Premature fat deposition in the salivary glands associated with Sjögren syndrome: MR and CT evidence.

PURPOSE To investigate abnormal fat deposition in the major salivary glands associated with Sjögren syndrome.

METHODS We analyzed the fat deposition in the parotid and submandibular glands of 33 patients with Sjögren syndrome by using short-inversion-time inversion recovery (STIR) and fat-saturation MR sequences and CT values.

RESULTS All three in vivo techniques substantially confirmed premature deposition of fat in the major salivary glands in association with Sjögren syndrome. Furthermore, this change was characteristic of Sjögren syndrome, and the severity of fat deposition correlated well with the impaired rates of salivary flow in these patients.

CONCLUSION Monitoring of fat deposition might be useful for diagnosing Sjögren syndrome and assessing its progress in patients whose clinical and serologic findings are suggestive of the disease.