The clinical features of ankylosing spondylitis ( A S ) were compared in 63 HLA-B 27 positive ( + ) and 15 B27 negative ( -) individuals with this disease. There were no differences in age at onset, functional class, degree of deformity, pain, severity of X-ray changes, or frequency of peripheral joint involvement or of reconstructive orthopedic surgery. These data demonstrated that skeletal manifestations of AS were essentially the same in B27( +) and ( -) patients, and provide no evidence for the speculation that AS in B27( -) patients is milder or is a different disease from that occurring in B27(+) patients. On the other hand, acute anterior uveitis was found to be significantly more common in B27( +) patients, a fact suggesting that the "uveitis of AS" may in fact be an independent condition occurring in B27( +) individuals, rather than a manifestation of A S per se.The association between ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and the presence of HLA-B27 is remarkably strong
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