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A B S T R A C T 21 patients with chronic active hepatitis (CAH) and their families were HL-A typed. HL-A8 was significantly increased in frequency. An apparent increased frequency of HL-A1 was shown to be secondary to the increased HL-A8 due to linkage disequilibrium. Genotype analysis revealed a striking increased frequency of homozygosity for HL-A8, 6 of 21 patients (28.5%) vs. 2.8% of controls. Two patients and one normal who were homozygous for both HL-A1 and HL-A8 were found to be homozygous for a mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) determinant 8a. Homozygous 8a cells were used as test-stimulating cells in one-way MLC reactions to determine the frequency of the expression of the 8a determinant in 17 patients and 49 controls selected for HL-A type. 8a was found to be associated with 50% of HL-A8 haplotypes and was as frequent in the patient and control populations of the same HL-A types. These data suggest that susceptibility to CAH is determined by homozygosity for a gene that is in linkage disequilibrium with HL-A8 and more closely associated with the HL-A second locus then with the locus for the major MLC determinant.

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UMHCBox 292, lkiiversity of Minnesota Hospital, Harvard St. and E. River Rd., Minneapolis, MN 55455. Address reprint requests to 0. L. Day.

A 3-month-old infant presented with ascites, anemia, minimal rectal bleeding, and thrombocytopenia. He was found to have several hundred small cavernous hemangiomas of the colon and peritoneal surfaces. Treatment consisted of laser surgery, subtotal colectomy, and steroids. A brief review of the literature on intestinal hemangiomatosis is included as well as the complications of the disease and current therapy.