Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is known to have multiple precipitating factors and exists in various clinical subtypes. If salivary gland function was compromised in BMS it could help explain the link with diverse precipitating factors. This study quantified stimulated right and left parotid flow rates (SPFR) in 114 patients with BMS. It also attempted to correlate SPFR with haematinic parameters, oral candidal carriage, concurrent drug therapy and BMS subtype. No relationship was found between haematinic parameters and SPFR nor between SPFR and oral candidal carriage. Patients with Type 2 BMS had a significant reduction in SPFR. Antidepressant medication was associated with reduced SPFR but there was no such association with either tranquillisers or hypnotics. These results provide evidence of reduced parotid gland function in Type 2 BMS and a role for antidepressant medication in reducing SPFR.

Resistance to the pressor effects of angiotensin II, but not norepinephrine, has been observed in sodium depletion, potassium depletion, and cirrhosis. We tested the response to arginine vasopressin (AVP) in each of these conditions. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were made sodium depleted with furosemide and a low-sodium diet for 3 days, potassium depleted by feeding a low-potassium diet for 14-21 days, or cirrhotic by inhalation of carbon tetrachloride for 8 wk. In conscious rats, the pressor response to graded doses of AVP was reduced in sodium depletion by 27-43% compared with control rats. Sodium-depleted rats were also found to have enhanced baroreceptor reflexes, since the decrease in heart rate for a given increase in mean arterial pressure was greater than in control rats. When the ganglionic blocker pentolinium tartrate was given to sodium-depleted rats the pressor response to AVP was restored to control levels. In potassium-depleted rats the pressor response to AVP was 21-52% lower than that in controls, whereas cirrhotic rats also had a blunted response to AVP (14-41% lower than control). However, there was no evidence in either of these two states of enhanced baroreceptor activity, and pretreatment with pentolinium tartrate did not restore the pressor response to normal. Therefore, although resistance to the pressor effect of AVP was found in all three conditions, the mechanism of this effect was different in sodium depletion compared with potassium depletion and cirrhosis. We conclude that resistance to the pressor action of AVP in sodium depletion was secondary to resetting of the baroreceptors.

Sebaceous differentiation in salivary gland tissue is common. However, sebaceous neoplasms within the salivary glands are rare. We present the case of a sebaceous lymphadenoma with unusual features, arising in the parotid gland of a 60-year-old male. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the ultrasound and MRI characteristics of this rare tumour. The difficulties encountered in reaching a definitive diagnosis both radiologically and histologically are described.