Lupus Severity Greater with Southern European Ancestry:
-- A lupus patient whose European ancestors were from Greece and its environs is more likely to have severe disease than one whose family emerged from Scandinavia, researchers here reported.
In a genetic analysis of 1,270 SLE patients, northern European ancestry was positively associated with photosensitivity and discoid rash (P=0.01), whereas southern European ancestry was associated with more severe disease manifestations, said Lindsey A. Criswell, M.D., M.P.H., of the University of California San Francisco.
The finding has clinical implications especially in the United States where "we tend to lump all Caucasians together," she said at the congress of the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR). But the data suggest that determining a patient's ancestry, such as Italian or Spanish, may influence SLE management.
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Rheumatology/Lupus/tb/9807
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