Do Olive and Fish Oils of the Mediterranean Diet Have a Role in Triple Negative Breast Cancer Prevention and Therapy? An Exploration of Evidence in Cells and Animal Models.

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy and cause of cancer-related mortality among women worldwide. Triple negative breast cancers (TNBC) are the most aggressive and lethal of the breast cancer molecular subtypes, due in part to a poor understanding of TNBC etiology and lack of targeted therapeutics. Despite advances in the clinical management of TNBC, optimal treatment regimens remain elusive. Thus, identifying interventional approaches that suppress the initiation and progression of TNBC, while minimizing side effects, would be of great interest. Studies have documented an inverse relationship between the incidence of hormone receptor negative breast cancer and adherence to a Mediterranean Diet, particularly higher consumption of fish and olive oil. Here, we performed a review of studies over the last 5 years investigating the effects of fish oil, olive oil and their components in model systems of TNBC. We included studies that focused on the fish oil ω-3 essential fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in addition to olive oil polyphenolic compounds and oleic acid. Both beneficial and deleterious effects on TNBC model systems are reviewed and we highlight how multiple components of these Mediterranean Diet oils target signaling pathways known to be aberrant in TNBC including PI3K/Akt/mTOR, NF-κB/COX2 and Wnt/ß-catenin.

Diet After Cholecystectomy.

Patients with gallstones are often affected by alimentary disorders contributing to the onset of gallstones disease. Cholecystectomy can have nutritional and metabolic consequences in the short-term (diarrhea, abdominal pain and bloating) and in the long-term (increased Body Mass Index with metabolic syndrome, gastritis, liposoluble vitamin deficiency). Pathogenic mechanisms behind these disturbances are reviewed and the need for an early post-operative nutritional intervention based on low-lipid, high-fibers diet, is highlighted.

Respiratory allergy in immigrants to a highly industrialised area in Italy according to area of origin and time period

BACKGROUND: Migrants from developing to Western countries tend to become more sensitised to host than to origin country allergens, although substantial changes in migration patterns have occurred in recent decades. Methods We investigated adult immigrants with respiratory allergy, first tested for allergic sensitisation between 1985 and 2012 in a highly industrialised area in Italy. A comparison was made of the sensitisation pattern between immigrants and a random sample of native-born subjects affected by a respiratory allergy, and among immigrants according to macro-region of origin and time period. RESULTS: Between 1985 and 2012, 480 immigrants with respiratory allergy had a first positive allergy test. Immigrants were sensitised mainly to grass (67.1%), house dust mites (HDM) (38.5%) and birch (27.5%), with a pattern of sensitisation very similar to that observed in Italians (native-born). An increase in the proportion of subjects with asthma and of subjects with polysensitisation was observed from the first (1985-2002) to the middle (2003-2007) and the most recent period (2008-2012). In recent years, the proportion of subjects with polysensitisation in immigrants is higher than in Italians (native-born) (53.3% vs. 40.1%). Among immigrants, the risk of sensitisation to grass was higher in those from Sub-Saharan Africa (odds ratio, OR = 2.76) and Latin America (OR = 2.49), whereas risk of sensitisation to HDM was higher among immigrants from South Asia (OR = 2.71), compared to immigrants from Eastern Europe. CONCLUSIONS: Immigrants develop multiple sensitisations more frequently than native-born people, and are especially sensitised to local allergens; the country of origin seems to play a role

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Flavonoids and cancer prevention: a review of the evidence.

The objective of this work is to review data from epidemiological and preclinical studies addressing the potential benefits of diets based on flavonoids for cancer prevention. Flavonoids are subdivided into subclasses including flavonols, flavones, flavanones, flavan-3-ols, anthocyanidins, and isoflavones. Epidemiological studies suggest dietary intake of flavonoids may reduce the risk of tumors of the breast, colon, lung, prostate, and pancreas. However, some studies have reported inconclusive or even harmful associations. A major challenge in the interpretation of epidemiological studies is that most of the data originate from case-control studies and retrospective acquisition of flavonoid intake. Differences in agricultural, sociodemographics, and lifestyle factors contribute to the heterogeneity in the intake of flavonoids among populations residing in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Dose and timing of exposure may influence the anticancer response to flavonoid-rich diets. A limited number of intervention trials of flavonoids have documented cancer preventative effects. Proposed anticancer mechanisms for flavonoids are inhibition of proliferation, inflammation, invasion, metastasis, and activation of apoptosis. Prospective studies with larger sample sizes are needed to develop biomarkers of flavonoid intake and effect. Mechanistic studies are needed to ascertain how flavonoid-rich diets influence gene regulation for cancer prevention.

