Possible association of juvenile myoclonic epilepsy with HLA-DRw6

Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) is a clearly defined subform of idiopathic generalized epilepsy with a high aggregation of epilepsy in family members. With the HLA-system used as a genetic marker, a linkage between JME and the HLA region was demonstrated. Linkage with the HLA region suggests that JME may be associated with an HLA-antigen. An association could indicate that the gene lies in the HLA region and is in linkage disequilibrium with one of the HLA-antigens. Eighty-eight unrelated patients with JME were typed for the HLA-A and HLA-B locus, 77 were typed for the HLA-C locus, and 76 were typed for the DR locus. The antigen frequency was compared with those of healthy blood donors. The highest difference was noted in the frequency of DRw6 (39.5% in patients vs. 22.1% in controls). This weak association is open to question because DRw6 is known to split into DRw13 and DRw14.