Asymptomatic cerebral involvement in Sjögren's syndrome: MRI findings of 15 cases

Fifteen patients with Sjogren's syndrome without clinical evidence of central nervous system disease were studied by MRI. Signal abnormalities were observed in 9 (60%). They were always visible on T2-weighted images as small punctate areas of high signal in the basal ganglia and the white matter of the cerebral hemispheres. Abnormalities were less frequently seen on T1-weighted images. Enlargement of cerebral sulci was observed in 6 cases. The specificity and significance of these abnormalities are discussed.