Functional outcome of sacral nerve stimulation in patients with severe constipation.

BACKGROUND: Sacral nerve stimulation has been reported as an effective treatment for constipation. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of permanent sacral nerve stimulation on the treatment of idiopathic constipation resistant to medical and behavioral management over a median follow-up period of 25.6 (range, 6-96) months. DESIGN: A retrospective review of a prospectively maintained institutional review board-approved database was performed. SETTING: The study was performed at 2 tertiary-care European institutions with expertise in sacral nerve stimulation. PATIENTS: Patients were considered eligible if they had had symptoms for at least 1 year and if conservative treatment had failed. INTERVENTION: Patients were tested by percutaneous nerve evaluation before the procedure. If this evaluation was successful, patients underwent sacral nerve therapy with an implanted device. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Patients were evaluated by means of a bowel function diary and the Wexner constipation score. RESULTS: A total of 48 consecutive patients (39 females, median age 50.0 years (range, 17-79 years) entered the study. Twenty-three patients were implanted with a permanent stimulator. On an intention-to-treat basis, only 14 of 48 patients (29.2%) met the definition of a successful outcome at the latest follow-up period (median, 25.6 (range, 6-96) months). The mean Wexner score decreased from 20.2 (SD 3.6) at baseline to 5.8 (SD 4.1) at the latest follow-up examination (p < 0.001). However, 6 of 14 patients (42.8%) were still using laxatives and/or enemas at the last follow-up. LIMITATIONS: The study was limited by the pragmatic approach necessary to evaluate the results in routine clinical practice. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that sacral nerve stimulation has limited efficacy on an intention-to-treat basis as a routinely recommended therapy for intractable idiopathic constipation.

Sphincteroplasty for fecal incontinence in the era of sacral nerve modulation.

The role of sphincteroplasty in the treatment of patients with fecal incontinence due to anal sphincter defects has been questioned because the success rate declines in the long-term. A new emerging treatment for fecal incontinence, sacral nerve stimulation, has been shown to be effective in these patients. However, the success rate of sphincteroplasty may depend of several patient-related and surgical-related factors and the outcome from sphincteroplasty has been evaluated differently (with qualitative data) from that after sacral nerve stimulation (quantitative data using scoring systems and quality of life). Furthermore, the data available so far on the long-term success rate after sacral nerve modulation do not differ substantially from those after sphincteroplasty. The actual data do not support the replacement of sphincteroplasty with sacral nerve stimulation in patients with fecal incontinence secondary to sphincter defects.

[Assessment of the genotoxic effects of gaseous emissions and percolates from three municipal landfills using plant bioassays]. / Valutazione dei rischi genotossici derivanti dalla produzione di biogas e percolati in tre discariche controllate mediante test su vegetali.

The biomonitoring of genotoxic effects in environmental complex mixtures using higher plants is very useful for hazard evaluation. In this study we evaluated the potential application of plant genotoxicity tests in monitoring mutagens in landfill environment. The clastogenic effects of gaseous emissions (biogas)from three municipal landfills were evaluated by in situ monitoring using the Tradescantia micronucleus assay. The cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of leachates were studied using the Allium cepa test. We found no significant differences in micronuclei frequency in pollen cells of Tradescantia. Leachate samples showed elevated toxicity that inhibited root tip development in Allium cepa. Genotoxicity of the leachates was evaluated in diluted samples only. We found a significant increase in chromosomal metaphase aberrations only in one of the samples analyzed. In conclusion, biogas was not shown to be a real hazard, whereas leachates were found to display elevated toxicity. It would be advisable to treat leachates before releasing them into the environment as they can cause ecological damages. Since plant bioassays are very useful for the in situ monitoring of environmental genotoxins they are important for the prevention of environmental pollution resulting from the disposal of solid waste.

