NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - HLA-DMA*0103 and HLA-DMB*0104 may serve as prognostic markers in rheumatoid arthritis, according to a report in the December issue of the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.
“This is the first study evaluating the role of HLA-DM genes in the severity of rheumatoid arthritis,” the authors explain.
In an earlier study, Dr. Jacques Morel from Hospital Lapeyronie, Montpellier, France and colleagues demonstrated that these two HLA-DM alleles were significantly increased in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Here, they evaluated the alleles as prognostic markers in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
HLA-DMA*0103 correlated with greater radiographic damage and was associated with a trend toward higher levels of surgical procedures, the authors report.
In patients who had HLA-DRB1*01 but lacked HLA-DRB1*04 (independent markers of severe rheumatoid arthritis), the presence of HLA-DMA*0103 was associated with severe rheumatoid arthritis.
HLA-DMB*0104 was also associated with greater radiographic damage, the report indicates, regardless of the presence of HLA-DRB1*01 and HLA-DRB1*04.
“HLA-DMA*0103 could predict a more severe form of disease in patients with no HLA-DRB1*04 susceptibility alleles, especially in HLA-DRB1*01 positive patients,” the authors conclude. “HLA-DMB*0104 could have an additive effect in HLA-DRB01*04 patients.”
“We would like to confirm the implication of HLA-DM alleles in a prospective study, particularly in patients with early arthritis,” Dr. Morel told Reuters Health. “We would like to analyze the structural evolution on X-rays (with a radiologic score) in RA patients according to their HLA-DR and HLA-DM alleles.”
Source: Ann Rheum Dis 2004;63:1581-1586. [ Google search on this article ]
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