Juvenile-onset SLE has more frequent neurological and renal manifestations than adult-onset SLE, but immunological markers are similar in both groups. These features suggest the most severe clinical manifestations in the juvenile-onset SLE group are not related with the presence of studied antibodies by different methods.

The novel PGMY L1 consensus primer pair is more sensitive than the MY09 and MY11 primer mix for detection and typing with PCR of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA in genital specimens. We assessed the diagnostic yield of PGMY primers for the detection and typing of HPV by comparing the results obtained with PGMY09/PGMY11 and MY09/MY11/HMB01 on 299 genital samples. Amplicons generated with PGMY primers were typed with the line blot assay (PGMY-line blot), while HPV amplicons obtained with the degenerate primer pool MY09/MY11/HMB01 were detected with type-specific radiolabeled probes in a dot blot assay (standard consensus PCR test). Cervicovaginal lavage samples (N ‫؍‬ 272) and cervical scrape samples (N ‫؍‬ 27) were tested in parallel with both PCR tests. The PGMY-line blot test detected the presence of HPV DNA more frequently than the standard consensus PCR assay. The concordance for HPV typing between the two assays was 84.3% (214 of 255 samples), for a good kappa value of 0.69. Of the 177 samples containing HPV DNA by at least one method, 40 samples contained at least one HPV type detected only with PGMY-line blot, whereas positivity exclusively with the standard consensus PCR test was found for only 7 samples (P < 0.001). HPV types 45 and 52 were especially more frequently detected with PGMY than MY primers. However, most HPV types were better amplified with PGMY primers, including HPV-16. Samples with discordant results between the two PCR assays more frequently contained multiple HPV types. Studies using PGMY instead of MY primers have the potential to report higher detection rates of HPV infection not only for newer HPV types but also for well-known genital types.Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a very strong and independent predictor of the presence of squamous intraepithelial lesions and invasive cancer of the uterine cervix (14,30,34). Most HPV infections in women are transient and only a minority of women infected with HPV develop persistent infection that may evolve into squamous intraepithelial lesions (10, 13, 21, 27). The 40 HPV genotypes that infect the anogenital tract of men and women are classified into low-risk and high-risk categories based on their association with malignant lesions and phylogenetic relationships (9,14,30,35,36).The modest sensitivity level of HPV detection methods used in initial studies on the natural history and determinants of HPV infection resulted in misclassification of HPV infection status. As a consequence of misclassification of individuals, conflicting results from various studies have been reported. This problem was resolved in the 1990s by using nucleic acid amplification assays, mainly PCR (6,12). Because of the genetic diversity of genital HPVs, the use of type-specific PCR assays is impractical for epidemiological studies for which accurate HPV typing is essential (1). Consensus PCR assays have been devised to amplify most relevant genital types in one reaction and also detect novel HPV genotypes.Three assays target conserved sequences in the HPV L1 gene...

Vertical HIV transmission in Canada has decreased dramatically for women treated with HAART therapy. All pregnant women should be evaluated for HIV infection and programmes expanded to reach vulnerable populations including aboriginal, immigrant and IDU women.