HLA-Human leukocyte antigen

Had a phone appointment with Dr Bock yesterday. Most of my tests  
came out all right, or to be expected. I had a great CD57 count of  
198!!! I forget what this is, but maybe Lisa can add that? We'll be  
getting copies of all that soon.

But the "Dreaded Phenotype" of HLAgene was 15-6, meaning it's the  
worst gene I could have, a gene that will prevent treatment from  
working, according to Carol Fisch, our friend here. The doctor was  
not so grim; he said it would mean longer, or more difficult,  
treatment. It certainly is good to know. Carol had predicted it for  
a couple of years. We'll be able to pick now which treatment for  
what.....e.g. will HLA prevent me from batting down the  
cytomegalovirus? (probably no).....Epstein Barr (Hopefully some)...I  
will write up specific questions for our next phone meeting in 4 weeks.

Note: The human leukocyte antigen system (HLA) is the name of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in humans. The superlocus contains a large number of genes related to immune system function.