Histocompatibility antigens and primary open-angle glaucoma. A reassessment

M. A. Kass, P. Palmberg, B. Becker and J. P. Miller

Histocompatibility (HLA) antigen typing was performed on 306 patients who had been studied and classified carefully. Black individuals with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) had no significant differences in HLA antigen prevalences from black control subjects. In one white population with POAG, a significant decrease in HLA-A1, a significant increase in HLA-Aw31, and a significant increase in the antigen combination HLA-B7 and HLA-Bw22 were noted. However, these differences were not confirmed in a second white population with POAG. We concluded that associations between the A and B loci of the HLA antigen system and POAG were not as impressive as has been previously reported.