HLA-A29 subtypes and birdshot chorioretinopathy

Birdshot chorioretinopathy is an eye disease characterized by the clinical manifestations of symmetrically scattered, small, cream-colored flecks in the fundus associated with retinal vasculopathy, disk edema, an inflammatory signs in the vitreous. The calculated relative risk factor indicated that an HLA-A29-positive individual has a 224 times higher chance to develop birdshot chorioretinopathy than an HLA-A29-negative person. Recently, two subtypes of HLA-A29 were described by the one dimensional isoelectric focusing (1D-IEF) technique. The present study was undertaken to investigate whether birdshort chorioretinopathy is associated with one of these subtypes. Twenty HLA-A29-positive patients with birdshot chorioretinopathy were analyzed.