Long-term outcome of sacral nerve stimulation for fecal incontinence.

PURPOSE: Sacral nerve stimulation is a safe and effective procedure for fecal incontinence. We investigated whether its efficacy is maintained long term. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sixty patients with fecal incontinence underwent permanent sacral nerve stimulation. Patients' data were prospectively recorded in the national registry of the Italian Group of sacral nerve stimulation. The severity of fecal incontinence was evaluated by the Wexner score, and data were collected in a bowel function diary. Quality of life was evaluated by the Italian version of the Medical Outcomes Survey Short Form (SF-36) questionnaire. RESULTS: Fifty-two patients were available for long-term follow-up lasting at least 5 years. Compared with baseline, the Wexner score decreased significantly after definitive implantation (from 15 +/- 4 to 5 +/- 5, P < 0.001). At least 50 percent improvement in continence was achieved in 74 percent of the patients, and at least 70 percent improvement (median value) was achieved in 50 percent. The mean number of solid/liquid incontinence episodes decreased significantly from 0.5 (+/-0.5) to 0.1 (+/-0.3) per day (P = 0.004). Quality of life improved in all domains. The overall mean improvement in SF-36 scores was 39.8 percent. Both mean resting and squeeze anal pressures increased significantly, and maximum volume tolerated decreased significantly. CONCLUSIONS: Sacral nerve stimulation maintains its efficacy long term, not only in regard to control of symptoms but also regarding quality of life.

Alcohol and coffee drinking and smoking habit among subjects with HCV infection.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aims were to estimate among patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection the prevalence of alcohol and coffee intake and smoking habit, the reliability of these self-reported data and the possible change of patients' habit after their first contact with a Viral Hepatitis Service. METHODS: 229 patients were initially interviewed personally at the Viral Hepatitis Service and after 6 months they were re-interviewed by phone in regard to their alcohol, coffee drinking and smoking habits. RESULTS: Alcohol drinkers were 55.5% of males and 35.3% of females. Most subjects drank coffee daily, both men (90.0%) and women (84.9%). The proportion of current smokers was higher in males (43.6%) than females (26.9%). We found a fair to good reliability of self-reported data regarding patients' habits, alcohol and coffee intake, and number of cigarettes smoked daily. We observed a statistically significant decrease in alcohol and coffee intake and cigarettes smoked between baseline and follow-up interviews. CONCLUSION: We found a fairly high proportion of HCV-infected patients who regularly drink alcohol and coffee beverages and smoke cigarettes, especially among males. The reliability of self-reported data on these habits seems satisfactory. More decisive action to modify these habits, especially alcohol intake, is required in these patients.

Evaluation of chlorite and chlorate genotoxicity using plant bioassays and in vitro DNA damage tests.

In the last few years chlorine dioxide has been increasingly used for disinfecting drinking water in many countries. Although it does not react with humic substances, chlorine dioxide added to water is reduced primarily to chlorite and chlorate ions, compounds that are under investigation for their potential adverse effects on human health. The aim of this research was to study the genotoxicity of chlorite and chlorate and their mixtures. The end-points included two plant tests (chromosomal aberration test in Allium cepa and micronucleus assay in Tradescantia, carried out at different times of exposure) and two genotoxicity tests in human HepG2 cells (comet assay and cytokinesis-blocked micronucleus test). Preliminary toxicity tests were carried out for both plant and HepG2 assays. The results showed that chlorite and chlorate are able to induce chromosomal damage to plant systems, particularly chromosomal aberrations in A. cepa root tip cells, even at concentrations lower than the limit established by Italian normative law and WHO guidelines. In HepG2 cells increased DNA damage was only observed for chlorate at the lowest concentration. No increase in micronuclei frequency was detected in any of the samples tested in human HepG2 cells.

Long-term functional assessment of antegrade colonic enema for combined incontinence and constipation using a modified Marsh and Kiff technique.

