HLA-DR antigens in rheumatoid arthritis. A Swiss collaborative study; final report. Swiss Federal Commission for the Rheumatic Diseases, Subcommission for Research.

In two separate Swiss multicenter studies on HLA antigens in rheumatoid arthritis, we found an increase in HLA-DR1 and DR4 and a decrease in HLA-DR5 and DR7, when compared with normal controls. Both seropositivity and latex-titers were inversely related to the presence of DR5 and DR7. There was no relationship with the presence of DR4. No significant relationship was found between HLA antigens and particular features of rheumatoid arthritis such as extraarticular manifestations, prognosis, response to slow-acting antirheumatic drugs, side effects with slow-acting antirheumatic drugs.