HLA-DR associations with Graves' disease in eastern Hungary.

We have typed 196 patients with Graves' disease from eastern Hungary (an iodine-deficient region) for HLA-A, -B, and -C antigens and 80 of the same patients for HLA-DR antigens. Our data confirm the previously described association of HLA-B8 and DR3 with Graves' disease, particularly in patients with ophthalmopathy. We also describe several new findings: an increase in the prevalence of HLA-BW35, particularly in combination with B8, among patients with ophthalmopathy and a slight increase in the prevalence of B8, DR7 among patients with ophthalmopathy. These results support the concept that MHC-linked susceptibility to Graves' disease is dose-dependent. Our results do not confirm a report suggesting that the prevalence of HLA-DR5 is increased among patients without ophthalmopathy in iodine-deficient areas: we found that the prevalence of HLA-DR5 was slightly decreased among patients with Graves' disease, with and without ophthalmopathy, in comparison with controls.