymphocyte ratio, and association with the human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-B 8 and DR 3 haplotypes. How ever, only five patients with primary Sjogren's syndrome and sarcoidosis have been previously reported in the English language literature, The rare case of a 49-year-old Japanese woman with primary Sjogren's syndrome complicated by sarcoidosis is described, The serum angiotensin-converting enzyme level was increased, and histological examination of lung and shin biopsies revealed noncaseating granulomas, indicating that her primary Sjogren's syndrome was complicated by sarcoidosis.