| Objective To analyze the clinical features and laboratorial data of multiple sclerosis (MS), and examine the correlation between MS in Chinese Southern Han population and the polymorphism of HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DPB1 alleles, and investigate the relations between their clinical features and the polymorphism of HLA classⅡ.Methods The clinical data of 81 MS patients admitted to the department of neurology of the Jiangxi Provincial People's Hospital was collected. The epidemiological data, early symptom and sign, clinical progressive mode, course, and the localization of lesion were analyzed retrospectively. The HLA-DRB1 and -DPB1 alleles of 61 subjects from 81 MS patients and 72 normal controls were determined by sequence-based typing(PCR-SBT)method. The frequency of the HLA classⅡalleles were compared between MS subtypes and clinical features and controls byχ2 or Fisher exact probability test. The P values were corrected according to Bonferroni's method to calculate corrected P values (Pc).Results (1) Clinical analysis: the clinical classification of the 81 cases was clinically definite MS in 63 cases, and clinically possible MS in 18. The ratio of male to female was 1∶1 .4. The average onset age was 40.01. The clinical onset was acute in 19.75 %, sub-acute in 38.27 %, and chronic in 41.98 %. Forty-four percent of patients with MS were relapsing and remitting type. The initiating symptom was weakness in 55.56%, parenthesis in 32.10%, visual disturbance in 18.52%, sensory disturbance in 12.35%. The localization of lesion was cerebral in 65.43%, optic nerve in 38.27%, spinal cord in 34.57%, peripheral nerve in 23.46%, brain stem in 16.05%, cerebellum in 9.88%. The MRI data was available in 72 patients; abnormal signals were found in 67 cases (93.06%), paraventricular abnormal signals in 45 cases (67.16%). Forty-seven percent patients with abnormal VEP and eighty-one percent patients with abnormal BAEP were asymptomatic. The OB was determined in 7 patients, but none of them were positive. (2)HLA polymorphism analysis: a total of 30 HLA-DRB1 alleles and 19 HLA-DPB1 alleles were identified in the 61 MS subjects and 72 controls. The frequency of HLA-DRB1*120201 (29.51%) are higher among MS than in controls (15.28%) (P=0.0477, Pc=1.431). (3)Association between clinical features and HLAⅡalleles: the frequency of HLA-DRB1*1602(15.56%) is higher among RR-MS than controls(4.17%)( P=0.0713,Pc=2.139).Conclusions (1)Precipitating factors are not often detected in our serious. Sub-acute or chronic onset is often. Relapsing rate is high. The weakness was the initiating symptom in most MS patients. Optic nerve is frequently involved. The cerebral white matter lesions may be found in around half of MS patients who showed abnormal MRI signals. Some sub-clinical lesions in the CNS may be discovered by VEP or BAEP. (2)Southern Han MS patients may be linked to the HLA-DRB1*120201. There is no relation between MS of south Han population in China. So the HLA polymorphism of MS south han population in China is different from that of west countries,Japanese and north population of China. The association between MS and HLA-DPB1*0501 is not found in our study, and it is different from Japanese population. The correlation between HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DPB1 in Southern Han MS population is different from that in Western, Japanese and Northern Chinese populations. The genetic heterogeneity may exist in MS extensively. (3)The relapsing-remitting MS may be linked to HLA-DRB1*1602. The association between the focus of MS and HLA polymorphism is not found in our study. There may be certain genes associated with the clinical features of MS.
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