Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 22, 2026
Ultrasonographic Evaluation of Salivary Glands for Sjogren's Syndrome: Diagnostic and Monitoring Insights
Published on: October 13, 2023
Assessment of Salivary Flow Patterns in Sjögren's Disease
Mouna Alsunni1, Matthew D Finkelman2, Mabi Singh3
1Department of Biomedical Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Objective:
Salivary flow may follow a circadian rhythm regulated by clock genes and aquaporins. Because aquaporin 5 dysregulation may contribute to Sjögren's disease, we investigated whether daily unstimulated and stimulated salivary flow patterns differed between participants with Sjögren's disease and healthy controls.
Methods:
Thirteen participants were recruited (80% power). Participants with Sjögren's disease met the 2016 American College of Rheumatology/European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology classification criteria; healthy controls were not taking xerogenic medications. Saliva was collected at home (5:00 AM, 10:00 AM) and in the clinic (3:00 PM) for 5 min (unstimulated) and 2 min (stimulated). Differences were analysed using Friedman's test, the Mann-Whitney U test, and mixed-effects models (α = 0.05).
Results:
We analysed 13 healthy controls (mean age 48.9 ± 10.7 years) and 13 participants with Sjögren's disease (mean age 65.3 ± 8.4 years). In the Sjögren's disease group, unstimulated flow did not vary over time (p = 0.463), but stimulated flow varied significantly across time points (p = 0.037). Neither measure varied significantly over time in controls (both p = 0.527).
Conclusion:
Neither group showed clear evidence of a circadian salivary flow pattern, and temporal patterns did not differ significantly between groups.
