Sebaceous glands in the buccal mucosa in patients with rheumatic disorders

When seeking oral lesions in patients with rheumatic disorders (RD), the most frequent discernible finding in the buccal mucosa seems to be sebaceous glands (SG). The purpose of the present study was to examine whether or not SG are associated with RD, especially Reiter's syndrome (RS). Observation of SG in the buccal mucosa took place by thorough inspection of 50 males and 80 females suffering from RD. Controls were 237 males and 231 females from an oto-rhino-laryngologic clientèle. Further rheumatological examination was made of 12 males and 7 females from the control group who showed positive SG findings. Biopsies from SG were performed for 9 patients suffering from RS. SG were observed in 24 males (48%) and 35 females (43.8%) among patients with RD and in 19 males (8%) and 8 females (3.7%) in the control group (p less than 0.001). Rheumatological examination of the above-mentioned 12 males and 7 females revealed either a history and/or objective signs of RD, most often RS, in 7 males (58.3%) and 6 females (85.7%). The histological pattern of SG was different from that of the mucocutaneous lesions of RS. The results speak in favour of a close association of oral SG and RD, with a certain emphasis in the direction of RS. SG seem to be an important additional non-specific clinical sign in the protean picture of rheumatic disorders.