Journal article

HLA-B alleles associated with severe cutaneous reactions to antiepileptic drugs in Han Chinese

YK Cheung, SH Cheng, EJM Chan, SV Lo, MHL Ng, P Kwan

Epilepsia | WILEY-BLACKWELL | Published : 2013

Abstract

Purpose HLA-B*15:02 screening is recommended before starting carbamazepine in Han Chinese and Southeast Asians because the allele is strongly predictive of Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS)/toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) induced by the drug. We examined whether other HLA-B alleles are also involved and whether the association extends to other antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). Methods Cases of SJS/TEN induced by any AEDs were recruited and matched (1:5) with AED-tolerant controls. Carrier rates of HLA-B alleles, determined by direct sequencing, were compared between cases and controls. Results were meta-analyzed with previous studies to examine the associations between HLA-B*15:02 and SJS/TEN induce..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Awarded by Health and Health Services Research Fund, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government


Funding Acknowledgements

We thank all patients who participated in the study. We would like to thank the collaborating neurologists (Prof. Raymond Cheung, Drs. B.H. Fung, Patrick Li, and T.H. Tsoi) in the participating HA hospitals for supporting the study. We wish to thank the Co-ordinating Committee in Medicine of HA for endorsing the study, and Ms. Edwina Shung, Senior Statistician, and her team at HA Head Office for data extraction. The study was supported by the Health and Health Services Research Fund, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (07080381).