Background

Abstract

Most of our early work in describing the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) came from studies of a disease called Lupus. Lupus is a disease in which the immune system goes into “over-drive” and produces a huge variety of excess antibodies. Lupus is a common and important disease, mainly affecting young women, and seen in almost every country in the world. Once thought rare, it is now recognised as a major disease, commoner than, for example, multiple sclerosis or leukaemia, and in some countries, overtaking rheumatoid arthritis in prevalence.