INTRODUCTION Lupus anticoagulant (LA) is commonly present in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who present with an ischemic cerebral stroke. Reports have noted the presence of LA in patients with epilepsy who do not have SLE. These patients are usually elderly, and it has been postulated that their epilepsy is due to subclinical ischemic infarcts. METHODS Two cases are presente...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Moyamoya syndrome is an uncommon chronic occlusive cerebrovascular disease in children. The origin of moyamoya syndrome remains undetermined. The role of the prothrombotic disorders contributing to its pathogenesis has not been completely elucidated. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of prothrombotic disorders in a pediatric population with moyamoya...

Antiphospholipid syndrome is an autoimmune disorder defined as association of vascular thrombosis and/or pregnancy complications with presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (lupus anticoagulant, anticardiolipin and anti-β2 glycoprotein I). It is the most common cause of acquired thrombophilia, and can occur as an independent entity or in relation with other diseases, especially systemic lupus ...

Anti– 2–glycoprotein I antibodies are known to have a heterogeneous reactivity against 2–glycoprotein I. We performed this study to characterize the epitope on 2–glycoprotein I to which pathologic anti– 2–glycoprotein I antibodies are directed. Plasma samples from 198 patients with various systemic autoimmune diseases were tested for the presence of lupus anticoagulant and anti– 2–glycoprotein ...

Lupus anticoagulant, first observed in 1952 in two patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), was linked to a phospholipid antigen when positive Wassermann tests for syphilis coincided with the lupus anticoagulant, documenting the lipid nature of the antigen. Bowie and colleagues were the first to unravel the paradoxical prothrombotic tendency of patients with positive lupus anticoagulan...

Antiphospholipid antibodies (APLA) may be detected in normal pregnancies and also may cause thrombosis, recurrent fetal loss, placental infarction and preeclampsia. In the present study the possible differences in APLA titer between healthy pregnant women and preeclampsia cases without history of thrombosis was examined. The APLA titer in 50 healthy pregnant women with 50 preeclampsia cases wit...

Data on the clinical course of lupus anticoagulant (LA)-positive individuals with or without thrombotic manifestations or pregnancy complications are limited. To investigate mortality rates and factors that might influence mortality, we conducted a prospective observational study of LA-positive individuals. In total, 151 patients (82% female) were followed for a median of 8.2 years; 30 of the p...