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Antiphospholipid Antibody Carriers

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Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome

Part of the book series: Rare Diseases of the Immune System ((RDIS))

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Abstract

Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) are pathogenic autoantibodies. Therefore, aPL carriers should be considered at risk for aPL-related manifestations, namely, thrombosis and pregnancy morbidity. The pathogenesis of thrombosis is multifactorial. The effects of aPL are triggered and potentiated by additional risk factors. Hence, the risk stratification in aPL carriers should include traditional cardiovascular risk factors, besides the interpretation of the aPL profile (low- vs. high-risk profile) and the identification of concomitant autoimmune diseases (mostly systemic lupus erythematosus). Different treatment approaches have been proposed in primary thromboprophylaxis for aPL carriers, being low-dose aspirin the most commonly used drug.

Regarding pregnancy morbidity, there are suggestions that women carrying a low-risk aPL profile may not need aggressive treatment during pregnancy. On the other hand, women with a high-risk aPL profile should timely receive prophylaxis for both maternal and fetal protection.

aPL carriers should be protected with low molecular weight heparin in particularly high-risk situations such as puerperium and hormonal ovarian stimulation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Spedali Civili of Brescia, University of Brescia, Piazzale Spedali Civili, 1, Brescia, 25123, Italy

    Francesca Dall’Ara MD, Cecilia Nalli MD & Laura Andreoli MD

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  1. Francesca Dall’Ara MD
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  2. Cecilia Nalli MD
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  3. Laura Andreoli MD
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Correspondence to Laura Andreoli MD .

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  1. Department of Rheumatology, Gaetano Pini Institute, Milan, Milano, Italy

    Pier Luigi Meroni

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Dall’Ara, F., Nalli, C., Andreoli, L. (2015). Antiphospholipid Antibody Carriers. In: Meroni, P. (eds) Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome. Rare Diseases of the Immune System. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11044-8_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11044-8_17

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