Endocrine Abstracts

Graves' disease (GD) is caused by genetic and environmental factors. To date only the HLA class II region on chromosome 6p21 and the CTLA-4 gene on chromosome 2q33 have been consistently associated with disease. A recent study has indicated the most likely position of the aetiological variant in the CTLA-4 locus to be in a 6.1kb region of the 3' untranslated region of the gene. However the same degree of mapping resolution has not been achieved for the HLA class II region due ...

Graves' disease (GD) is an autoimmune disease of the thyroid gland with unknown aetiology thought to be caused by a complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors. To date, the HLA region on chromosome 6p21 and the CTLA-4 gene on chromosome 2q33 are thought to account for about 50% of the genetic component of GD with the remaining genetic contribution likely to be made up of many genes each exerting a small effect on predisposition to disease. A recent study (To...

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is characterised by the activation of autoreactive T and B cells and the production of autoantibodies. Concordance rates in monozygotic and dizygotic twins, along with familial clustering, suggest that SLE has a strong genetic component. Moreover, the co-existence of SLE and other autoimmune diseases within individuals, including autoimmune thyroid disease (ATD), suggests a sharing of general autoimmune susceptibility loci. Case control studi...