TY - JOUR T1 - Dr. Petrek replies JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol SP - 1755 LP - 1755 DO - 10.3899/jrheum.120464 VL - 39 IS - 8 AU - MARTIN PETREK Y1 - 2012/08/01 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/39/8/1755.2.abstract N2 - To the Editor:It was interesting to read comments1 on the results of a candidate gene association study carried out in my laboratory 10 years ago2. All 3 explanations that Peng and colleagues suggest to account for discordant data on possible associations between IL-1A –889 gene variants and systemic sclerosis (SSc) reported between 2003 and 2007 by investigators from different countries — former Czechoslovakia2, Italy3, and Japan4 — are tangible. However, especially from the perspective of the 10-year period since our original data were obtained, I would like to expand on the following general points.In the last decade the field of gene study, either determining the susceptibility to or protection from complex diseases or modifying their course, has undergone substantial progress in terms of high-throughput genotyping methodologies enabling parallel determination of many gene variants or … Address correspondence to Dr. Petrek; E-mail: martin.petrek{at}fnol.cz ER -