Earlier occurrence of severe alopecia areata in HLA-DRB1*11-positive patients.
BACKGROUND
Alopecia areata (AA) is a polygenic immune-mediated disorder affecting the hair follicle for which an association with human leukocyte antigen HLA-DRB1*11 has been described.


OBJECTIVE
Two parameters including age of onset and extent of the disease (patchy AA and AT/AU forms) were correlated with the presence or absence of HLA-DRB1*11 and its alleles in 88 severe AA patients.


METHODS
Patients and healthy controls were typed for HLA-DR and -DQ by molecular method.


RESULTS
Among AA patients, 37.5% (a proportion rising to 72% when taking patients who began their first patch before the age of 20 years) were positive for HLA-DRB1*11 compared to 21.2% healthy controls (p = 0.004, RR = 2.1). DRB1*11-positive status was associated with earlier development of the first AA patch, at the mean age of 16 years compared to 27 years (p = 0.003) in DRB1*11-negative patients. Among the DRB1*11 alleles, the presence of DRB1*1104 was associated with the earliest occurrence of AA.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data indicate that the HLA system largely through DRB1*1104 allele influences AA onset rather than extension considering patchy AA and AT/AU.
Marques Da Costa
C
C
Department of Dermatology, Hôpital Saint-Pierre, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
Dupont
E
E
Van der Cruys
M
M
Andrien
M
M
Hidajat
M
M
Song
M
M
Stene
J J
JJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D000506:Alopecia Areata / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D059811:HLA-DRB1 Chains; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D059811:HLA-DRB1 Chains; C508422:HLA-DRB1*11 antigen