Corticosteroid irrigation of parotid gland for treatment of xerostomia in patients with Sjogren's syndrome

Sialendoscopy enhances salivary gland function in Sjögren’s syndrome: a 6-month follow-up, randomised and controlled, single blind study

“…Corticosteroids have anti-inflammatory effects, and inhibit T-cell activation. Salivary glands affected by SS are characterised by a focal periductal infiltrate consisting mainly of T lymphocytes and B lymphocytes 31. Since the salivary gland duct directly connects to the gland, it could represent an effective route to deliver medications to the gland.…”

Management of dry mouth in Sjögren's syndrome

“…However, no trials concerning the immunological treatment of primary Sjög-ren's syndrome, such as interferon-alpha [29,30] and anti CD antibodies [31][32][33] have been conducted so far in Japan, although interferon-alpha and anti CD20 antibody were recognized to be an effective and safe treatment strategy for patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome in double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trials [30,33,34]. Furthermore, no clinicians in Japan have accepted even systemic administration of corticosteroids for the primary Sjögren's syndrome patients, and thus, the corticosteroid irrigation of the parotid gland is the only currently available immunological treatment option [35].…”

Current and prospective treatment options for Sjögren’s syndrome

“…As SS patients are usually women and are predominantly 50-60 years of age, caution is necessary in the long-term use of corticosteroids due to the possibility of adverse effects, such as osteoporosis, diabetes, cardiovascular effects, periodontal disease and oral candidiasis. Parotid corticosteroid irrigation was reported to yield a long-lasting increase in the salivary flow rate, with no evidence of refractoriness with repeated treatments [64]. The effect was reciprocal to the clinical severity of the disease, indicating that patients at early disease stages may benefit most from this modality.…”