Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) can be detected by functional (lupus anticoagulant) and/or by solid phase assays (anti-cardiolipin and anti-beta2 glycoprotein I). Although detectable in 1-5% of asymptomatic apparently healthy subjects, persistent aPL are significantly associated with recurrent arterial/venous thrombosis and with pregnancy morbidity. Such an association is the formal classific...

Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome is defined by the presence of thromboembolic complications and/or pregnancy morbidity in the presence of persistently increased titers of antiphospholipid antibodies. Its clinical presentation can be diverse and any organ can be involved, with a current impact in most surgical and medical specialties. The authors present the case of a 43-year-old man who, over...

A 25-year-old Bangladeshi lady presented to neurology with a three-month history of involuntary movements of her right arm, associated with loss of power. There was progression to the right leg, and she subsequently developed episodes of slurred speech and blurred vision. At the time of presentation, she was 12 weeks pregnant and the symptoms were reported to have started at conception. Past me...

arin-induced thrombocytopenia. Curr Hematol Rep 2003; 2: 148–57. 4 Shibata S, Harpel PC, Gharavi A, Rand J, Filit H. Autoantibodies to heparin from patients with antiphospholipid antibody syndrome inhibit formation of antithrombin III-thrombin complexes. Blood 1994; 83: 2532–40. 5 Martinuzzo ME, Forastierio RR, Adamczuk Y, Pombo G, Carreras LO. Antiplatelet factor 4–heparin antibodies in patien...

cases. Patch testing with a battery of sunscreens gave a positive reading (++) at 48 and 96 h to butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane 2% (Parsol 1789) in both cases (Fig. 1). Since only one of the sunscreens contained parsol, we decided to test with other sunscreens. The results are shown in Table 1. All sunscreens that gave a positive patch test reaction contained octocrylene, which is included in so...

A 52-year-old man was admitted to hospital with chest pain after physical activity. Emergency coronary angiography showed multiple thromboembolic occlusions in the anterior descending coronary artery and in the right coronary artery. Further testing revealed anticardiolipin and 2-glicoprotein antibodies (the patient had been diagnosed for ulcerative colitis and polymyalgia rheumatica). Heparin...

The antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS) is defined by the persistent presence of antiphospholipid antibodies in patients with recurrent venous or arterial thromboembolism or pregnancy morbidity. Antithrombotic therapy is the mainstay of treatment given the high risk of recurrent thromboembolism that characterizes this condition. Despite the prothrombotic nature of APS, thrombocytopenia is ...

Almost 30 years after it was first described as a discrete clinical entity, the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) remains a challenge for clinicians in a wide range of specialities. There remain ongoing issues regarding nomenclature, the expanding range of clinical manifestations, and management of certain APS patient subgroups. In addition to the presence of appropriate clinical features, the di...