"John" <john@johntrueman.com> wrote in message
news:4289550e$0$39088$ed2e19e4@ptn-nntp-reader04.plus.net...
I do not know if this will help you or not but it was post here in the
past.
Harv
CHAPTER 2
UNDERSTANDING ARTHRITIS
Genetic markers of greatest interest to arthritis experts are the
proteins known as human leukocyte antigens (HLA), which are located on
the surfaces of most cells in the body. These markers were first
discovered in the late 1960s. Scientists called them the human
leukocyte antigens because they were first found on the surface of
human leukocytes, another name for white blood cells. These antigens
are involved in the immune system's ability to distinguish normal cells
from foreign invaders.
Scientists first studied the human leukocyte antigens because of the
effect they had on organ transplants. A transplant was more likely to be
susessful if the donor and recipient had similar or matching antigens.
Some years later, certain genetic markers were found to be associated
with certain kinds of disease. These diseases included four major kinds
of rheumatic disease: ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis, some
forms of juvenile arthritis, and Reiter's syndrome (a form of arthritis
that may develop as a complication of certain infections).
The first clue to a relationship between the human leukocyte antigens
and rheumatic diseases came in 1973. Scientists found an overwhelming
association of one HLA marker known as HLA-B27 with AS and Reiter's
syndrome. This marker is found in only 8% of white people and 2% of
black people, but in 95% of white people with AS and 50% of black
people with AS. The HLA-B27 antigen is also found in a high proportion
of symptom-free relatives of these people. Although the presence of
this marker conveys a susceptibility to AS, fewer than one in five HLA-
B27 carriers actually develops the disease.
Ankylosing spondylitis affects about two in one thousand white men.
It was previously thought to be very rare in women, but today doctors
and scientists know that AS may occur in a mild form in a larger number
of women.
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CHAPTER FIFTEEN
ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS
POSSIBLE CAUSES
Although the cause of spondylitis is unknown, scientists have
discovered a stong genetic, or family, link. Almost all Caucasian
people with spondylitis have the genetic marker known as HLA-B27. Some-
one who has this genetic marker will not necessarily develop AS, but
people who do have it are more likely to develop the disease than those
who do not.
Many scientists believe that AS results from a combination of the
HLA-B27 marker and a trigger of some sort, most likely some kind of
infection. The trigger may set off a reaction by the immune system that
becomes abnormal and leads to the damaging inflammation of AS.
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UNDERSTANDING ARTHRITIS
WHAT IT IS
HOW TO TREAT IT
HOW TO COPE WITH IT
THE ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION
Charles Scribner's Sons
Macmillan Publishing Company
New York, NY 10022
