Subject: Re: HLA B27
Hi Jane I think HLA B27 has much stronger link to Ankylosing Spondylitis With PsA and ReA it is about 50 to 60 percent but with AS it is approx 90 to 95 percent! I am one of the 5 to 10 percent without HLA B27 that have AS. So there is at least 40 to 50 % of PsA and ReA arthritis sufferers without the exact gene. They tend to hedge with undifferentiated or non-specific if they can't see the exact tell tell damage or the genes test comes up negative - but my Father had AS and is HLA B27 positive and I am fully aware of the symptoms. They try and make diagnosis exactly to pigeon-hole us. There are genes that are not tested for also like HLA B39 - which also has links to inflammatory arthritis - so I dont know if I have that :) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3735281
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