RESUMO
A prospective study of patients attending Physiotherapy Outpatient Department of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi was carried during 1991. Its main objective was to find out, among cases of ankylosing spondylitis diagnosed by WHO criteria, the number who were HLA B
7 positive; their first degree relatives and some normal controls from general population, were also tested. HLA studies were performed with the courtesy of National Institute of Health Islamabad. Among 16 patients suffering from the disease, the test was performed on 12 cases, and 8 [66.67%] tested positive; 6 of the 8 [75%] asymptomatic first degree relatives and 3 of 9 [33%] healthy controls also were positive. The association of HLA B
7 with ankylosing spondylitis was found to be slightly less strong in our patients i.e. 66% as compared to 90-95% shown in caucasian population. No prognostic importance could be proved. This study can be considered as a preliminary one and may help those who want to continue it on a larger scale