lamotrigine-related skin side effects were associated with some hla-b alleles in iranian epileptic patients

Background: recent evidences revealed that some genetic factors strongly predict occurrence of lamotrigine (ltg)-related skin reactions. the present study aimed to assess the association between some human leukocyte antigen (hla)-b alleles and risk of ltg-related skin reactions among a sample of epileptic patients.methods: totally, 36 epileptic patients expressing ltg-related skin reactions and 70 sex- and age-matched healthy individuals were enrolled into this case-control study. blood samples were collected from all participants and genomic dna was extracted by salting-out method. hla-b alleles were determined using standard sequence specific primer-pcr (ssp-pcr) technique.results: of the 31 hla alleles assessed in our survey, the frequencies of hla-b*38 and hla-b*40 were significantly higher in epileptic patients with ltg-related skin reactions when compared to the control group. in term of gender, the frequency of hla-b*40 allele was significantly higher in the epileptic men with ltg-related skin reactions, whereas the frequency of hla-b*38 allele was significantly higher in the epileptic women with ltg-related skin reactions than controls with the same gender. moreover, the frequency of hla-b*38 allele in patients with high grade of ltg-related skin side effects was significantly higher than patients with low grade of ltg-related skin side effects.conclusion: these results indicated possible association between hla-b*40 and hla-b*38 alleles and ltg-induced skin lesions in iranian epileptic patients. hla-b*40 and hla-b*38 alleles might be differentially expressed in male and female epileptic patients with ltg-induced skin lesions.