HLA-B8 in Raynaud's phenomenon.

A study of the distribution of histocompatibility (HLA) antigens in patients with Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) is presented, based upon the analysis of RP patients with and without connective tissue disease (CTD). In all patients, the phenomenon preceded the other symptoms of CTD by several years. The RP patients with CTD showed a significantly increased frequency (59%) of HLA-B8 compared with the frequency (23%) of that same antigen in the Dutch population. The RP patients without CTD showed no significant difference in frequency of HLA-B8. At least 50% of the patients with RP and HLA-B8 develop a CTD versus 18% of the patients without HLA-B8. It is suggested that HLA testing in patients with isolated RP may help to distinguish the patient in whom RP is the first symptom of CTD from the patient with truly primary RP.