No abstract

Hypomethylation of interferon-regulated genes occurs in all major cellular compartments in SLE-affected twins. The observed B cell promoter hypermethylation is a novel finding with potential significance in SLE pathogenesis.

No abstract

EBV-associated IM does not seem to be a risk factor for SLE. The temporal pattern of increased SLE risk in individuals with a negative PB test suggests that some patients who go on to develop SLE may present with unspecific symptoms, for which they may be tested for IM, long in advance of their SLE diagnosis.

Nulliparous women, 1-child mothers, and women who experience spontaneous abortions, missed abortions, or stillbirths are at increased SLE risk. Theoretically, immunological processes involved in subfertility or idiopathic pregnancy losses might act as initiating or contributing factors in some cases of SLE. However, considering the well established excess of pregnancy complications in women with established SLE, the observed associations more likely reflect the effect of subclinical immunological processes in women destined to develop SLE.

No abstract

Family history of SLE is associated with a clearly elevated risk of SLE and, to a much lesser degree, of RA and other ADs.

Few population-based studies have investigated the relation between living arrangements and risk of invasive penile squamous cell carcinoma (iP-SCC). Using long-term national cancer registry data in Denmark we examined incidence trends of iP-SCC. Furthermore, we examined the relation between marital status, cohabitation status and risk of iP-SCC using hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) obtained in Cox proportional hazards regression analyses as our measure of relative risk. Overall, 1,292 cases of iP-SCC were identified during 65.6 million person-years of observation between 1978 and 2010. During this period, the WHO world age-standardized incidence remained relatively stable (p-trend 5 0.41) with an average incidence of 1.05 cases per 100,000 person-years. When compared to married men, those who were unmarried (HR 1.37; 95% CI: 1.13-1.66), divorced (HR 1.49; 95% CI: 1.24-1.79) or widowed (HR 1.36; 95% CI: 1.13-1.63) were at increased risk of iP-SCC. Regarding cohabitation status, single-living men were at increased risk of iP-SCC compared to men in opposite-sex cohabitation (HR 1.43; 95% CI: 1.26-1.62). Risk increased with increasing numbers of prior opposite-sex (p-trend 5 0.02) and same-sex (p-trend < 0.001) cohabitations. In conclusion, single-living Danish men and men who are not currently married are at increased risk of iP-SCC, and the risk increases with the number of prior cohabitations, perhaps reflecting less stable sexual relations in these subgroups.Invasive penile cancers, of which up to 95% are penile squamous cell carcinomas (iP-SCC), are rare malignancies that occur mainly among elderly men at a mean age around 60 years. 1 In industrialized countries the age-standardized incidence of penile cancer is generally around or less than 1 per 100,000 person-years. 2-4 However, the annual incidence varies considerably worldwide from around 4 per 100,000 in countries such as Uganda and Brazil, 4-6 while it is close to zero among Israeli Jews. 4 In Denmark, the incidence declined from 1.15 to 0.82 per 100,000 person-years between 1943 and 1990. 7 Several population-based studies have evaluated the trends in penile cancer incidence over time. Most studies have reported a declining incidence, 5-11 while some have indicated a stable incidence over time. 12,13 A recent study from the Netherlands even suggested a slightly increasing trend of penile cancer incidence between 1989 and 2006, 14 but this was explained by a significant increase in penile carcinoma in situ over time, whereas the incidence of invasive penile cancer remained stable. A recent Danish study 15 also reported an overall increase in the incidence of penile cancer in recent years. However, concerns regarding methodological problems in that study have been raised, such as the use of supplementary data sources that were incomplete before the mid-1990's, thus contributing to the impression of an increasing trend. 16 Risk factors for penile cancer include phimosis, 17-21 tobacco use 17,18,20,21 and multiple sex partners. 1...