Confocal Microscopy and Lacrimal Gland in Sjogren's Syndrome

Traditional methodological clinical and instrumental diagnostics of the lacrimal gland for the study of glandular architecture and functions are limited and include analysis of tear constituents, evaluation of apparent diffusion coefficients in magnetic resonance imaging and histopathological evaluation of lacrimal gland biopsy specimens. Confocal microscopy is a new emerging technology which is useful as a supplementary diagnostic tool for in vivo assessment of anterior-segment disorders.The use of in vivo confocal microscopy in a comparative study of the microscopic morphology of the salivary/lacrimal glands have not been reported up to date. In this study, we employ laser scanning confocal microscopy to evaluate the morphological changes of the salivary/lacrimal glands in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome and compare the results with those of healthy control subjects.