Med School Tips

Hi everyone! Here’s a complete guide on how to remember the HLA associations. Let’s catch em all!

Doctors (DR) will turn into MD’s someday.. The thought makes you go, “Aah” Starting with 2 and ending with 5, your mnemonic for DR associations is “MD.. AAH!” HLA DR2 - Multiple sclerosis HLA DR3  - Diabetes mellitus type 1 HLA DR4  - Arthritis (Rheumatoid, also the one associated with Lyme’s disease) HLA DR5  - Anemia (Pernicious, causing B12 deficiency) HLA DR5  - Hashimoto’s thyroiditis

If it’s not too much, you can remember “Hey! This Doctor is going to be good MS someday” to remember Hay fever, Goodpasture’s syndrome and Multiple Sclerosis for HLA DR 2.

Hi5 is another way you can remember about Hashimoto’s relation to DR5. HiPA5 will help you remember Pernicious Anemia with it too (If the A’s of Arthritis and Anemia confuse you!) I use rhymes for all the other associations, make sure you sing em with a funny tone! “Two, three S-L-EE. Three, four, not so sour.” HLA DR2 and HLA DR3 is associated with SLE HLA DR3 and HLA DR4 is associated with Diabetes mellitus type 1 (not sour - sweet - sugar - diabetes lol) You can also remember with the pokemon, "Two, three, butterfree” for the butterfly rash in SLE.. Whatever suits you.

“A three, FrEaking three.” HLA A3 is associated with Hemochromatosis. (fe3+ - iron - hemochromatosis) ”Be there at eight, don’t be late.” HLA B8 is associated with Grave’s disease. (late - dead - grave) ”Seven, heavenly pee.”  HLA DR7 is associated with steroid-responsive nephrotic syndrome. (pee - kidney - nephrotic syndrome) Seven rhymes with heaven, lee rhymes with pee, I don’t know what I was even thinking when I made this! For HLA B27, the PAIR mnemonic is famous. Psoriasis, Ankylosing spondylitis, Inflammatory bowel disease, Reiter’s syndrome.

The above mnemonics will suffice for the exam.