The G/C polymorphism of the IL6 gene does not predispose patients to pSS, but the circulating IL-6 concentration is related to specific manifestations of the disease and the levels of IL-6 are regulated by the IL6 promoter polymorphism in pSS.

No abstract

An inappropriate cross-connection between sewage- and drinking-water pipelines contaminated tap water in a Finnish town, resulting in an extensive waterborne gastroenteritis outbreak in this developed country. According to a database and a line-list, altogether 1222 subjects sought medical care as a result of this exposure. Seven pathogens were found in patient samples of those who sought treatment. To establish the true disease burden from this exposure, we undertook a population-based questionnaire investigation with a control population, infrequently used to study waterborne outbreaks. The study covered three areas, contaminated and uncontaminated parts of the town and a control town. An estimated 8453 residents fell ill during the outbreak, the excess number of illnesses being 6501. Attack rates were 53% [95% confidence interval (CI) 49.5-56.4] in the contaminated area, 15.6% (95% CI 13.1-18.5) in the uncontaminated area and 6.5% (95% CI 4.8-8.8) in the control population. Using a control population allowed us to differentiate baseline morbidity from the observed morbidity caused by the water contamination, thus enabling a more accurate estimate of the disease burden of this outbreak.

The insulin analog lispro might be suitable for the treatment of diabetic patients with substantially increased insulin antibody levels Apparently, the structural difference between the lispro and human insulin molecules prevented lispro from binding to the human insulin antibodies in this patient and consequently was nonimmunogenic.