Systemic sclerosis in two second cousins: a case report

Abstract

We describe two second cousins who developed systemic sclerosis. These patients had major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I alleles in common, including A2, A26(10), B60 (40), and Cw7 as well as class II allele DR2. This DR2 was thought to be associated with the onset of the disease. Our patients both experienced a limited type of systemic sclerosis, but the expression of autoantibodies was different.