A patient with Sjogren’s Syndrome may develop reduced sweating. The targeting of eccrine sweat glands by lymphocytes has been termed autoimmune anhidrosis.
Patient selection: Sjogren’s syndrome
Clinical features:
(1) decreased or absent sweating
(2) dry skin
(3) heat or exercise intolerance
(4) intolerance of direct sunlight
(5) decreased sweating a challenge with methacholine (a nonselective muscarinic receptor agonist)
A skin biopsy will show a lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate of eccrine sweat glands and their ducts.
The diagnosis requires exclusion of other causes for the hypohidrosis/anhidrosis.
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