PURPOSE: Constipation and fecal incontinence can severely affect quality of life for patients, particularly when simultaneously present. Malone antegrade colonic enema enables periodic colonic emptying, thus preventing uncontrolled passage of feces and constipation. METHODS: Eleven patients with fecal incontinence and severe constipation or perineal colostomy after Miles' operation underwent a modified Marsh and Kiff ileostomy for antegrade colonic enema. Before and after surgery, the patients were fully evaluated for gastrointestinal functions, including gallbladder and stomach emptying time, H(2)-breath test, colonic transit time, dynamic defecography, and anorectal manometry. The severity of incontinence and constipation was scored preoperatively and postoperatively by using the American Medical System score and Cleveland Clinic Constipation scale, respectively, whereas the quality of life was measured by the Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index. The surgical technique involved division of the terminal ileum 10 to 15 cm from the ileocecal valve, anastomosis and intussusception of the ileum with the cecum, narrowing of the ileal conduit with a linear stapler, and a small, introflexed ileostomy with an advanced skin flap. RESULTS: During the postoperative period, the mean American Medical System score decreased significantly from 77 to 11 (P<0.01) and the mean Cleveland Clinic Constipation score from 23 to 8.5 (P<0.01) with a significant improvement of quality of life. Antegrade colonic enema did not affect gallbladder, gastric, or orocecal transit time, which remained comparable with baseline. Colonic scintigraphy showed that antegrade colonic enema was efficient to clean the whole colon and rectum, leaving only 24 (range, 6-40) percent of the initial radioactivity after 30 minutes. Ileal manometry confirmed the presence of a high-pressure zone, preventing accidental reflux. CONCLUSIONS: Modified Marsh and Kiff technique is a safe and effective surgical option to treat patients with combined fecal incontinence and severe constipation and those with perineal colostomy after Miles. It should be recommended as a last option before colostomy.

Red hot chili pepper and hemorrhoids: the explosion of a myth: results of a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial.

PURPOSE: Spicy foods are appreciated by a large part of the world population but have been blamed for causing hemorrhoids or exacerbating their symptoms, although no epidemiologic studies have been performed supporting this hypothesis. In this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial, we have studied the effects of a single dose of red hot chili pepper on the hemorrhoidal symptoms. METHODS: Fifty patients with second-degree and third-degree symptomatic hemorrhoids were randomly assigned to take a capsule containing red hot chili powder or placebo during lunch, scoring five hemorrhoidal symptoms (bleeding, swelling, pain, itching, and burning) on a visual analog scale. After one week, crossover treatment was administered according to the same methodology. Other treatments and foods potentially related with anorectal symptoms were discontinued during the study periods. RESULTS: Patients assigned low scores to their hemorrhoidal symptoms before the study and the scores remained unchanged during the 48 hours after both placebo and chili pepper treatment, the latter showing no statistically significant effects. CONCLUSIONS: There is no scientific evidence that a spicy meal based on red hot chili pepper may worsen hemorrhoidal symptoms and, therefore, there is no reason to prevent these patients from occasionally enjoying a spicy dish if they so wish.

Permanent sacral nerve modulation for fecal incontinence and associated urinary disturbances.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Sacral nerve modulation (SNM) using an implantable pulse generator is gaining increasing acceptance in the treatment of several functional disturbances of the urinary and intestinal tract. This new therapeutic approach offers new possibilities in the treatment of fecal incontinence (FI) by means of its possible effects on anorectal physiology. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fourteen patients with FI, six of whom had associated urinary disturbances, underwent permanent SNM after successful peripheral nerve evaluation tests. All had a clinical evaluation including FI grading systems (American Medical systems, AMS; Continence Grading System, CGS) and quality of life questionnaires (Fecal Incontinence Quality of Life, FIQL), and anorectal physiology tests performed before and during electrostimulation. Two patients had a lead displacement which was repositioned. Median follow-up was 14 months (range 6-48 months). RESULTS: AMS scores decreased significantly from 101 to 67 after 24 months CGS scores from 15 to 2 after 2 months. The median number of episodes of major incontinence per 2 weeks decreased from 14 to 1 after 24 months. FIQL scores improved significantly in the nine patients tested from an overall score of 1.59 to 3.3, with improvement in all areas of the FIQL. Four of the six patients with associated urinary disturbances had a significant improvement in their symptoms. Anal resting and squeezing tone did not change significantly, nor did rectal volumetry, compliance, rectoanal inhibitory reflex, or length of the anal high-pressure zone, while 24-h rectal manometry showed inhibition of the spontaneous rectal motility complexes after meal and on awakening in the only two patients undergoing this investigation. CONCLUSION: Although the mechanism of action of SMN is still unclear and requires further investigations, clinical results are very encouraging, confirming the role of this new and safe procedure in the treatment of FI and associated urinary disturbances.

