DR4/DQ2 haplotype confers susceptibility to T1DM with early clinical disease onset: A retrospective analysis in a tertiary-care hospital in Italy.

We report a new haplotype which increases susceptibility to type 1 diabetes among Italian children and which is associated with early clinical disease onset. Given the central role attributed to genetic factors in the pathogenesis of T1DM and to the II class HLA genes, this new haplotype ought to be recognized as a risk factor and included in tests routinely carried out to identify patients with a genetic predisposition to type I diabetes in Italy. These findings could have practical implications in research and prevention programs.