HLA ASSOCIATIONS IN VITILIGO PATIENTS IN THE DUTCH POPULATION

This study characterizes the HLA class I and class II antigens in a gr oup of patients with vitiligo and a control group, both of Dutch desce nt. Earlier reports had shown a significant positive association with DR4 and a significant negative association with DR3, We found that, af ter correction for the broad antigens studied, only Cw7 and DR6 were s ignificantly associated with vitiligo. The significant positive associ ation of DR6 with vitiligo is interesting since vitiligo has an autoim mune component in its pathogenesis and DR6 may be a marker for high im mune responsiveness.