Atherosclerosis in primary antiphospholipid syndrome.

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is the most common cause of acquired thrombophilia, but experimental and clinical evidence accumulated over the years suggest that the clinical manifestations of APS go beyond those of a simple hypercoagulable state. Although still a controversial topic, the elevated risk of atherosclerosis in systemic lupus erythematosus seems little accounted for by the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies, whereas premature atherosclerosis has been addressed in few series of patients with primary APS. The available data in primary APS suggest that traditional risk factors for atherosclerosis are less involved in arterial disease, rather antiphospholipid antibodies appear as major players.

Subclinical atherosclerosis in primary antiphospholipid syndrome.

To test the atherosclerosis hypothesis in primary antiphospholipid syndrome (PAPS) we measured intima media thickness (IMT) of carotid arteries and other cardiovascular risk factors in 44 patients with PAPS (mean age 35 +/- 12 years), in 25 patients with inherited thrombophilia (mean age 40 +/- 10 years), and in 34 normal controls (mean age 38 +/- 11 years). The frequency of smoking, hypertension, and dyslipidemia was similar across groups. IMT was almost similar across groups at age groups below 40 years but IMT was greater in PAPS than controls at the common carotid (P = 0.

Bleeding and re-thrombosis in primary antiphospholipid syndrome on oral anticoagulation: an 8-year longitudinal comparison with mitral valve replacement and inherited thrombophilia.

The aim of this study was to compare bleeding and re-thrombosis in primary antiphospholipid syndrome (PAPS), mitral valve replacement (MVR) and inherited thrombophilia (IT) at different oral anticoagulation intensities. It entailed a prospective 8-year follow-up on 67 patients with PAPS, 89 with IT and 24 with MVR. Anticardiolipin (aCL) antibodies detected by Elisa and lupus anticoagulant by clotting assays.