Histocompatibility antigens in affective disorders

Primary affective (manic depressive) illness has hereditary factors which have yet to be clarified. The histocompatibility antigens (HLA) of 50 patients were determined by a standard lymphocyte cytotoxicity test. HLA13 was present in 12% of affective disorder patients contrasted to 2.4% of controls, HLA5 was present in 24% of patients compared to 12% in controls, HLA12 was present in 10% of patients and 24% of controls, and HLAW5 was found in 34% of patients versus 22.8% of controls. The frequency distribution in the affective disorder population of 24 other HLA antigens did not show any significant difference from controls. The findings of altered frequency of three HLA antigens and a marginal altered frequency of a fourth HLA antigen in this population may suggest the possibility that primary affective disorders have an association with the major histocompatibility complex.