Vascular abnormalities, paraoxonase activity, and dysfunctional HDL in primary antiphospholipid syndrome.

Context: Accelerated atherosclerosis has been described in antiphospholipid syndrome, but the vascular abnormalities and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.

Objectives: To compare vascular structure and function in patients with positive antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) with controls and to assess their relationship with paraoxonase activity.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A cross-sectional study of 77 women with positive antiphospholipid antibodies from a lupus outpatient clinic in London, England (90% of the eligible population) and 77 controls matched on frequency basis for age and cardiovascular risk factors between June 2006 and April 2009.