Antiphospholipid Antibodies and Autoimmune Diseases

ABSTRACT

Antiphospholipid Syndrome (APS) is a common autoimmune disorder in constant evolution. During the last 30 years the clinical and immunological features were established and numerous investigators and clinical practitioners established consensus definition of the diagnostic criteria. The last international experts meeting in Sydney 2006 modified the previous Sapporo criteria. In the autoimmunity field, the association of APS with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is the strongest. However, as we learnt more about APS, multiple associations and clinical varieties have been defined. It is very important to be aware of the different clinical manifestations of APS in patients with SLE and also in other autoimmune diseases (AD) different from SLE. In that way, we present a series of a number of patients with AD in association with APS and or positive antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) assisted by us in the last twenty years. Finally, according to our own experience and in agreement with published data, we consider that the opportunity to look for aPL in other AD different from SLE, is after the thrombotic event has occurred.

Keywords:

Antiphospholipid antibodies, systemic lupus erythematosus, antiphospholipid syndrome, autoimmune disease.