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What is antiphospholipid syndrome?

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Abstract

The description of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is vascular thrombosis and/or pregnancy morbidity occurring in persons with antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL). However, because of an unclear etiopathogenesis and the heterogeneous nature of aPL and of aPL-related clinical manifestations, a single, unambiguous definition of APS does not exist. In this paper, we describe a structured approach to APS, discuss the controversies, and offer descriptions of APS that include: an autoimmune systemic disease with a spectrum of (mostly thrombotic) clinical manifestations, an overdiagnosed disease when aPL is present but has no proven direct causative role in the clinical manifestations, and a disease of controversies that requires clarification of etiology and mechanisms and riskstratified controlled clinical studies.

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  1. Department of Rheumatology, Hospital for Special Surgery, 535 E70th Street, 10021, New York, NY, USA

    Doruk Erkan MD

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  1. Doruk Erkan MD
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  2. Michael D. Lockshin MD
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Erkan, D., Lockshin, M.D. What is antiphospholipid syndrome?. Curr Rheumatol Rep 6, 451–457 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11926-004-0024-1

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