SEROLOGIC AND MOLECULAR HLA TYPING PATIEN TS WITH BEHCETS-DISEASE FROM ANDALUSIA, SPAIN - GENETIC-CLINICAL CORRELATIONS

BACKGROUND: HLA typing was performed in 67 patients with Behcet's dise ase from Andalucia, Spain to: 1) analyze the association of class I an d II molecules with Behcet's disease in Spain; 2) study the clinical c orrelations and 3) evaluate its diagnostic and/or prognostic role. PAT IENTS AND METHODS: 1) Serologic typing (microlymphocytotoxicity): clas s I molecules in 67 patients and class II molecules in 47 patients (co ntrols: 223 healthy volunteers), 2) Oligotyping (PCR-SSO): class II mo lecules (DQB1 and generic DRB1) in 47 patients and 189 controls. 3) St atistical analysis: chi square test (dicotomic variables) and Student t test (continuous variables), and calculation of the relative risk by the Wolff and Haldane formulas, RESULTS: The HLA B51 antigen was the most frequently observed in the whole series (p = 0.003) in males with ocular disease (p = 0.0001) and in patients with cutaneous (p = 0.001 ) and digestive involvement (p = 0.05), The HLA B51-positive males wer e younger at disease onset (p = 0.01) with neurologic involvement bein g infrequent (p = 0.03), The HLA B51 antigen was associated with neuro logic (p = 0.06) and articular involvement (p = 0.05). The DQB1 0303 was associated with uveitis of bad evolution (p = 0.01), The DR11 and DQB1 0301 were more frequent in HLA B51-positive patients and the DQ5 was negatively associated with Behcet's disease, particularly in the HLA B51-positive patients. CONCLUSIONS: The study of the HLA antigens provides useful information for the diagnosis of Behcet's disease, aid s in differentiating the different clinical forms and has prognostic s ignificance.