Coffee consumption and bladder cancer in nonsmokers: a pooled analysis of case-control studies in European countries.

BACKGROUND: Coffee consumption has been associated with an excess bladder cancer risk, but results from epidemiological studies are inconsistent. This association has been long debated, in part due to the potential confounding by smoking. We examined the risk associated with coffee consumption in nonsmokers in a pooled analysis of ten European bladder cancer case-control studies. METHODS: The pooled data set comprises 564 cases and 2929 hospital or population controls who had never smoked. They were enrolled in ten studies conducted in Denmark, Germany, Greece, France, Italy and Spain. Information on coffee consumption and occupation was re-coded following standard criteria. Unconditional logistic regression was applied adjusting for age, study center, occupation and gender. RESULTS: Seventy-nine percent of the study population reported having drunk coffee, and 2.4% were heavy drinkers, reporting having drunk on average ten or more cups per day. There was no excess risk in ever coffee drinkers (OR = 1.0, 95% CI 0.8-1.3) compared to never drinkers. The risk did not increase monotonically with dose but a statistically significant excess risk was seen for subjects having drunk ten or more cups per day (OR = 1.8, 95% CI 1.0-3.3). This excess was seen in both men and women. There was no evidence of an association of the risk with duration or type of coffee consumption. The pooled results were not dependent on the findings of any specific study, but they depended on the type of controls with an overall excess risk observed only for studies using hospital controls. CONCLUSION: Nonsmokers who are heavy coffee drinkers may have a small excess risk of bladder cancer. Although these results cannot be attributed to confounding by smoking, the possibility of bias in control selection cannot be discarded. On the basis of these results, only a very small proportion of cancers of the bladder among nonsmokers could be attributed to coffee drinking.

8-Hydroxydeoxyguanosine in DNA from leukocytes of healthy adults: relationship with cigarette smoking, environmental tobacco smoke, alcohol and coffee consumption.

8-Hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) has been widely used as a biomarker of oxidative DNA damage in both animal and human studies. However, controversial data exist on the relationship between 8-OHdG formation and age, sex and tobacco smoking in humans, while few or no data are available on other exposures such as environmental tobacco smoke, alcohol, coffee and tea consumption. We investigated the level of 8-OHdG in DNA from peripheral leukocytes among 102 healthy adults living in Brescia province, North Italy, aged 25-45 (mean: 35.2 years), of which 51 were males. 8-OHdG levels expressed as a ratio to total deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG/106 dG) in DNA showed wide interindividual variation, the highest value (63.8) being 6. 2-fold greater than the lowest (10.3). Current smokers showed lower mean 8-OHdG values than subjects who never smoked (29.3 and 34.0, respectively, p<0.05), and an inverse relationship was found between 8-OHdG and lifetime smoking, which was independent of age, sex and body mass index. An inverse relationship was also found with coffee drinking while no association was observed with alcohol and tea consumption, exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and use of vitamins in all subjects, and with use of oral contraceptives in females. The inverse relationship between smoking status and 8-OHdG levels could be explained by the presence of efficient repair processes for the oxidative damage induced by smoking. In this study, the smokers were relatively young (77% were less than 40 years) and only 7% smoked 30 or more cigarettes a day. In conclusion, it would appear that 8-OHdG levels in leukocytes may not provide a sensitive marker of exposure to tobacco smoking.

Reliability of data on smoking habit and coffee drinking collected by personal interview in a hospital-based case-control study.

A study on the reliability of information on smoking habits and coffee drinking collected via interview was conducted among 500 subjects enrolled in a case-control study on bladder cancer in Brescia, North Italy. A total of 215 cases (incident and prevalent) and 285 controls were interviewed personally in the hospital setting by a first interviewer, and then re-interviewed by telephone by either the same interviewer or another one. Agreement between the first and second interview was evaluated using the kappa statistic and the intra-class correlation coefficient and via multiple logistic regression modelling. No important differences in reliability were found according to sex, education or case/control status, while agreement was better among subjects below 65 than among older ones, and among incident than prevalent cases. A slightly better agreement was found among subjects interviewed twice by the same interviewer than those interviewed by two different individuals, which may reflect the presence of inter-observer reliability for the latter. Overall, these results show a very high reliability of data on smoking and a fairly high reliability regarding coffee drinking as collected through face-to-face interviews.

