title: Visual hallucinations and HLA class II antigens in cortical dementia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Visual hallucinations are a core feature of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and have been proposed as being part of a narcolepsy-like REM sleep disorder. Selective loss of hypothalamic hypocretin-producing neurons is common to both narcolepsy and the spectrum of Lewy body diseases. We hypothesized that the genetic marker associated with narcolepsy, the HLA class II DR2-DQ6 haplotype, could confer some degree of susceptibility to brainstem-hypothalamic damage leading to the manifestation of visual hallucinations.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined HLA class II haplotypes in 30 patients with prominent visual hallucinations in the context of clinical criteria for DLB and in 30 patients affected by a cortical-type dementia without hallucinations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No significant differences were found in the distribution of DR and DQ antigens.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We conclude that hypothalamic vulnerability in different diseases is not mediated by a common HLA haplotype.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Madrid, Spain. egomezt@fjd.es
authors.forename: Estrella
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gómez-Tortosa
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aguerri
authors.forename: M José
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Sainz
authors.forename: Mireya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Losada
authors.forename: Pedro J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: García-Ruiz
authors.forename: Blanca
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cárdaba
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003704:Dementia / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005802:Genes, MHC Class II / Q000235:genetics*; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D006683:HLA-DQ Antigens; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology*; D006239:Haplotypes; D006801:Humans; D020961:Lewy Body Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D006680:HLA Antigens; D006683:HLA-DQ Antigens; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens