HLA in primary open-angle glaucoma.

Histocompatibility antigen typing was carried out in 50 Caucasian patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and 50 Caucasian ocular-normotensive subjects. HLA-A 3 was present in 46%, B7 in 52%, B12 in 50%, and either B7 or B12 in 88% of p,tients with POAG. These prevalences in POAG patients were significantly greater than in ocular-normotensive subjects (p less than 0.01, p less than 0.0005, p less than 0.001, and p less than less than 0.0005, respectively). The prevalences of A 3-B 7, A 3-B 12 and either combination were also significantly greater in POAG patients than in the ocular normotensives (p less than 0.005, p less than 0.005, and p less than 0.0005, respectively). HLA-BW 35 was noted to be in deficit in Caucasian POAG patients (8%) as compared to Caucasian ocular normotensives (32%; p less than 0.01).