A total of 305 consecutive Kuwaiti children with psoriasis were studied for clinical features and 50 children were tissue typed for HLA class I and class II antigens. The salient features of psoriasis in these children included: female preponderance (M : F ratio, 1:1.5); peak age of onset between 2 and 8 years; scalp as the most common site of onset (30%); scalp and extensors of legs as commonly affected sites (52.5% each); plaque psoriasis the most common clinical type (89%); and a positive family history of psoriasis in 34% of the patients. Kuwaiti children with psoriasis showed a significant association with HLA-A3, Cw1, and DR7 antigens and those with a positive family history of psoriasis had a significant association with HLA-DR8 antigen.

The number of patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) is increasing considerably worldwide. Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLAs) are relevant for the expression of many immunological diseases and contribute to the development of different nephropathies. Therefore, we aimed from the present work to investigate the possible association between the frequency of HLA-A, -B, and -DR antigens and ESRD in Kuwaiti patients awaiting renal transplant. HLA-A, -B, and -DR typing was performed by complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) method for 334 patients with ESRD awaiting renal transplantation and 191 healthy controls. The frequency of HLA-B8 antigen was significantly higher in ESRD patients (OR = 2.62, p = 0.001, pc = 0.038), and the frequency of HLA-A28, HLA-DR11 antigens was significantly higher in healthy controls (OR 0.42, p = 0.0001; pc = 0.0021, and OR = 0.44, p = 0.0007, pc = 0.01 respectively). While the HLA-B8 antigen may be a susceptibility risk factor for development of ESRD, the HLA-A28, and HLA-DR11 antigens may be protective against development of ESRD in Kuwaiti population.

A total of 80 Kuwaiti children with alopecia areata (AA), without clinical evidence of thyroid disease, were screened for the presence of thyroid abnormalities, and 50 unrelated children with AA were tissue typed for human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and class II antigens. Thyroid abnormalities were detected in 14 children (17.5%). Among these, 11 children (14%) had thyroid autoantibodies. These observations highlight the significance of screening for thyroid abnormalities in children with chronic, recurrent, and/or extensive disease. The Kuwaiti children with AA were observed to have a significant association with HLA B21 (OR 18.850, 95% CI 4.404-80.677), B40 (OR 6.767, 95% CI 1.818-25.181), and HLA B12 (OR 4.833, 95% CI 1.198-19.505) antigens. These findings differed from those reported elsewhere.

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The study stresses a high index of suspicion for nocardiosis in susceptible hosts who present with cutaneous abscess, pulmonary infiltrative lesions, and cerebral manifestations. TMP-SMX in combination with cefuroxime seems to be a highly effective therapy. It does not appear mandatory to reduce or discontinue immunosuppressive therapy during treatment of nocardiosis.