HLA TYPING IN PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE EVANESCENT WHITE DOT SYNDROME (MEWDS)

Background: Multiple evanescent white dot syndrome (MEWDS) is an acqui red chorioretinal disorder of unknown etiology. We investigated the po ssibility that MEWDS might be related to a specific HLA subtying. Meth ods/Results: Blood was obtained from nine patients affected by MEWDS. HLA-B51 was found in four of these nine patients with MEWDS. Conclusio n: There was a 3.7-fold increased frequency of HLA-B51 in patients aff ected by MEWDS (relative risk 5.86). MEWDS might then be related to th e presence of a specific HLA subtype, HLA-B51. However, due to the sma ll sample size, our results need to be confirmed by further testing.