Bladder cancer, tobacco smoking, coffee and alcohol drinking in Brescia, northern Italy.

The association between tobacco smoking, the consumption of coffee and alcohol and bladder cancer was investigated in a hospital-based case-control study in Brescia, northern Italy. A total of 172 incident cases (135 men and 37 women) and 578 controls (398 men and 180 women) were enrolled. As expected, cigarette smoking was strongly associated with bladder cancer. The odds ratios (OR) for coffee drinking adjusted for age, education, residence and cigarette smoking in current drinkers were 2.6 (95% confidence interval, CI: 1.1-6.1) in men and 5.2 (95% CI: 1.0-30.4) in women. A dose-response relationship was found in men, with the highest risk in the highest category of exposure: drinkers of more than 5 cups per day had an OR of 4.5 (95% CI: 1.2-16.8). The ORs for current alcohol drinkers were 2.1 (95% CI: 1.0-4.8) in men and 3.4 (95% CI: 1.2-9.7) in women; according to grams of ethanol drunk per day (grams/day, g/d) the ORs were: 1.7 (1-20 g/d), 1.6 (21-40 g/d), 4.3 (41-60 g/d) and 4.6 (61+ g/d) in men and 3.1 (1-20 g/d) and 3.9 (21+ g/d) in women. These results suggest that regular consumption of both coffee and alcohol can be independently associated with an increased bladder cancer risk.

52-kD SS-A/Ro: genomic structure and identification of an alternatively spliced transcript encoding a novel leucine zipper-minus autoantigen expressed in fetal and adult heart.

The 52-kD SS-A/Ro protein is one of the antigenic targets strongly associated with the autoimmune response in mothers whose children have manifestations of neonatal lupus. In addition to the cDNA clone we previously reported for the full-length 52-kD SS-A/Ro protein, an interesting MOLT-4 cDNA clone, p52-2, was found to have an internal deletion of 231 nucleotides including the domain encoding the leucine zipper motif. To further investigate the nature of this deletion, genomic DNA clones were isolated from a lambda FIXII library. The complete gene for the full-length 52-kD protein (alpha form, 52 alpha) spans 10 kb of DNA and is composed of seven exons. Exon 1 contains only the 5' untranslated sequence, while the translation initiation codon is located 3 kb downstream in exon 2, which also encodes the three zinc finger motifs. Exon 4 encodes amino acids 168-245, including the coiled coil/leucine zipper domain. Exon 7 is the longest and encodes the rfp-like domain and the 3' untranslated region. The cDNA p52-2 can now be accounted for as a product of alternative messenger RNA (mRNA) derived from the splicing of exon 3 to exon 5, skipping exon 4, which results in a smaller protein (52 beta) with a predicted molecular weight of 45,000. An initial approach to identifying this alternatively spliced form in the human heart used a ribonuclease protection assay. Using an RNA probe corresponding to bases 674-964 of the full-length cDNA, two protected mRNA fragments were identified, a 290-bp fragment corresponding to expression of 52 alpha and a smaller fragment of 144 bp, the predicted size of 52 beta. Using reverse transcription followed by polymerase chain reaction, cDNAs from a 16-wk fetal heart, 24-wk heart, and adult heart were amplified with primers flanking exon 4. Two polymerase chain reaction products were observed in each tissue, one 1.0 kb likely representing 52 alpha and a second 0.78 kb, consistent with 52 beta. The 0.78-kb fragment identified in the 16-wk heart was cloned, and DNA sequencing confirmed the 52 beta type. Immunoprecipitation of in vitro-translated 35S-labeled 52 beta form was performed to evaluate the antigenicity of this novel form of 52-kD SS-A/Ro. 26 (87%) of 30 sera tested from mothers whose children were known to have neonatal lupus immunoprecipitated the 52 beta form.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)