Antigen Carriage Associated with Lamotrigine-Induced DRESS

A study of 30 lamotrigine-induced DRESS cases finds a strong correlation with HLA-A*32:01

MILWAUKEE, Feb. 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A32:01 carriage is strongly associated with risk of lamotrigine-induced DRESS, according to new research being presented at the 2026 AAAAI Annual Meeting.

In this study, researchers examined several identified lamotrigine-induced DRESS cases from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and Mass General Brigham alongside matched lamotrigine-tolerant controls from VUMC BioVU. Researchers obtained HLA class I typing performed through high-resolution HLA typing (Illumina Miseq) and HLA imputation from genotyping array data (SNP2HLA). Case-control (matched 10:1) HLA association studies were performed at the locus, haplotype and amino acid levels using midasHLA (version 1.14.0), R (version 4.4.1), reported OR, 95% CI and Bonferroni correction for P values (Pc).

The researchers identified 30 lamotrigine-induced DRESS cases and 300 lamotrigine matched tolerant controls. Of the lamotrigine-induced DRESS cases, 87% of participants were female, and 93% of participants self-identified as white while the remaining 7% self-identified as black. Participants had a median age of 33 years old. At the locus level, HLA-A*32:01 was associated with DRESS while carriage rates of HLA-A32:01 for cases and controls were found to be 40% and 5.5%. There were no Pc significant haplotypes found, however, in an amino acid analysis, research found two HLA-A amino acid positions 109 with lysine and 77 with serine.

The study notes that single-allele HLA-A*32:01 testing is both inexpensive and accessible, and the researchers suggest that targeted pre-prescription screening could meaningfully aid in the prevention of lamotrigine-induced DRESS.

Visit aaaai.org to learn more about DRESS. Research presented at the 2026 AAAAI Annual Meeting, February 27 – March 2 in Philadelphia, PA, is published in an online supplement to The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI).

The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) is the leading membership organization of more than 7,100 allergists, asthma specialists, clinical immunologists and other professionals with a special interest in the research and treatment of allergic and immunologic diseases. Established in 1943, the AAAAI is the go-to resource for patients living with allergies, asthma and immune deficiency disorders.

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SOURCE American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI)