title: Factor B (BF) allotypes and multiple sclerosis in north-east England.
abstract: A significant decrease in the frequency of BF*F allele and an increase of BF*F1 allele was found in 101 clinically definite multiple sclerosis patients compared to 270 normal controls from North-East England. In Dw2 types 41 patients and 60 controls, only the rare allele BF*F1 showed a significant increase in the patients group. For the common BF*S allele a significant increase was found in Dw2+ patients compared to the Dw2- patients, but a slight similar increase observed in Dw2+ controls did not attain significance. This increase in the patient group is attributed to a strong linkage disequilibrium between BF*S and Dw2 alleles. No such linkage disequilibrium exists in the normal controls. There is a suggestion that the BF*S and Dw2+ alleles are more prevalent in chronic progressive patients, implying that in Dw2+ patients BF may influence the progression of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Genetics, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Papiha
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Duggan-Keen
authors.forename: D F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Roberts
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D011415:Complement Factor B / Q000235:genetics*; D004739:England; D005787:Gene Frequency; D006681:HLA-D Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000235:genetics*; D010641:Phenotype
chemical_list: D006681:HLA-D Antigens; D011415:Complement Factor B