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Patients with AS, HLA-B27 subtypes have distinct initial symptoms

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Patients with ankylosing spondylitis who possess certain HLA-B27 variants have some distinctive early symptoms, including uveitis, according to researchers at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.

Researchers studied data from 476 patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and identified 437 patients who possess the HLA-B27 gene. Subtypes were analyzed by direct sequencing and the clinical characteristics of patients were compared.

The HLA-B*2704 subtype was present in 90% of the patients with AS and the HLA-B*2705 variant was detected in 8.6% of the patients. The axial joint was the most common in both groups (54.5% and 55.3%) for initial disease manifestation. The peripheral joint was the initially affected area in 5.9% of patients with HLA-B*2704 compared to 31.6% of patients with the HLA-B*2705 variant.

No significant differences were seen at the onset of disease in the axial joint, peripheral joint, hip joint, or combinations of the axial joint and peripheral joint, axial joint and hip or peripheral joint and hip among either group. However, the incidence of uveitis as an early symptom was significantly higher in the HLA-B*2705-positive patients (5.3%) compared to HLA-B*2704-positive patients (0.5%). – by Shirley Pulawski

Reference:

Jun Q, et al. Paper #FRI0230. Presented at: European League Against Rheumatism Annual European Congress of Rheumatology. June 10-13, 2015; Rome.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.