HLA typing and retinitis pigmentosa

Retinitis pigmentosa is a disease whose pathogenesis remains largely obscure. A lot of evidences support the hypothesis that auto-immunity is involved, but no HLA antigen has ever been associated with retinitis pigmentosa. Ten patients with autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa were tissue typed for class I and II HLA antigens. The results of the study show a significant increase in the frequency of the antigens Cw4, Cw6 and DR11. High values of relative risk were found also for some class I antigens, but the size of the group of patients with these loci precluded a meaningful statistical analysis.