HLA-DR2 negative narcolepsy in Australian caucasians: Clinical features, serology and sequence specific oligonucleotide typing

Abstract

An almost invariable association with HLA-DR2 and DQw1 has previously been reported in Japanese and caucasian narcoleptics. We performed HLA typing in 18 Australian narcoleptics using serological techniques and sequence specific oligonucleotide probes. HLA-DQw1 was present in 15 patients and DR2 in 12; 3 patients with cataplectic narcolepsy were DR2-negative. The serological haplotype most strongly associated with narcolepsy was DRw15 (a subtype of DR2), DQw1. DRw15-positive patients were positive for the alleles DRB1*1501 and DQB1*0602 defined with oligonucleotide probes. We conclude that the association of narcolepsy with DR2 and DQw1 is not as strong as previously reported and the absence..