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Updated: Aug 15, 2026
Candidate Gene Testing in Clinical Cohort Studies with Multiplexed Genotyping and Mass Spectrometry
Published on: June 21, 2018
Genetic linkage analysis of multicase families with fibromyalgia syndrome
M B Yunus1, M A Khan, K K Rawlings
1Division of Rheumatology, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, 61656, USA. Yunus@uic.edu
Objective:
Based on the reports of familial aggregation of fibromyalgia (FM) syndrome, we investigated its possible genetic linkage to HLA by studying multicase families.
Methods:
Forty Caucasian multicase families with a diagnosis of FM (American College of Rheumatology criteria) in 2 or more first degree relatives were investigated. Eighty-five affected and 21 unaffected members of 41 sibships were studied. Depression symptomology was assessed by Zung Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS). HLA typing was performed for A, B, and DRB 1 alleles, and haplotypes were determined with no knowledge of the subject's diagnosis. We investigated genetic linkage to the HLA region by evaluating sibships in multicase families.
Results:
Sibship analysis showed significant genetic linkage of FM to the HLA region (p = 0.028). Subgroup analysis was also performed for 17 families where the proband was also noted to have depression (with an SDS index value > or =60). We found that the presence of depression did not influence the observed results (p = 0.22).
Conclusion:
. Our study of 40 multicase families confirms existence of a possible gene for FM that is linked with the HLA region. Our results should be regarded as preliminary and their independent confirmation by other studies is warranted.
