Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2015 May 7:6:205.
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2015.00205. eCollection 2015.

Antiphospholipid Antibodies and Antiphospholipid Syndrome during Pregnancy: Diagnostic Concepts

Roger A Levy  1 , Flavia Cunha Dos Santos  2 , Guilherme R de Jesús  2 , Nilson R de Jesús  2
Affiliations
Review

Antiphospholipid Antibodies and Antiphospholipid Syndrome during Pregnancy: Diagnostic Concepts

Roger A Levy et al. Front Immunol. .

Abstract

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) comprises of a wide spectrum of clinical and obstetric manifestations linked to the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL). APS was described in the context of lupus, and later as an isolated syndrome or primary APS. The presence of aPL, especially the lupus anticoagulant test, is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as fetal death, recurrent early miscarriages, pre-eclampsia, and placental insufficiency, but does not seem to influence infertility. High quality scientific data to support these associations, however, are lacking, and controversies arise about the definition of positive aPL (low vs medium-high titers) or even the definition of the adverse events. This review discusses APS classification criteria and the current debate about it.

Keywords: antiphospholipid antibodies; antiphospholipid syndrome; fetal death; recurrent early miscarriage.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Miyakis S, Lockshin MD, Atsumi T, Branch DW, Brey RL, Cervera R, et al. International consensus statement on an update of the classification criteria for definite antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). J Thromb Haemost (2006) 4(2):295–306.10.1111/j.1538-7836.2006.01753.x - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bertolaccini ML, Amengual O, Andreoli L, Atsumi T, Chighizola CB, Forastiero R, et al. 14th international congress on antiphospholipid antibodies task force. Report on antiphospholipid syndrome laboratory diagnostics and trends. Autoimmun Rev (2014) 13(9):917–30.10.1016/j.autrev.2014.05.001 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Galarza-Maldonado C, Kourilovitch MR, Pérez-Fernández OM, Gaybor M, Cordero C, Cabrera S, et al. Obstetric antiphospholipid syndrome. Autoimmun Rev (2012) 11(4):288–95.10.1016/j.autrev.2011.10.006 - DOI - PubMed
    1. de Jesús GR, Rodrigues G, de Jesús NR, Levy RA. Pregnancy morbidity in antiphospholipid syndrome: what is the impact of treatment? Curr Rheumatol Rep (2014) 16(2):403.10.1007/s11926-013-0403-6 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lockshin MD, Kim M, Laskin CA, Guerra M, Branch DW, Merrill J, et al. Prediction of adverse pregnancy outcome by the presence of lupus anticoagulant, but not anticardiolipin antibody, in patients with antiphospholipid antibodies. Arthritis Rheum (2012) 64(7):2311–8.10.1002/art.34402 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources