Histocompatibility antigens and dermatitis herpetiformis with special reference to jejunal abnormalities and acetylator phenotype.

Sixty-one patients with dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) were studied. Of these fifty-three (87%) had the histocompatibility (HL-A) antigen HL-A8 as compared with 17% of a control population; the difference is significant. This incidence of HL-A8 among patients with DH is higher than that reported earlier for such patients and is similar to that reported for patients with adult coeliac disease. The incidence of HL-A1 was also significantly greater in the patient group, and was attributed to the increased frequency of haplotype HL-A1, 8. The frequency of HL-A8 was about equal in patients in whom DH was associated with jejunal abnormalities and in those in whom it was not. When correlated with rate of acetylation, there was no significant difference in the occurrence of various HL-A antigens.