Genome-wide meta-analysis in alopecia areata resolves HLA associations and reveals two new susceptibility loci.

Alopecia areata (AA) is a prevalent autoimmune disease with 10 known susceptibility loci. Here we perform the first meta-analysis of research on AA by combining data from two genome-wide association studies (GWAS), and replication with supplemented ImmunoChip data for a total of 3,253 cases and 7,543 controls. The strongest region of association is the major histocompatibility complex, where we fine-map four independent effects, all implicating human leukocyte antigen-DR as a key aetiologic driver.

Obese patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty have distinct preoperative characteristics: an institutional study of 4718 patients.

Obesity affects a disproportionate proportion of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients. Our study explores pre-operative characteristics between obese and non-obese patients undergoing TKA surgery. A cohort of 4718 osteoarthritic patients, undergoing primary TKA, was studied.