title: HLA antigens in vertebral ankylosing hyperostosis (Forestier's disease).
abstract: Vertebral ankylosing hyperostosis (VAH) represents a chronic spinal disorder that is often difficult to differentiate both from the inflammatory involvement of the spine like ankylosing spondylitis (Bechterew--AS) and from several forms of spondylosis or paravertebral ossifications of psoriatic spondylitis. Shapiro (1, 2) observed a significantly higher frequency of HLA antigen B27 in 47 patients with VAH; but this observation could not be confirmed by other authors. In our group of 46 patients with VAH, most of them males, there were no X ray signs of sacroiliitis. Compared with 1210 healthy blood donors, no significant difference was observed in the distribution of 31 HLA antigens of A, B, C locus.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000032:analysis*; D015796:HLA-B27 Antigen; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013128:Spinal Osteophytosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology*; D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing / Q000175:diagnosis
chemical_list: D006680:HLA Antigens; D015796:HLA-B27 Antigen