title: Dutch patients with familial and sporadic ankylosing spondylitis do not differ in disease phenotype.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess potential differences in the phenotypic expression between familial and sporadic ankylosing spondylitis (AS).
  
  
  METHODS
  Clinical data from the patient record forms were compared between 55 patients with AS from multicase families (i.e., families in which > or = 2 first-degree relatives have the disease) (familial AS) and 110 sex and age matched patients with AS who did not have a first-degree relative with the disease (sporadic AS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Between familial and sporadic AS no differences were found in age at disease onset, age at diagnosis, or prevalences of peripheral arthritis and acute anterior uveitis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Potential differences in genetic makeup are not reflected in differences in the phenotypic expression of familial and sporadic AS.
authors.affiliation: Jan van Breemen Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marcel van der
authors.initials: Mv
authors.lastname: Paardt
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dijkmans
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Giltay
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: van der Horst-Bruinsma
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D010641:Phenotype; D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology*