We would like to thank Drs. Rosenstein, Kushner and Kramer for their informative comments that provide a comprehensive description of additional systemic manifestations that may be associated with Sjögren’s syndrome.
The intent of our article, however, was to address the most clinically relevant aspects of xerostomia, of which Sjögren’s syndrome is only one component. Therefore, we provided only a limited discussion of the cellular mechanisms of hyposalivation.
With regard to the immunologic features of a number of conditions that may accompany disorders of connective tissue as well as Sjögren’s syndrome, much of this remains controversial. We did not wish to imply, however, that all of these diseases are "autoimmune" in origin.
