Patients with antiphospholipid syndrome are characterized by the association of thrombosis or pregnancy morbidity and the presence of antiphospholipid autoantibodies. Particularly, anti-beta(2)-glycoprotein (beta(2) GPI) autoantibodies correlate with thrombosis, suggesting an antibody-induced gain of prothrombotic function and/or an antibody-induced loss of antithrombotic function of beta(2) GP...

BACKGROUND Antiphospholipid antibodies are associated with recurrent fetal loss, but the clinical relevance of antiprothrombin (aPT) antibodies remains controversial. This study was designed to evaluate the relationship of plasma concentrations of aPT antibodies (IgG, IgM, and IgA isotypes) and recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) not associated with antiphospholipid-antibody syndrome. METHOD...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE The aim was to evaluate the role of anti-annexin A5 (anti-ANXA5) antibodies as risk factor for recurrent miscarriage (RM) and unexplained fetal loss (UFL). PATIENTS AND METHODS Retrospective, cohort study. SETTING Vall d'Hebron University Hospital. SUBJECTS 122 women, in two groups: STUDY GROUP 54 women with RM/UFL and control group: 68 pregnant without RM/UFL. ...

The antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS) is characteristically associated with thrombosis. Heparan sulfate (HS) is a physiologic endothelial cell surface modulator of normal anticoagulation, containing a specific oligosaccharide sequence that binds antithrombin III with high affinity and also is present in heparin, a related glycosaminoglycan. We hypothesized that a subset of antiphospholip...

Antiphospholipid Syndrome (APS) is an autoimmune disorder with clinical and laboratory features of vascular thrombosis, pregnancy loss, and persistent antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs). The pathophysiology is thought to involve the activation of endothelial cells, monocytes, platelets, and complement by aPLs. Disease can range from asymptomatic to rapidly fatal catastrophic APS. We present a c...

The objective of this study was to assess pregnancy outcome in women with a history of refractory antiphospholipid antibody-associated pregnancy loss(es) who were treated with early low-dose prednisolone in addition to aspirin and heparin. Eighteen women with antiphospholipid antibodies who had refractory pregnancy loss(es) were given prednisolone (10 mg) from the time of their positive pregnan...

Autoantibodies are implicated in various human diseases. In this review, the effects of three different types of autoantibodies (antiphospholipid antibody, antithyroid antibody, and antisperm antibody) on female reproductive health are critically examined. Antiphospholipid antibodies are being detected more frequently in women undergoing in vitro fertilization, but their presence does not appea...