Antiphospholipid Syndrome

Abstract

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a prothrombotic condition with immune pathogenesis that is characterized by thrombosis in the venous or arterial vasculature and/or pregnancy morbidity, which occurs in the presence of persistent laboratory evidence of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs). aPLs are autoantibodies that target phospholipid-bound proteins, especially β2-glycoprotein I (β2-GPI). The presence of these antibodies is the defining feature of this syndrome; however, the mechanism by which aPLs cause a hypercoagulable state is not fully understood [1].