EULAR/PRINTO/PRES criteria for Henoch-Schönlein purpura, childhood polyarteritis nodosa, childhood Wegener granulomatosis and childhood Takayasu arteritis: Ankara 2008. Part II: Final classification criteria.

Objectives: To validate the previously proposed classification criteria for Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP), childhood polyarteritis nodosa (c-PAN), c-Wegener granulomatosis (c-WG) and c-Takayasu arteritis (c-TA).

Methods: Step 1: retrospective/prospective web-data collection for children with HSP, c-PAN, c-WG and c-TA with age at diagnosis View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Different KIRs confer susceptibility and protection to adults with latent autoimmune diabetes in Latvian and Asian Indian populations.

KIRs (killer Ig-like receptors) expressed on natural killer (NK) cells are an important component of innate (and adaptive) immunity. They are either activatory or inhibitory, and certain KIRs are known to interact with specific motifs of HLA Class I molecules, which is very crucial in determining whether a cell is targeted to lysis or otherwise. Latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) is a slowly progressive form of autoimmune diabetes, with an adult onset (>30 years).

Helicobacter pylori infection among children with gastrointestinal symptoms: a high prevalence of infection among patients with reflux oesophagitis.

Aim: To investigate the link between H.pylori infection and dyspepsia in children, and association with reflux oesophagitis.

Patients And Methods: H.

Association of SUMO4 M55V polymorphism with autoimmune diabetes in Latvian patients.

Small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO4), located in IDDM5, has been identified as a potential susceptibility gene for type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). The novel polymorphism M55V, causing an amino acid change in the evolutionarily conserved met55 residue has been shown to activate the nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB), hence the suspected role of SUMO4 in the pathogenicity of T1DM. The M55V polymorphism has been shown to be associated with susceptibility to T1DM in Asians, but not in Caucasians.

The Pediatric Rheumatology International Trials Organization criteria for the evaluation of response to therapy in juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus: prospective validation of the disease activity core set.

Objective: To validate and promulgate a core set of outcome measures for the evaluation of response to treatment in patients with juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods: In 2001, a preliminary consensus-derived core set of measures for evaluating the response to therapy in juvenile SLE was established. In the present study, the core set was validated through an evidence-based, large-scale data collection process that led to the enrollment of 557 patients from 39 different countries.

Previous antibacterial treatment due to concomitant infections in preschool children is associated with a lower Helicobacter pylori positivity.

Use of antimicrobial agents has been proposed as 1 of the factors that contribute to the loss of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection. The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of a previous treatment with antibiotics on the prevalence of H.

Killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor genes in Latvian patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus and healthy controls.

T1DM is very common in Sweden and is positively associated with HLA class II genes. Approximately 89% of the newly diagnosed patients carry the high-risk HLA DR4-DQ8 and DR3-DQ2. The remaining 11% develop T1DM without them.

Major histocompatibility complex class I chain related (MIC) A gene, TNFa microsatellite alleles and TNFB alleles in juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients from Latvia.

In order to analyze involvement of major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related gene A (MICA) and tumor necrosis factor a (TNFa) microsatellite polymorphisms as well as TNFB gene in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), we studied 128 patients divided into groups according to clinical features [monoarthritis (n = 14), oligoarthritis (n = 58), polyarthritis (n = 50), and systemic (n = 6)], and 114 age- and sex-matched healthy controls from Latvia. DNA samples were amplified with specific primers and used for genotyping of MICA and TNFa microsatellite. Typing for a biallelic NcoI polymerase chain reaction RFLP polymorphism located at the first intron of TNFB gene was done as follows: restriction digests generated fragments of 555bp and 185bp for TNFB*1 allele, and 740bp for TNFB*2 allele.