Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation or exposure to sunlight are well known but poorly understood predisposing factors of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (Dubois, 1966; Freeman, Knox, and Owens, 1969). It appears from the published literature, that little attention has been paid to what actually occurs when apparently healthy individuals are exposed to UV irradiation. On a molecular level, UV irradi...

Rural inhabitants are exposed to considerable amounts of pesticides from water, soil and air. There are indications that exposure to pesticides may trigger production of antinuclear antibodies (ANA). Therefore, the question arises about the prevalence of ANA in this group. In 90 eastern-Polish rural inhabitants (RI) and 50 urban blood donors (BD), the presence of ANA in serum was tested using E...