IMMUNOGENETICS OF POLYMYALGIA-RHEUMATICA

The distribution of HLA-D region antigens was studied in 17 patients w ith well-documented polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). HLA-D region antigen s were defined by the oligonucleotide typing of polymerase chain react ion (PCR)-amplified genomic DNA. The results demonstrate that the prev alence of DR4 was significantly higher (p < 0.0002; RR = 8.10) in pati ents (70.6%) compared to normal controls (22.9%), and the frequency of DR1 and/or DR4 in patients (82.4%) was also higher (p < 0.0006; RR = 8.40) than that in normal healthy controls (35.7%). Of the subtypes of DR4, Dw13 was significantly higher (p < 0.002; RR = 9.30) inpatients (29.4%) than in normal controls (4.3%). However, these data must still be confirmed by other investigators. The distribution of the remainin g DR antigens and of the DQ and DP alleles in patients did not differ significantly from those in controls. The results suggest immunogeneti c similarity between PMR and late onset rheumatoid arthritis in elderl y populations.