Association of polymyalgia rheumatica and giant-cell arteritis with HLA-B8.

Histocompatibility antigens were determined in 30 patients with temporal arteritis, 27 patients with polymyalgia rheumatica, and 216 normal blood donors. HLA-B8 was significantly more common in patients with polymyalgia rheumatica (59%) and temporal arteritis (50%) than in the controls (27%). The findings of HLA-A10 in 26% of the patients with polymyalgia rheumatica compared with only 10% of the controls may be associated with the suggested immunological pathogenesis of the condition.